Working Dilema

[Zoe]

Hey y'all. I know there are lots of these asked, but here's mine:

I've been unemployed since March. I was working part time evenings then. It was kinda nice but I hated that I was stressed out all day trying to get everything I had to do done before like 4pm before I had to go to work.

I like being home with our almost 3 year old, but I feel I may be better off contributing financially again (especially my poor 401K & roth!)

My husband works full time day shift. His schedule is the "same". It's not a typical M-F job. He has some week days off, always Sundays, and then a full weekend twice (?) a month.

The biggest challenge we face is child care. When I was working part time, our parents watched our son when mine and my husband's schedules overlapped. But, I'm thinking about going to work full time. That will be a challenge because I don't think either set of parent's can watch him for that amount of time. We discussed "day care" and preschool and whatnot. I'd have to be making enough to pay for a good, quality day care for it to matter, ya know?

And we just bought a house that needs a few things done (windows, being a main thing). And we'd like to jump start our 'stache again. If I don't work, I might can squeeze only a couple hundred out of the budget right now. We have 0 debt, other than our newly acquired mortgage.

Problem: I don't really have a marketable degree. I have an AA in criminal justice. So, either I get lucky and find a job in the $11-$14 range (that's roughly what manufacturing makes around here.) or I go back to school for.....? I don't know. Someone here mentioned Waste Water Operator in another thread. That sounded pretty interesting with little schooling. I don't think I want a 4yr degree. That same thread mentioned "skills & trades" being the future. I pretty much agree with that. Something that can't be done online.

I do want to be a little picky because I'd like to get settled in a career path. I'm 30 and we have no real retirement savings yet. We have GOT TO GET GOING.

I'm not exactly sure what I'm asking...maybe for opinions on careers that take little to no schooling and make decent money? How do y'all handle two full time working parents with a child(ren)?

[madmax]

Web development is a possibility. There is a huge shortage of talented front end developers right now and plenty of online resources (free and paid) to get started with. If you could build a portfolio of projects, finding a gig should be easy, at least in the Bay Area market.

[Zoe]

Web development is a possibility. There is a huge shortage of talented front end developers right now and plenty of online resources (free and paid) to get started with. If you could build a portfolio of projects, finding a gig should be easy, at least in the Bay Area market.

Interesting. Is it hard? I ask because I don't know jack about computers :/ I might could learn, but if it's really in depth kinda stuff, I'm out.

[madmax]

For somebody without any computer background, the initial learning curve could be steep. But I've seen my wife struggle through for a few months and now the sailing is smoother. Why not sign up for a treehouse trial and try it? I'd imagine that the pay is going to be much better than a Waste Water Operator. Add the possibility of working from home, flex hours etc etc.

 http://teamtreehouse.com/

[Zoe]

For somebody without any computer background, the initial learning curve could be steep. But I've seen my wife struggle through for a few months and now the sailing is smoother. Why not sign up for a treehouse trial and try it? I'd imagine that the pay is going to be much better than a Waste Water Operator. Add the possibility of working from home, flex hours etc etc.

 http://teamtreehouse.com/

Thank you! I will check that out! I'm a quick learner so it might not be as bad as I'm imagining.

[DecD]

Check out these two lists:

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/07/25/50-jobs-over-50000-without-a-degree-part-1/

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/08/05/50-jobs-over-50000-without-a-degree-part-2/

[mozar]

You are in South Carolina? Who are the biggest employers? Can you become a cop?

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

In the meantime, while you ponder your options, you could make as much money per hour  at home in your pajamas doing Leapforce as you could in a manufacturing type job (http://frugalparagon.com/2014/02/05/why-the-frugal-paragon-loves-leapforce-at-home/). No degree required, you just have to be Internet savvy. Works especially well if your kid still naps.

[Zoe]

You are in South Carolina? Who are the biggest employers? Can you become a cop?

Yes. Biggest employers are manufacturing type places (10-12 hours shifts, some swing shifts. My husband did the swing shift thing for a while. Not fun.) And, I probably could, but I don't really want to.

In the meantime, while you ponder your options, you could make as much money per hour  at home in your pajamas doing Leapforce as you could in a manufacturing type job (http://frugalparagon.com/2014/02/05/why-the-frugal-paragon-loves-leapforce-at-home/). No degree required, you just have to be Internet savvy. Works especially well if your kid still naps.

I think I read about leapforce before. Isn't that an on the phone gig?

[Sdsailing]

What about starting a daycare?

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

You are in South Carolina? Who are the biggest employers? Can you become a cop?

Yes. Biggest employers are manufacturing type places (10-12 hours shifts, some swing shifts. My husband did the swing shift thing for a while. Not fun.) And, I probably could, but I don't really want to.

In the meantime, while you ponder your options, you could make as much money per hour  at home in your pajamas doing Leapforce as you could in a manufacturing type job (http://frugalparagon.com/2014/02/05/why-the-frugal-paragon-loves-leapforce-at-home/). No degree required, you just have to be Internet savvy. Works especially well if your kid still naps.

I think I read about leapforce before. Isn't that an on the phone gig?

No phone work with Leapforce. Strictly on the computer. In fact, I have never interacted with a person there by name or by any method other than e-mail. If you have a smartphone or tablet, you can sometimes use that, but I have neither and just don't work in those areas. But it pays by the minute, so it's not appropriate for times when your child is less than fully entertained. (I sometimes sneak in a few minutes during Sesame Street, but otherwise only if they are sleeping.)

[Zoe]

What about starting a daycare?

I've thought about it, but I don't like kids much (other than my own! Haha!)

You are in South Carolina? Who are the biggest employers? Can you become a cop?

Yes. Biggest employers are manufacturing type places (10-12 hours shifts, some swing shifts. My husband did the swing shift thing for a while. Not fun.) And, I probably could, but I don't really want to.

In the meantime, while you ponder your options, you could make as much money per hour  at home in your pajamas doing Leapforce as you could in a manufacturing type job (http://frugalparagon.com/2014/02/05/why-the-frugal-paragon-loves-leapforce-at-home/). No degree required, you just have to be Internet savvy. Works especially well if your kid still naps.

I think I read about leapforce before. Isn't that an on the phone gig?

No phone work with Leapforce. Strictly on the computer. In fact, I have never interacted with a person there by name or by any method other than e-mail. If you have a smartphone or tablet, you can sometimes use that, but I have neither and just don't work in those areas. But it pays by the minute, so it's not appropriate for times when your child is less than fully entertained. (I sometimes sneak in a few minutes during Sesame Street, but otherwise only if they are sleeping.)

I will definitely check them out if there's no phone work! Thank you! He does nap, usually 2 hours.