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Next step is to start taking the next step. Make an appointment with a couple temp agencies and see what they have to offer.
Be sure to update occasionally if you can. Always interesting to see what progress is made, things you find different than expectations, etc.
Thanks. I'll be sure to update, although it will be later rather than sooner. I am going to focus on taking some of the suggested online training in MS office and some others while we finish up our school year. I won't be ready to actually start working until summer. Between now and then I'll work on training and networking.
I'm in the same boat, except that I did have a previous 10 career in an entertainment field; that said, after ten years at home & an irrelevant previous career the "employment gap" is what most employers can't get passed.
I did have my own business while at home, but it's not the kind that gives people "accomplishments & awards", so again, irrelevant to HR today.
You apply at Macy's for example, and the computer sorting these apps sees the gap and deletes the application. I spent many hours applying to no avail; and wait: they now have "personality tests" too! Good luck passing through those. No one replies back to tell you "why" they rejected you, so you have no idea why no one answers and what you should improve upon. HRs cannot possibly expect ppl to be current with changes in all industries. I stopped applying all together. I cannot afford college at what it costs these days, we can't take on that kind of debt. I gave up looking for traditional employment; we SAHMs are not welcomed back to work be it one year home or ten.
HRs tax dollars can pay for what I need since they won't let me pay for it myself!
Who gets to do internships without being in college?
Volunteering costs money at your end=gas; or do volunteers get free gas?
Interestingly enough young ppl have problems starting at the bottom while we don't, but that's not appreciated either.
The work world right now is crap; good people are thrown to the curb in lieu of complainers who wish they stayed home and watched TV all day!
I went back after 3 years (2011-), and I had a degree too. It was not easy. Be prepared to hear that NOTHING of your pre-SAHM life/career will matter to them. All it does is scream outdated. You will start out like a teenager if you don't find a way to substantially upgrade. Good luck.
Same here. I was only off for 5 years and suddenly the 10 years prior meant nothing.
I would just do what you love or like a lot. Whether that be art, making jewelry or purple candles that smell like chocolate. Whatever.
The woman names "corporate ladder climbing", "managing a team of construction workers" and "technical writing" as some of her interests, and these are your suggestions? I think you skimmed to the term 'SAHM' and conjured up some female stereotypes. Hey, you forgot "bake cookies and sell them at a farm stand with your bestie". Elsewhere in the thread you have some valid opinions about expectation vs. reality, so you must have gone back and read a little more deeply. But in case this is news to anyone, to tell a woman with high-power career goals (realistic or not) to make jewelry or candles comes off as condescending. Neither do we need to be coddled and given rosy half-truths. Just be straight with us (as many of you have been) and leave out the SAHM cutesy-small-business stereotyping.
Maybe you're thinking bigger than I am. Let me be more specific...
Real Estate Investor - In my area I would likely pay $150k for a single family home in a decent area. That house would rent for $1200-1400/month, depending on location. The mortgage after $50k down would be about $865 PITI. My original thought when considering being a real estate agent was that I would put most of my income toward that down payment, which would hopefully take no more than a couple of years. And then just keep doing the same until I had enough properties that I was spending more time managing the properties than I was showing houses. That is honestly what I have been thinking. Do you think that's unrealistic?
Corporate manager - I'm not thinking large corporation. Honestly, I've worked for two companies, both with less than 100 employees. One was a general contractor. I worked closely with the project managers (there were 5 of them) and what they did didn't seem that difficult. Granted I only saw a small part of it, but it seemed like they mostly were coordinating schedules of the subcontractors, working with the vendors to make sure materials were where they needed to be when they needed to be there, coordinating with architects and engineers, etc. It seemed almost exclusively like a job of moving information from one place to another. Maybe I'm missing something?
My other experience was in the office of a tech company as an admin sales assistant. It seemed that my boss (the sales manager) was responsible for analyzing sales data, deciding who was producing and who wasn't (and needed to go) and organize staff training opportunities and travel. To be honest, she spent most of her time smoking and making personal phone calls. I did all the physical work that made that stuff happen. It certainly didn't seem like a job that would take 20 years to learn the ropes.
I was in my early 20's in both of these positions so maybe my perspective is so dated that my expectations are unreasonable.
Construction - My husband and I have owned quite a few homes. We've always bought fixer uppers and done a lot of the work ourselves. I'm still in good shape and I thought more formal construction experience might be a good segue into the real estate/investing idea. You know, have more skills to DIY repairs rather than eat away at the bottom line hiring people.
Seriously. Am I being completely unrealistic? btw... I'm still 39. Will be 40 this weekend. Maybe my understanding of how much life is left and what can be accomplished is way out there. But please be gentle with your comments. This is a huge transition as you can imagine. It is very hard to find yourself in this position at my age... Having spent many years working and learning a lot of things and no one thinking any of it is valuable. I'm sure as a man you can't imagine how that feels but I promise you it weighs on you.
The jobs you list as being easy usually look like they when someone is good at their job. I would suggest doing some informational interviews to get a much better idea of what these roles truly entail.
But honestly? Yes, you are being unrealistic. Most careers are built over decades and requires years of learning the industry and working your way from the bottom. And, I don't know too many people who are working their way up the ladder who only work 8 to 5. I would encourage you to do more research because I think you will find it more challenging than you think unless you get very lucky.
My other experience was in the office of a tech company as an admin sales assistant.
I was in my early 20's in both of these positions so maybe my perspective is so dated that my expectations are unreasonable.
Construction -
The jobs you mention aren't that hard to do, it's just a lot harder to get hired now than it was 20 years ago, and your age and lack of experience aren't assets. Real estate seems like the best idea, but is also a field that everyone and their (40 year old?) mother gets into.
To the OP: your goals may be a little lofty, but you clearly have a lot of drive and ambition. You have a lot of work to do, but it's not unheard of for someone with talent and charisma to embark on a career a little later in life. I say keep doing your research, apply yourself, and go for it. Something along the lines of real estate may indeed be your best bet. Perhaps something that will take 2 years of training, not 4.
Good luck!
And beware a phenomenon I've noticed of dedicated, hard-working women being pigeon-holed into long-term, immobile positions. You say that you always had an easy time being promoted - be prepared to have to fight for that now, if you do try to work your way up from an administrative-assistant position. I've met far too many women who were exemplary workers but had been in administrative positions for years - they were seen as "good girls", and management was more than happy to keep them right there (whereas less-qualified males, if halfway reliable, are put on the ladder track). You're going to have to push against that, but I think you can do it. Do it for all of us Gen-X women changing careers .
I am at a similar place in my life, home for about 15 years, a bit older than you. With some of the interests you've mentioned, I'll just mention one I've been considering. Home inspection. It may not provide enough interaction with others for you, but it is supposed to be a good "2nd" career choice. It doesn't require a degree, though you do have to take some classes and get certifications. From what I've read, it's a good career choice for women, as there aren't too many out there.
I like that there is some flexibility in scheduling, good salary potential, and I love old houses - so it gives me an excuse to see more of them .
You would be surprised how much university study can be done online.
Do you have volunteer experience? Anything that could translate into employability? You said you homeschooled, how about something using that experience? Selling to homeschoolers, advocacy or something like that?
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