What if you could really have it all, including quality time with your kids and a fulfilling career? Motherhood no longer means checking your professional ambitions at the door. Choose a mom-friendly career and discover the secret to managing career and family: managing your time.
Kid-friendly hours
The corporate nine-to-five-and-beyond work schedule does not allow much quality time with the kids. For kid-friendly hours, turn to careers in education and health care.
1. Teacher
Teaching may be the only career where hours can somewhat mirror the kids' schedule. While the kids are at school, mom is in the classroom. When they return home, mom continues class preparation work at home. And as if perfect timing weren't enough, teacher-moms also enjoy enviable health and financial benefits. Private school and college teachers, for example, may qualify for tuition breaks for their kids.
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Elementary, middle and high school teachers can start their careers with a bachelor's degree in any field plus a one-year teacher training program. If you are starting from scratch, consider a bachelor's degree in education that incorporates a practice teaching component. Public school teachers will need to pass a state licensure exam. Some states also require teachers to complete a master's degree in education within a few years of teaching. These programs are typically available online, making them accessible to busy career moms. Elementary and high school teachers earned average salaries of $52,240 and $54,390 in 2008, respectively.
2. Nurse
Round-the-clock demand for nurses adds up to flexible hours for career moms. Career counselor Nancy Collamer explains: "There is such high demand [for nurses] that people are really able to name their own hours." Nurses can juggle patient care and child care by choosing evening or early-morning hours or limiting the number of shifts per week. Journalist Caroline Wilbert recalls a mother of three sons who works one nursing shift per week. The schedule offers an unbeatable work-life balance -- and the option to ramp up when the kids grow older.
To control your own hours as a registered nurse, pursue one of three career training programs: an associate degree in nursing (ADN), a bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN) or a three-year nursing diploma. All three options are available online, and include an on-site clinical rotation at a local health care facility. Registered nurses earned a 2008 average salary of $65,130.
3. Dental hygienist
Kid-friendly hours are part of the dental hygienist's job description. According to the Department of Labor, "More than half of dental hygienists work part time, and flexible scheduling is a distinctive feature of this job." Hygienists typically work two or three days a week, and night and weekend schedules are available.
Hygienists train for the career through an accredited dental hygiene program. Programs typically grant an associate degree, though some offer certificate and bachelor's degree programs as well. Hygienists learn important dental care practices, which they pass on to their children as well as their patients. The average salary for dental hygienists was $66,950 in 2008, or $32.19 per hour.
By appointment only
For the utmost control over your schedule, pursue an appointment-based career. Health care, financial and service professions let their appointment book call the shots.
4. Financial advisor
Personal financial advisors plan their clients' financial futures -- one appointment at a time. If you're savvy with numbers and have a background in money management, financial advising offers a kid-friendly career path. You'll help clients make investment choices, manage their wealth and save for kids' college tuition and retirement.
Most financial advisors have a bachelor's degree in a financial field such as accounting or finance. Courses in investment, taxes, estate planning and financial planning offer solid career training and are available online. Financial advisors earned an average salary of $92,970 in 2008.
Home work
Being a stay-at-home mom doesn't mean you have to give up your day job. More and more career professionals are telecommuting from home offices. Set up a home office, and you can care for the kids while you work.
5. Medical biller and coder
Medical administrative work increasingly happens outside the clinic, through third-party medical billing services. These services employ teams of trained agents who work from home, completing the electronic billing forms that clinics submit to insurance companies for payment.
Health information technicians qualify for a medical billing job by completing an associate degree in medical billing and coding or health information. Online degree programs offer a convenient way to build your skills while you watch the kids. Medical billing technicians earned $32,960, or $15.85 an hour in 2008.
Bringing it all together
Last but not least, there are the jobs that combine all the elements of a mom-friendly career: flexible hours, appointments with clients, and working from home.
6. Sales representative
Sales representatives who prospect locally or by phone or email can work from home, set their own hours and meet with clients at appointed times. A pay structure based on commissions offers the opportunity to scale back hours if child care demands, or ramp up if finances demand.
Good communication skills and a winning personality offer the main qualifications for sales. In addition, most representatives have a bachelor's degree in a business-related field such as marketing, economics or finance. A career in scientific sales typically requires a technical background. The 2008 average salary for sales representatives was $61,470, but earnings vary widely based on commission.
Being a mom is a full-time job, but it doesn't come with the salary, benefits and professional challenge many moms need. Fortunately, plenty of today's job descriptions leave room for motherhood. Find a career that lets you take charge of your schedule and become the mom you want to be.
