What makes a job "worth it?"

[dreamin_disney]

I also work part-time as an aide . What was important to me was....

medical, dental, vision benfits. When i first started i got free healthcare but through the years its changed and i have to pay but it was afordable.

I like all the time off holidays, winter break, paid vacation and sick leave. I love having a set schedule and only having to work M-F.

My hours are between the hours my child goes to school so i have saved money . When she was younger i did need daycare but a family friend watched her for cheap. in preschool and kinder it was more expensive but I only had to pay for part-time care still $$.

Sometimes my job can be stressful depending on the type of kids we have . I work with special needs but when kids are misplaced in the wrong class and are very violent it can get stressful.

I do love my job and most importanly i'm very happy there. DH and i decided that i would work part-time so dd wouldnt be in daycare long hours. My job allows me lots of time with her. I'm able to drop off/pick her up. I dont make lots of money but its a sacrifice but well worth it. Now we are on dh's insurance and i get to bring home more money.

dh doesnt have vision plan so i kept mine plus dental dual coverage now. My work also has a retirement plan and flex spending acct. It would be nice to make more money but i love the time i get with my dd. I know i will need to eventually start looking for other work especially with all the budget cuts but for now I'm happy.

 

[ilovepete]

I think this is a really personal question. For me, no amount of money would be worth being away from my kids, but that is just me. I know others feel differently.

 

[Jey12]

I don't have a teaching degree, but I do have a profession and a child so I can relate. To me being worth it is how fullfilled you feel and how happy your family is with your decisions. I hold a degree as a veterinary technician. I can work crazy hours but I also have the freedom to pretty much set my own schedule. To me it's not about the quantity of time with my child it's about the quality of the time we spend together. My personal opinion and I don't feel anyone's thoughts on this is right or wrong, is that children need to be away from mom and dad on a regular basis after they are 2 years of age. Being around other kids and having to learn to respect another adult authority figure and balance that with the needs and wants of their peers is a very important lesson that should not wait until they enter school. Classes, activities and park time is great, but often mom and dad are a door or a few feet away to swoop in and save them. As parents we do that too, or at least I am guilty of it. DH and I work opposite hours and sacrifice time together so DD has been in daycare a very limited amount of time during the week.

I could work someplace else and not work as hard physically or mentally and make more money. I choose not to. At the end of most days there was at least one patient that I was involved in that made me feel that it was important that I was there. Of course I also believe my daughter is my main purpose and provides the greatest sense of fullfillment, but my career is a different type of fullfillment. I might have a day full of being griped at by doctors, patients that want to reduce the amount of digits I have on my hand, and cranky front staff employees that come to me with all of their problems I can't do a thing about. Then in comes this puppy sick and half dead with a tearful family and little kids looking at me to save their pet. I speak calmly and softly to this little pup, quickly place an IV cath that provides needed nurishment and monitor the little thing all day along with the dr. I might leave that night and not expect to see that little creature alive the next day, but to my surprise when I walk in the little fluffball is sitting upright barking for me to come play. I then start my next day off with a warm nose in my ear and puppy breath in my face and think today's gonna be alright. I then come home and seem to have a renewed energy to play an extra game with my little girl and spend a few added moments snuggling with her before bed. I go to bed that night and think today I wasn't just a mom to an awesome kid, I wasn't just a wife to a loving husband, I was these things plus I saved a life and made an entire family that I didn't know happy. I helped provide the care to their pet that will add many more happy moments to their life over the years. That makes it worth it.

If you will be sitting behind a desk, even though it has great benefits and time with your children, but yet you will still feel like you are missing something then don't do it. If you will always wonder "what if" now and years from now then don't do it. If you think that your life can be enhanced by maybe changing the direction one student takes in their educational career because of something you did then by all means go for it! If you think you can still feel fullfilled as a parent and a teacher to other children then what are you waiting for? If you don't feel this way there's nothing wrong with that. We are all different in how we feel and think. To me that keeps the world interesting and fun. Do what your heart tells you is the right path to go down.

 

[honeydiane1953]

Good money, great benefits and not dreading to go to work.

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

The majority of mothers work so this overwhelming fear of daycare aside, most children go to daycare.

This is not correct. Most women work at some point, but over half of the children are home until preschool and K.

Just because many people do something doesn't make it a great choice, either. Very few daycares provide optimal care for children. Far too many have staff turnover, poor child to staff ratios, etc. Does it permanently damage the kids? No. But it isn't optimal.

But your shoes are probably more important than that, I'm sure.

 

[LovableGluttons]

A critical factor too is a sense of responsibility to participate in making my community a better, healthier, safer, more loving place to live. At times during my life I wantednothing more than to stay home nestled in the loving arms of my family and not go face that cold, mean, judgmental world. Unfortunately, if everyone succumbed to that desire, our society would collapse. The drive to contribute to making this world a better place now and for our children's future carries, with it an enormity that I cannot on a basic human level ignore. Great financial security for my family, utilization ofa hardearned degree and skill aren't the only motivating factors for me. If police, firefighters, ambulance personnel, teachers, and others who keep going to work everyday and miss time with their loved ones, I should too.

I love my husband too much to want him to want him to secure the quality of our golden years as well as provide for our lives now. Not when I am able to contribute in such a huge way.

As a disclaimer, it is about the choices we make. If there are not people out there choosing, the opportunity for choice disappears.

 

[kacaju]

I just went back to work in Feb. I am now a lunch lady at our schools. For me, it was *worth it* to go back to work because:

I work p/t and the kids are old enough to be home by themselves for 4 hours if they are sick, while I am 2 miles away.

I am off all school holidays and home in the summer with them.

I am only working at the times they would be in school, so my working has no affect on their after school activites.

 

[crisi]

I think this is a really personal question. For me, no amount of money would be worth being away from my kids, but that is just me. I know others feel differently.

So if you lost your husband (or your husband's income) and you didn't have an income, how would you support your kids?

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

So if you lost your husband (or your husband's income) and you didn't have an income, how would you support your kids?

lol, then I suspect she would adapt.

 

[sk!mom]

In your position, I would go to school full time. You should be able to finish in two years or less. Two tight years would be worth the pay off of the job you really want.

Get as many certifications as you can. In my experience, English teaching jobs can be difficult to get. Special Ed. jobs are a bit easier to find but if you can handle secondary Sciences or maths you'll be very marketable. The economy stinks right now, hopefully by the time you finish jobs will be easier to get.

Oh and one more comment- teachers don't necessarily take work home. I never do.

 

[ilovepete]

So if you lost your husband (or your husband's income) and you didn't have an income, how would you support your kids?

Well I guess that would be a different set of circumstances and I'd have to reevaluate. I do have income, but I am not away from my kids to do it. If I need to update something with my business, I work on it at home while they are asleep. Things would just be much tighter without his income since mine is not near enough to support us all, but I could do it. However, he does have life insurance for exactly that reason, so that I could still support us if something happened to him.

 

[crisi]

Well I guess that would be a different set of circumstances and I'd have to reevaluate. I do have income, but I am not away from my kids to do it. If I need to update something with my business, I work on it at home while they are asleep. Things would just be much tighter without his income since mine is not near enough to support us all, but I could do it. However, he does have life insurance for exactly that reason, so that I could still support us if something happened to him.

I'm not judging, just using your post to point out that having the amount of money to stay at home is somewhat of a luxury to start with. Not everyone GETS to make the same choice. And even when you plan well (which you seem to be doing) unexpected things can happen which make you judge the worth of a job quite differently.

You need a base amount of money to survive before you can start evaluating whether "working or not working" or "part time vs. full time" or "demanding professional career vs. leave it behind job" etc. are "worth" it.

And it works the other way as well, sometimes unexpected things happen that make you revalue staying home and find that is where you want or need to be.

 

[ilovepete]

I'm not judging, just using your post to point out that having the amount of money to stay at home is somewhat of a luxury to start with. Not everyone GETS to make the same choice. And even when you plan well (which you seem to be doing) unexpected things can happen which make you judge the worth of a job quite differently.

You need a base amount of money to survive before you can start evaluating whether "working or not working" or "part time vs. full time" or "demanding professional career vs. leave it behind job" etc. are "worth" it.

And it works the other way as well, sometimes unexpected things happen that make you revalue staying home and find that is where you want or need to be.

That is why I said it was a personal decision, and that for ME that is what I felt it was worth. I'm not judging anyone elses decisions, just gave my opinion for me.

 

[Jey12]

This is not correct. Most women work at some point, but over half of the children are home until preschool and K.

Just because many people do something doesn't make it a great choice, either. Very few daycares provide optimal care for children. Far too many have staff turnover, poor child to staff ratios, etc. Does it permanently damage the kids? No. But it isn't optimal.

But your shoes are probably more important than that, I'm sure.

I'd like to say not all daycare providers fall into this catagory. I chose to put my DD in a daycare ran in a person's home that is licensed by the state. She has been there since she was 2 years old and has flourished and loved it. Saying that very few fall into an optimal catagory for children is incorrect also. I think each parent needs to pick what type of care they feel would be best for their child. Just because it doesn't work for one family doesn't mean it works just fine for another. I'm not so judgmental to say what I do with my child applies to every situation out there. BTW my shoe selection sucks.

lol, then I suspect she would adapt.

Could you explain why someone losing a spouse is funny?

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Did you say your shoes were more important than your child too? Missed that. Or are you just the same poster different name? Of course there are variances in the choices and situations. I'm rather partial to inhome care, and that was what we did too. It was the best choice at the time. The fact is that the majority of group daycares are below the best standard of care.

Random "what ifs" are amusing to me. So sue me. lol. (lawsuits aren't funny either, are they?) The OP isn't living that situation, if it occurred she would by necessity have to deal with it. Just like the choices would change if she passed, they won the lottery or whatever life brings.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

OP here again.

I didn't mean for this to turn into a working mom/sahm debate. I've been both, and there are pros/cons to each side. I really questioned how much pay/benefits/etc make a job worth it vs. eliminating the costs of working.

I do appreciate all the opinions. So far, no call on the job I applied for, and I am glad for it.

I had my first night class last night, and I really enjoyed it. I think I have found *my* answer. Going to school feels RIGHT right now. It will be a long haul, and I know it's going to be hard to be a part-time student for nearly 4 years. But I will be ready for a career when my children are at the point that many of you stated (old enough to really take care of themselves for a short period of time).

Right now, they aren't quite there. So I am going to enjoy being home with them during the day, and doing my own work at night. I'll just keep hoping that I will be able to find a job with my 2 certifications when I finish school. There are a lot of special ed jobs out there, and in PA, it's getting a lot harder to become a secondary special ed teacher (they are requiring special ed cert PLUS another secondary subject). I will have that, where a lot of new teachers won't. I hope I will be marketable.

I'm blessed in that my family has all of it's needs met through my DH's salary. But maybe I'll find a way to afford some of our "wants" too - another trip to Disney is right up there on the list!

 

[csharpwv]

No job will EVER be "worth it" if you don't feel like you are utilizing your gifts, talent, and potential to the fullest extent of your abilities.

I just recently decided to 'stay put' after a much labored decision on another job offer.

The decision was tough - but it would have meant 10 hours of commuting a week - and earlier rise - and later getting home. Current schedule is 8:00-4:00 M-F - I would have moved to a job that was 7:30am-4:30pm M-F - so I would have had to leave home at 6:30 - and I wouldn't have been back home still 5:30 - so by staying put I'm saving time - and money by not commuting. BUT the raise would have been nice.

Some job factors changed as well that motivated me to stay put - BUT - in the end - I felt like I would be most challenged and have the greatest opportunity for advancement by staying put.

When you reach the 'finish line' of retirement - do you want to look back and say "I really think I could have done more with my life." OR would you rather look back and say "I pushed myself - I accomplished great things - and I impacted lives other than my own"

the Disney lesson here is don't get comfortable- dream - do - believe in yourself - and you will achieve your dreams.

For most people - clerical work is not a dream - it's more of a nightmare actually.

Do what you know deep in your hear that you WANT to do!

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Glad you found the right answer for you all! Have fun.

 

[bettymae1121]

Well I guess that would be a different set of circumstances and I'd have to reevaluate. I do have income, but I am not away from my kids to do it. If I need to update something with my business, I work on it at home while they are asleep. Things would just be much tighter without his income since mine is not near enough to support us all, but I could do it. However, he does have life insurance for exactly that reason, so that I could still support us if something happened to him.

Not to drag the thread off topic, but what would your DH do if you (heaven forbid!) died? Do you have life insurance on you, so your DH can afford to provide child care while he works? This is often overlooked when one spouse is a SAHP. They insure the one that works but not the one that stays at home. If something happens to you, your DH will need to hire a nanny or find outside care, and may need to hire a cleaning service, lawn care service, etc. since he won't have help around the house anymore, either.

 

[crisi]

That is why I said it was a personal decision, and that for ME that is what I felt it was worth. I'm not judging anyone elses decisions, just gave my opinion for me.

We are cool.

I think those of us who truly get a choice on whether to be WOHM or SAHMs are the luckiest - because we get a choice and can do what is best for our individual situations. So many people don't have a choice. They HAVE to work. Or they are in a situation where they HAVE to stay at home even though they'd rather work. Those of us who get to choose, we may have a few regrets, we may miss out and sometimes think the grass is greener over there - but we got to choose.