How could planning to spend some years as a stay-at-home mom affect my career choice?
I know I want to work as a therapist in my future, and I feel that my career would be a very important part of my life. At the same time, I know I also want to have a family, and I'd like to spend at least a few years at home with my children, assuming this is financially feasible for our family. I know there are some careers and some positions where this is easier than in others. Obviously, managers have to return to work more urgently than those below them, etc. Are there any particular careers in the field that would be especially conducive or obstructive to this decision? Any advice would be appreciated. :) #psychology #therapy #parenting #art-therapy #play-therapy #stay-at-home
3 answers
Emily Livermore
Emily’s Answer
Excellent question! That is great to consider, and it seems like you are really thinking ahead to pick a career that aligns with the type of life you want to lead!
In my opinion, being a clinical psychologist or a therapist is a perfect career for having a family! That is one (of the many) reasons I chose this career path. The great thing about being a psychologist or therapist is that you can create your own schedule, your schedule can be flexible, and there are so many job options: could have a private practice, could teach, could do research, could supervise, could work at a hospital, etc. Many psychologists I know do a combination of different things, which is great because there is variability in your day and therefore less likely to get burned out. Additionally, you can take on part time jobs or not depending on the stage of life you are in (ie having a family, getting close to retiring, etc). And even if working full time, it is possible arrange your schedule and hours in a way to be able to go to kids soccer games or other important events. I believe the flexibility of psychology field makes being a psychologist/therapist an excellent career path for someone who wants to work and have a family
Thank you so much for that detailed answer! It's very informative and encouraging. :)
Nora
Lore’s Answer
Working women in the United States have been struggling with this for decades. I've seen it first-hand with colleagues and kin. It remains true today.
In the context of this stark reality, your choice of profession -- therapist -- is a good one. You need to plan carefully, though.
It's crucial that you finish your education, fulfill your licensing requirements and get in a couple years of work to establish your professional bona fides before you take time off to be at home with your children.
And let me be clear: The most important part of the stay-at-home mom equation is having a spouse or partner who truly, fully wants to be the sole income earner in your household.
It's a huge strain for a two-income family to become a single-income family. It completely shifts the balance of power in a relationship between two parents when suddenly one is the sole breadwinner.
You, the prospective mom, need to think long and hard about how being financially dependent on your spouse/partner will make you feel. That, too, is deeply important.
Thanks for your answer and reality check. :) 5.5 years down the line, I'm a mom and in graduate school for my MSW, paying for school with a stipend and relying on my husband's income for our family's expenses. Even though I'm not a stay at home mom yet, my husband is already the most important part of my life functioning. I could never parent and slave at graduate school full time without everything he does for our family. I hope that others who see this answer before starting the journey to motherhood find it helpful and take the time to consider the important issues you raise.
Nora
Thank you for your candor -- it will help others who read this!!
I wish you the best in your career journey.
Lore Croghan
Thank you!!
Nora
Candice Robinson, BS, NCPT-4
Candice’s Answer
The best ways to find virtual healthcare assistant openings, to include mental health or psychology are as follows:
Review a practice's website and look there for job openings. By doing a simple Google Search of the practices name and location you should be able to locate a website for the facility or group. Most websites will also include contact information for the practice including an email address. If there are no job openings posted, you can take a shot by sending them over your resume and letting them know how you are interested in assisting them.
Use job boards such as Indeed or Monster. When using these websites you can simply enter medical assistant or a more specific role you may be looking for and select "Remote" as the location. From there it should filter and display a wide range of opportunities that may be available. These ease of using these sites is that it will often display hundreds of opportunities that you can apply for directly from the website.
Search classified ad websites such as Craigslist. These websites can be extremely helpful in that they devote a section of their website specifically to jobs in the healthcare category. The site can be accessed freely and is one of the most popular platforms of its kind worldwide. You would just navigate to the jobs section, choose healthcare, then select the option of telecommute. From there you will be shown the available opportunities and can sort them by relevance or how long ago posted. This has proven beneficial in finding positions in private, small, and large settings.
Use freelance websites like Upwork, formally known as Elance or oDesk. Upwork is the largest marketplace for freelancers worldwide. This type of website is key to finding virtual healthcare opportunities. For these types of positions you will not be a direct employee of a organization. You will provide the required services as a contractor for entire businesses or individual professionals. With the use of this site you can apply, be interviewed, and track and receive payroll all through the use of the platform. It is becoming increasingly more popular for providing opportunities in the health and medical sectors.
These networking websites are also extremely useful in finding entry level positions or some the rarest openings that you may not have heard of elsewhere. When simply looking through local listings printed or distributed throughout your area, you often have to compete with a wide variety of applicants for one or few openings. Let these resources open your eyes to all the potential there is out there for you to work from home, find your niche, and apply!
Candice recommends the following next steps:
Thanks for this answer, Candice! At this time in my life, I am actually primarily a stay-at-home mom doing exactly what you suggest here: taking advantage of part time, remote work opportunities. Thanks for raising this point, as it's really a growing opportunity in recent years.
Nora