I've posted just a few times before, but I changed my username for this post to protect my privacy. And also because I'm embarrassed and ashamed about my situation. I'm looking for some input on next steps I can take. I could ask my family and friends but I think they are being careful about how they talk to me due to what I am going through. They are all very nice and will probably just tell me to do what I want and things will work out somehow.
I'm currently going through a divorce after being in an abusive marriage for just over 10 years. My husband was a high earner and I have mostly worked part-time from home, at non career-type jobs, while caring for our 3 young children. My husband is in jail and when he gets out he won't be able to make nearly his same salary, not that he would try to anyway, since he quit his job to keep his income down right after I filed. So while the lawyer bills add up on my credit cards, I have been scraping by working several at-home jobs, such as transcription and online tutoring. My original plan was to just work hard at all the part-time jobs while looking for something kid-friendly and with decent benefits, such as with the school district as a media assistant or something. However as my debt rises and my husband keeps delaying the divorce and causing even more legal bills with his nonsense, I am feeling a big sense of urgency to get to a high income level as quickly as possible. I'm already behind on retirement savings and this divorce is probably going to wipe out what little savings I have.
I have an MBA, but I don't have any professional work experience. I married right after finishing my degree, and we had to move a few times for my husband's job. He didn't want me to have a career, so I stuck with the at-home jobs to supplement our income. I've applied for some jobs that I found online and some that I heard about from friends, but I haven't gotten a single interview. I suppose an MBA from over 10 years ago with no relevant work experience just isn't that appealing to employers.
Some of the things I have considered are:
1. Just keep sticking it out with my side hustles. The positive side of this is that they are flexible, I can work early in the morning or late at night, and it is familiar and comfortable. The downsides are the low pay, the jobs can be boring and not fulfilling, and I would like to set a better example for my kids as far as having a career. Also, it comes back to the shame and embarrassment I feel whenever I am around my family, that I spent so much time and money on an education and didn't do anything with it. They don't say anything to make me feel bad, but I'm sure they are thinking it and talking about it to each other.
2. Keep at the side hustles but put more time into the job search. Maybe join Flex jobs to find a better at home job, with benefits. I'm pretty good at transcription, I've worked in customer service.......maybe I could find a job in one of these areas that would have benefits. I would also look at something like working for the school district, although these jobs seem to be very competitive with other returning-to-work parents.
3. The other option I am considering, and this is the one I really want to do but I have some reservations about, is go back to school for a computer science degree. This is something I always regretted not pursuing earlier, instead of the MBA. I found a good program at one of the state schools here. It is mostly online and is specifically geared toward students who already have a degree and are looking for a career change. I feel like this could potentially get me into a higher income and it would also give me something challenging that I enjoy, and would be a distraction from all the bad stuff happening in my life. I could start small, just a couple classes a term, so that I can keep working and still have time to care for my children during this difficult time in their lives. However this option feels so risky. I worry that by the time I finish, the market for this degree will be saturated, and the degree will just be another thing to list on my resume with nothing to show for it. I've done some research on jobs available where I live, and I felt encouraged to actually see jobs with the degree as the only requirement, but it will be a couple years before I am finished unless I go full time.
Anyway, if you are still reading and have some advice then thank you. It feels easier to run this by Internet friends rather than by my real life family and friends, who have definitely been wonderful and supportive, but who I don't feel that I can ask. It's a weird situation. I think they just want to know how I am “feeling” and want to make sure that I'm not falling apart, but to me the easiest way to stay positive in all this is to focus on making my future and my kids' future as bright and successful as possible.