Four Flexible Jobs To Fit Around Your Family
Once you have children, your whole world changes; suddenly everything from going out for dinner or going on holiday, to the most basic things such as simply leaving the house become huge tasks that need military-style planning. The world of work can be particularly difficult, especially if you have to factor in school pick-ups and drop-offs, after-school care and extracurricular activities, but there is life outside the nine-to-five. If you’re fed up with trying desperately to organize everything around your work hours, then don’t despair – we’ve got four great jobs that come with flexible hours, that you can work around your family.
Teacher’s Assistant
What better way to work around your children than to line your schedule up with theirs, rather than the other way around? A teacher’s assistant works in the classroom setting to provide support to the teacher in a number of ways. They prepare materials for lessons, order equipment, and supplies, assist with reading and maths, and often attend parents evenings.
Working as a teachers assistant means that your main hours will be during school time, although you might have to help with breakfast clubs and after-school activities – you won’t have to work during the school holidays, so that’s one less headache! The qualifications you’ll need to work in this area vary depending on the type of school you want to work in; some private schools will only require you to have a high school diploma, while anyone who intends to teach in a Title 1 school will need a two-year Bachelor’s degree and a teaching assistant’s certificate.
Nurse Or Healthcare Professional
If you’re looking for a job that makes a difference as well as one that comes with flexible hours, try looking into the healthcare industry. Nurse, physicians assistant, MSN nurse educator, dietician, and speech-language pathologist are just some of the roles that allow for hours beyond the nine-to-five. The shift patterns in healthcare tend to be longer with more days off per week – so your working hours would be squeezed into three days rather than five, meaning less time to organize childcare for. To work in healthcare, you’ll need very specific qualifications tailored to the particular role, but you’ll almost certainly need a Bachelor’s degree, a Master’s degree in a relevant subject, and to have taken any licensing exams which will allow you to practice.
Driver
The job that comes with the most flexible hours is probably that of a driver – and if you’ve got a full, clean driving license, there are loads of different roles you can apply for. If you’re a people person, why not work as a taxi or Uber driver? There are several things you need to do before you can hop into the driving seat, from applying for your private hire or chauffeurs license to completing specialist driving courses and organizing your vehicle. However, once you’re set, the sky’s the limit! Alternatively, you could work as a delivery driver – brands such as Amazon and courier companies like UPS all offer delivery drive roles with flexible schedules – or even a school bus driver; like the teacher’s assistant role, the school bus driver only works during term time.
Content Writer or Editor
The ultimate job with flexible working is one which allows you to work remotely from home – and the role of content writer or editor definitely ticks that box. Content writers work on everything from blog posts and articles to copywriting assignments, product descriptions, and reviews, and most of their work is published online.
There are multiple ways to find work as a content writer; jobs are usually posted on employment sites such as Indeed and Monster, and you can also find jobs by joining LinkedIn and creating a profile. Alternatively, you can join up to one of the many freelance writing sites such as Upwork, People Per Hour or Freelancer; these are usually bid-style sites, where you search the lists of roles available and create a proposal. If you’re lucky enough to win the job, the employer will get in touch with you and give you further details. Having a degree in English would be recommended to do this job, and a lot of employers will require you to have previous experience, so a portfolio of published work is handy to have. You might also have to take a short test to show your skills before you’re given any work.
