15 Best Jobs to Balance Your Career and Parenthood
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Are you a working parent?
Do you have the ideal work-life balance?
If not, then know that you can change that.
Times come when we have to make tough choices. Choices which reflect our beliefs and preferences. Sometimes these choices cab get tricky and we may take a long time before deciding on an option.
If you are a parent and need some income, you understand this situation well.
Some parents choose to take their young children to day care as they work to pay the bills.
Others decide to stay at home and take care of their own children. They look for ways of earning without staying away from home.
Deciding these two options may not be easy given the diverse situations which we find ourselves in.
But if you really want to bring up your own children, you can.
You just have to plan in advance.
And even if you’re already a stay-at-home mom or dad in need of some income, there is a way out.
BEST JOBS FOR WORKING PARENTS
Below is a list of different jobs you can consider. These are suitable for different people.
Be assured though that regardless of your personality type, there is something for you.
The common and most important thing about all these jobs is that they offer flexible schedules.
You can easily create your own schedule according to your parenting needs.
These are especially useful if you desire to develop a connection with your kids from an early age.
1. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants are becoming more and more common as businesses seek to minimize HR costs.
Also, the freelancing business model has picked up and more freelancers are looking for contractual business.
The biggest benefit for the business is the reduction in costs associated with tax, continuous training, employment benefits and perks. For you as the parent, you get the flexibility that comes with defining your own terms.
Since being a freelancer is a business and you’re engaging with another business, you get to have a more open discussion around time and deliverables.
If you were to go in as an employee, you would largely have to agree with the terms set by the company.
Virtual assistant jobs may include handling the client’s calendar, responding to emails, booking and re-scheduling appointments etc.
The good thing about these jobs is that they don’t necessarily need prestigious qualifications.
A normal college degree or relevant certificates will do.
As long as you can show that your English is good, you are courteous and keen to details, you’re good to go.
It will be upon you to improve your skills further to stay on top of things and keep your client happy.
2. Event Planner
This is a fun job to do if you thrive in working with people. It’s also one job which will get you out of the house to have meetings.
These can be with the client’s organizing team or the related service providers.
Take the example of a corporate client who wants to have an end-year company party. Instead of taking some of the staff off their work so as to plan this once-a-year event, the company outsources the service.
You will need a team on the inside not necessarily to plan but to facilitate and give the assistance required.
For instance, you will need to work with someone from accounts, the HR department and probably IT.
Here is a video with some tips on how to run an event planning business.
If the company is outsourcing everything, then all you may need are the funds. If some of the requirements are already available in the company, then you can use those for the event. If this wasn’t proposed, you can make the proposal and save the client some money.
If you are good in planning and executing plans, this is a job worth considering.
If your negotiation skills are good, then that’s an added advantage.
Some other skills you need and can certainly improve where necessary are those on communication and teamwork.
You also need to be a good time manager, creative and patient.
3. Web Developer
If you’re the technical-minded person, here is one for you.
Still, with all the technological advances and tech services becoming cheaper, web development has become relatively easy. Anyone can do it; you just need to be open to learning.
In the past, web development involved writing code for the websites.
This was in the form of HTML codes with additional Javascript code for functionality. As things progressed, CSS came in to help with the styling.
Today, many websites can be created with little knowledge of these programming languages. This is courtesy of platforms like WordPress which enable you to design and create a website in no time.
But the web is dynamic too.
For e-commerce websites and those beautifully designed, there may still be need for some coding skills. Where security is concerned, like in e-commerce websites, more skills and expertise is required.
All in all, starting off is simple.
As long as you have a computer and an internet connection, you can learn and progress relatively quickly.
4. Blogger
Blogging has been gaining popularity for a long time and there may be no end to it.
This is because blogs are just as unique as the people behind them. The beauty of blogging is that you are telling your own story. In other cases, you may tell other stories but from a unique perspective.
This is what some news sites do. You can also be a blogging cartoonist, do parody news etc. You can also blog about real news, technology, medical breakthroughs etc. There is no limit in topics.
At the end of the day, it is what you produce that sells.
An important factor to consider in the blogging business is that it may take you some time to start earning.
Earnings are often through ads on your blogs as well as commissions for the products you promote on your blog.
For this to happen, you must have attained a sizable following. From Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and any other platform you use, you must first build an audience.
This initial stage may not be much fun. It’s however worth noting that your efforts will surely pay off.
Here are some seriously successful blogs to give you a hint on how wealthy you can actually become through blogging.
5. Writer/Editor
Writing is another popular freelancing job and there are many people doing it from home at their own convenience.
As a parent, choosing the writing career can be quite fulfilling, especially if you love researching and informing others.
Most writing jobs require some form of research for the material to be written about.
You’ll therefore need to have good research skills. Learn how to search for specific terms, how to analyze the material for accuracy and how to write it in your own words.
Take care to avoid the temptation to plagiarize other people’s work.
Not only is it unethical, it also reduces the quality of your skills because you’re not utilizing them. You will also affect your mind as it embraces laziness and your creativity will reduce.
Editing is slightly different from writing.
It involves proof-reading and correcting the written work. Editing may also involve planning the flow of the text and adding more content.
Whichever of these you pick, your grammar should be good.
Make sure you provide accurate and helpful information. As long as you provide value to your client, you will get the money.
As a writer, you can write and sell your own material or write for other people.
You can also contribute to newspapers and magazines.
6. Data Analyst
Are you the logical type? Do you love looking at data and drawing helpful conclusions from the patterns you see?
The data analyst’s job is a great opportunity to keep your mind working hard.
It entails receiving a set of records from your client and analyzing it.
Having understood the situation of your client, you will be seeking to discover where the problem lies.
For instance, in the retail industry, data analysis may be helpful in understanding why customer numbers are falling.
Instead of just concluding that customers are moving to the new competitor, you can start by understanding what’s going wrong in your client’s own outlets.
If you are to help such a client, you will need to sit with him and hear him out.
He will most likely tell you many things which he thinks are the cause of the problem. Looking at the sales and purchases records however, your analysis skills will help you unearth the patterns.
For instance, you might notice a connection between when the customers started shopping elsewhere and when a certain product stopped being available.
If overall sales started reducing at that time despite other products being available, you might conclude that this is the primary product which attracted customers to the stores.
It’s absence caused customer flow to reduce.
This will help your client make the right decision.
Maybe, instead of channeling funds and energy to countering the competitor’s marketing, he can focus on rebuilding the relationship with the product’s supplier.
7. Ridesharing Driver
Do you love traveling? Or at least moving around? Or helping people move around?
Then ridesharing could be your best option.
You could operate through platforms such as Uber or Lyft.
These give you the opportunity to be online or offline as your parenting schedule allows.
These require that you own a vehicle and be a licensed driver. This is essentially a cab service but slightly different because of the differing business models.
With ridesharing driving, you can work for as little or much time as you decide. You will just need to keep your car in good condition and ensure you are a responsible driver.
And since this is a business, remember to be courteous to your customers.
8. Delivery Driver
Quite similar to the ridesharing job is the delivery driver’s job.
In both, you’ll be working on the road moving from place to place.
With delivery driving however, you’ll be transporting goods, not people.
This job has been taken up by many since it offers great convenience as well as a reasonable pay.
The important thing to note however, is that you must deliver the goods at the right location and on time.
There are two great opportunities for this kind of work. One is with Amazon while the other is called Roadie.
The Amazon job is a program called Amazon Flex.
Once you get the goods to be delivered from the Amazon warehouse, you proceed to do the delivery.
Here is a video of what the Amazon Flex job is really like.
Roadie on the other hand does a similar thing but slightly differently.
It connects its clients with drivers. Any delivery to be done to customers along a certain road, the drivers going that direction get to do the delivery.
The most interesting part of the job is that you don’t just get allocated a delivery route. You only deliver goods to customers along the road you’re already traveling.
If for instance you’re going shopping, you can check Roadie for some deliveries along the highway you’re taking. After delivery, you can do your shopping and return home.
9. Software Developer
Here is another job for the technical-minded. This may however not be very technical if you’re doing it in a small scale.
An example of small-scale software development is the creation of stand-alone apps for smartphones. The entire project is quite small and the app doesn’t have external dependencies.
And just for the record, just because the app is small, e.g. a game, it doesn’t mean that creating it is as easy as ABC. There are principles to be learned and implemented for the success of the project.
There is also a lot of logic involved in the design and development of the app.
That aside, there are some seemingly-small apps which are actually big projects.
A good example is a phone banking app.
The complexity of the project comes from the fact that it has to connect to the bank’s network.
That brings in many challenges, key among them being security.
There are also other small details which have to be taken care of pertaining to the data, its transportation and storage.
If you’re interested in doing big projects, you may need in-depth knowledge of programming languages like Java, Python.
You should also be ready to work with other developers as your client may require that.
For that reason, communication is an important skill to have.
10. Social Media Manager
As a social media manager, you’ll be responsible for making a client’s social media accounts contribute towards his goals.
For example, a retailer seeking to push sales will require you to ensure his social accounts provide information about products. He will also expect some lead generation and conversions.
This job requires you to be quick in moving with the shifting trends as is common in the social media world.
For example, you cannot hang on to text as the primary content while others have moved on to videos.
Depending on the agreement you have with your clients, you may also create the content to be posted.
Alternatively, you may be provided with the content then make the decision about posting.
This job doesn’t need many formal qualifications.
However, you need to be in step with technology and keep abreast of the news. You have to know what is trending and use it to the advantage of your clients.
You need to be able to turn popular stories or themes into something beneficial to the client. It’s all about generating and maintaining traffic to their social accounts.
11. Public Relations Specialist
A public relations specialist is a unique opportunity to really develop a client’s brand.
Public relations is concerned with the perceptions and opinions which people have of your client.
These people are both established and potential customers. And since both categories of people are equally important for business, they should only see the best of your client.
You will have to come up with the kind of communication that manages the negative press that may come your client’s way.
At the same time, you should deliberately push your client’s agenda by communicating that which paints him in good light.
PR is an interesting career path. You will need to be quick to respond to issues since you may be called upon to deal with unexpected challenges. You’re to help your clients overcome obstacles.
You will do best to have a monitoring tools to monitor the mentions of your clients on social media. This will help you respond accordingly and quickly deal with issues before they get out of hand.
Can you manage a fast-paced life on the internet while enjoying the occasional adrenaline rush?
If so, then this is the job for you.
12. Marriage Therapist
This is a very noble job to do and requires considerable levels of patience, wisdom, tact and negotiation.
Considering that marriages face many challenges, marriage therapists can never run out of opportunities to offer their services.
Moreover, you don’t need to visit your clients so as to speak with them. You can utilize videoconferencing solutions like Skype for business.
This job provides you with an opportunity to speak with couples about what troubles their unions.
Common issues arise around finances, responsibilities and communication. The biggest however is communication—more specifically, the lack of it. Lack of communication destroys relationships.
When there is no communication, couples won’t be able to discuss issues. The absence of open discussions about issues result in all manner of challenges.
For example, where there is no communication, you won’t have affection. The lack of affection can cause suspicion and eventual accusations threatening to break the marriage.
Since there is a lot of listening to do, you must be willing and ready to do so. You must be able to identify the underlying issues and use tact to expose them so as to resolve them.
You may require a psychology degree in counseling for this job though it’s not strictly necessary.
13. Graphics Designer
If you are a visual creative, you can grab this opportunity.
Most graphics designers are gifted with great creativity. They can see a design in different perspectives and are also able to tell a story from a picture.
If you’re to do this job, you should be able to reproduce your imaginations on a computer screen. You will be drawing images and creating artworks for your clients.
These can be logos, posters, pamphlets, brochures, magazines and anything related.
Other ways of expressing your graphic designer skills is by creating cartoons which communicate certain messages. You can see examples of these from cartoonists focusing on politics. Here is one.
Most graphic designers use computer software from Adobe like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. You can check these out here.
These however cost money. To get you started on a small budget, consider the open source options.
14. Animator
An animator is a creator of animated graphics.
These are the people who put movement into the graphics they have created.
If you are a graphics designer, you can easily progress to becoming an animation artist.
If you aren’t one but desire to be, then you can start learning animation.
Although you can learn animation in college, you don’t strictly need to.
As long as you have the interest and some time to learn, you’re good to go. The internet will get you started and going.
You can come up with personal projects for training yourself with. You can then use these to build your portfolio.
When pitching to clients and you show them what you’ve done, it becomes easier to get the business.
15. Tax Accountant
If you have studied accounts or have relevant experience, you can do tax accounting. This is a big opportunity to help the many Americans who struggle with filing taxes.
Depending on your expertise and experience, you can have a wide range of clients. You might find it easier getting individuals and startups as your first clients.
But don’t be afraid of big companies. They may be looking for help with their corporate taxes.
The real work is to win some clients.
To do this, it is best to run a tax accounting blog. Keep the design of the blog neat and simple. Choose colors which are inviting and fonts which will make reading comfortable.
Write blog articles which deal with tax issues. Explain the challenges and how to overcome them. Give answers and solutions and remember to market yourself on social media.
Soon enough, you’ll attract clients.
CONCLUSION
These options ensure that you comfortably earn a living while making the best of the time you spend with your child(ren).
If you’re not yet a parent but prefer the flexibility that comes with working from home, then these options will also apply to you.
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