Stay at Home Mom seeking new career - suggestions?!

[FIRE Realtor]

I'm 37, but feel like I have no idea what to do with my life! 

Background:  Graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering.  Took a job at a manufacturing plant because it was convenient and good money, it turned out to be a terrible fit so after a couple years I applied on a whim to a job at an insurance company I'd heard great things about and accepted a position that paid only slightly less, but was a much more people oriented and nicer work environment. 

Put in a few years at that place, but even though it was a dream job on paper, turns out maybe I'm not just cut out for corporate life or sitting in front of a computer most of the day, so I happily quit when I had my first kid.  That was 9 years ago. 

Since then I have stayed home with my kids and done some nanny work on the side, except for a brief (less than 1 year) period doing some part time administrative / customer service work for a "really cool" locally owned, artsy furniture company that people kill to work at.  That job taught me that I still hate sitting in front of a computer for long periods of time, and need to do something I give a shit about, which is not pretending to be interested in furniture. 

Now my kids are in school and I nanny full time which is amazing because I basically am still a stay at home mom but get paid for it.  The toddler comes to my house so I can get some stuff done during the day and be here whenever my kids need me.  I also get to see my friends during the day.  I am going to continue working with this family for the next six months or so until they put their kid in preschool, and am thinking about the next phase in my life.

What I want:
-part time
-not sitting at computer all day
-doing something meaningful to help people
-strong interest in financial or health related fields 

Any suggestions on what might be a good fit?

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Admin in doctor/dentist office. You'll need to know their patient management software. Admin/reception in a gym? Hospitality work? Pay isn't great but you won't be sitting on your arse. Admin in a school? You could get into repping for health and medical supply companies. It generally involves a fair bit of calling around to see people, sometimes local travel. You'll end up forming working relationships with practice managers and clinical directors all over the place. Industrial engineering and an interest in health could be combined to get into medical specific health and safety. That's a huge field. Every medical/health organisation gets audited for health and safety regularly. You could easily turn that into a freelance position eventually also.

[AliEli]

Medical device sales / education / improvement in practices?

[MommyCake]

Care management?

[AMandM]

Health navigator (I think that's the word)--the person who helps people figure out which health plans they're eligible for, which to choose, etc.

Financial advisor. You might have to start off as a rep for some company, but could eventually set up your own company.

There are lots of nonprofits that would welcome someone to teach financial literacy and/or healthy living to their clients. Maybe you could do this freelance?

[Pigeon]

Activities assistant at a senior or dementia care facility?

What are your income requirements?  With all the restrictions you're putting on the job, there aren't going to be many options that pay very much.

[Lady SA]

My mother began volunteering (and then later got hired) as a part-time early childhood/family education teacher's assistant after her own kids began to be more independent. She gets to hang out with little kids all day doing enrichment activities and helping out with adult classes. She only works like 20 hours a week but she has the option to do more or fewer hours. It doesn't relate to your engineering interests though, but with how much you liked nannying it could be a good fit.

[littleturkey]

Maybe nursing?  You can get a CNA license in a few months and do CNA work to see if you like the field (without having to go all the way through nursing school first, haha).  There is a lot of charting to do in front of a computer, but most of the day is spent with patients.

[wellactually]

You could look into potential positions at your local health department. Also check with the school system. There are a lot of opportunities for home-bound student tutors usually (probably will be posted more as the semester moves along for start dates next year). Tutoring in general might be a good fit since you have a good science/math background. You could also do it on your schedule.

If you don't need the work to be paid, they always need CASAs (court appointed special advocate) for children in the family court system.

Idealist.org is good for searching for non-profit positions which may help you find something that meets the "helps people" need: https://www.idealist.org/en/jobs?q=&searchMode=true

[MayDay]

Do you care about engineering?

Just because one company was a bad fit doesn't mean they all are.

[BlueHouse]

With Industrial Engineering degree, you must have some experience with scheduling and project management.  Could you leverage those skills into a Deputy PM or scheduling job at a non-profit that you care about?