Work options that fit around family commitments

If you’re returning to work after having children, you might be considering a career change. Especially considering the rising cost of childcare. You should consider looking for a job that fits around the school day or term time. What are your options?

Work within education

A great way to fit work around your child’s schooling is to work in a school itself. There are various roles you could consider, but a popular choice, especially if you like being around youngsters, is to retrain as a teaching assistant.

If you prefer to take a more behind-the-scenes role, you could work in the school office, and an office admin diploma could give you an advantage.

Other relevant roles might be found in nurseries, colleges and universities.

Work from home

Choosing to work from home gives you the freedom to manage your work diary around school hours, and often this type of work is linked with being self-employed. There are various options you could consider, and if you need to retrain, there are lots of online training courses that you could do from home.

Sales and marketing is a good area to focus on if you want to work from home, as there is plenty of scope. The growth of the internet has also opened up home working opportunities, so whether you choose to sell products, design websites, manage social media campaigns, work in digital marketing or offer IT support, the world is your oyster.

Other options

Even if the above options don’t suit you, there are many companies out there who are happy to offer staff flexible hours to fit around their family commitments, so see what’s available. If friends or family work for a particular organisation that has child-friendly working hours, find out if any suitable vacancies exist. If you sign up to employment agencies, make it clear what work hours you want, so they can focus on finding roles that meet your criteria. Improving your skills widens your prospects, so taking e-learning or employability courses, in the meantime, can boost your chances of finding just what you’re looking for.