These last few years have resulted in a major overhaul for many – for businesses, for professionals, for students, and for children. Things have changed, and it is okay for your priorities to shift or for you to have come out of the pandemic with different goals in life. Perhaps something personal happened to you, perhaps you were made redundant, perhaps the business you worked for closed down entirely – there are many instances where you will be on the hunt for a job, and have the opportunity to make a career change.
For child-free professionals changing careers is difficult, especially if retraining is involved. For parents, however, retraining can be a complex juggle and a rush to get something that can help you work and support your family.
It can certainly be difficult but putting the time and effort into understanding what you want out of your career and what you need to do to achieve it will help in the long run. To help you manage it in the current day, however, you will want to follow this guide:
Deciding What Career Path is Right for You
One thing that you can do at every stage of your children’s lives is research into your passions, interests, and job options to discover the right career path for you. Even if you need to take on a job simply for the sake of bringing in a pay check, this should not stop you from exploring what options are out there. Don’t worry about the experience necessary, either, because finding your dream job offers one massive benefit: you can learn how to get there.
Find people who have that dream job or at least work in the field that you want to, and go through their LinkedIn or other job profile. You can see what formal qualifications they have, where they worked, volunteered, and so on. Don’t be afraid to get in touch, either, asking for advice on how to get started.
Research is important even if you are aware of what general role you want to do. If you want to work as a mental health counselor, for example, understanding what is necessary, what qualifications you need, and more importantly, what job roles are available and which one would be best suited to you is a must.
Knowledge is power, and it can help you truly understand the commitment necessary in order to make a career change.
Need Work Now? How to Make Your Next Job Work for Your New Career Goals
Unless you have a partner who can support you studying or training while being a stay-at-home parent, you will likely need a job and one soon. Rather than just try for anything you can get your hands on, your best bet is to find a job within the industry you want to work in. For example, you may be able to find work as a receptionist for a mental health clinic or in a marketing role. In addition, there are numerous non-specialist roles available that you could try for that would allow you to become accustomed to the industry before you start working within it.
Should that fail, choosing a job that pays the bills but more importantly helps support your ambitions to study while being a parent is going to be your second-best bet. Today this will likely be a remote role or even a freelance role. Cutting out the need for a commute or having complete control over your schedule means you can bring in money while juggling parenting and studying responsibilities.
In the absolute “worst” case scenario, you can use vacation days to give you the time you need for your retraining. This will be a good option, for example, if there is an on-campus workshop or other in-person training modules that you need to dedicate your time to.
When to Start Retraining as a Parent
Retraining, regardless of whether this is done through short courses, workshops, or a full degree, can be difficult to manage when you are a busy parent, particularly if your children are young and require ongoing supervision.
With this in mind, it can feel like the best time to get started with retraining is when they are older, and there is truth to this. Teenagers are more capable of filling their own time, and they can also fend for themselves for short periods. In many ways progressing through a degree when your children are teenagers can even help make you into a better role model.
That being said, don’t feel like you cannot start retraining until this time. Older children are also capable of entertaining themselves, and if you have a strong support system, you can retrain even with young children. The only time you need to take the break is within the first year or so after giving birth. This is a very important bonding time between you and your child, and for women, you also need to give yourself time to physically recover from the pregnancy and birth.
How to Juggle Retraining and Parenting
Feeling like you have the support to pursue your dreams is really all that you need to get started. Once you start, however, it’s important to find a balance. Parenting is a full-time job. It is unpredictable, chaotic, wonderful, horrible, and everything in-between. Being consistent can go right out the window the moment your kid gets into a bicycle accident and suddenly needs to go to the hospital or when they get sick and need to be cared for.
That being said, it is possible to study while being a parent.
Make Sure Your Learning Option Supports You
The most important thing when it comes to this juggle is finding the right learning option. With short-term workshops or traineeships, it will be a matter of working with your loved ones or with your finances to figure out a means to watch your children for this short period of time.
For longer-format programs, like degrees, the level of support is going to make all the difference. The degree, for example, should be entirely online, should ideally be flexible, and should help you post-degree as well. Take advantage of the careers service and other additional features of your degree to get the best results and the most out of your training.
Do Your “Homework” Together
Learning online means that you can watch your kids and be present, even while you are making steps towards a new degree and new career. One of the best ways to manage your time this way is by doing your homework together. This way, they will have a greater incentive to do their homework on time, you can study, and when you are done with this learning period, you will be free to watch a movie or just hang out if that is what you all want to do.
Get Your Kids More on Board with Chores
Being a stay-at-home parent is a full-time job that is often combined with being a stay-at-home spouse, where cooking, cleaning, and upkeep are a part of your everyday life. When you work or work and study, these extra responsibilities can make you feel like you are drowning.
Do yourself a favor and get your kids more on board with chores. You can not only teach them how to confidently do everyday tasks around the home but working together can help unify your family and help make your children more responsible adults.
It can feel unfair to the kids, of course, so the best way to both make things fair and to get all the little jobs around the house done fast is to all do your respective jobs at once. Your kids can’t say it is unfair that they need to fold laundry if you are cleaning the bathroom, for example, because everyone is working and everyone is pulling their weight.
These chores will help your children be more independent and help teach good hygiene and responsibility. You will also collectively get these jobs done faster so that you can dedicate more time to your further education, and of course, also spend time with your children.
Get Used to Lifelong Learning
Every career will require you to dedicate yourself to progress your skills. As a mental health counselor, for example, you will want to continue to read journals and studies and use those to help improve the quality of help and care you can provide. The same applies to any role. Looking to start a career in marketing? Reading consumer reports and staying on top of trends is going to be key to staying at the top. Want to work in anything science-related? You’ll need to stay on top of new discoveries and discourse.
Lifelong learning is a great way to do all of this, and you can start this good habit right now while you are retraining. Carry on learning and spending that extra time after work reading or learning something new, and not only will you be better at your dream job, you’ll also feel more engaged and fulfilled.