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Two degrees and I'm stacking shelves!
Answer by Hetal Shah
Niki asks:
I am making lots of progress in changing various areas of my life (thanks to Fiona's book). However, whilst I am working towards my dream career by doing some part time volunteering I need to bring in an income.I have been working part time late evenings stacking shelves. It is exhausting and soul destroying. I wonder what I am doing as I have two degrees. My husband and kids are fed up with my absence.
I know I need to get a part time day job and put our youngest child into nursery but I seem to have hit a brick wall. I can't even find suitable jobs to apply for. How should I tackle this?
Hetal says:
Firstly well done for taking action and working towards your dream career. You’ve also done the hard bit and identified what you need to do to move you forward - get a day job and put your child in nursery.Before we tackle that I want to get you to stand back and ask yourself a few questions. You say you need to bring in an income – why and exactly how much? Could you cut down on some of your outgoings to help your finances? How much income would be reasonable to bring in and how many hours do you want to work per day? This will give you a rate per hour you want to earn.
Now, you say you have 2 degrees. You also probably have a lot of other skills and experiences. Write all of your skills, experiences, attributes and interests down together with your rate per hour you want to earn. You know have a framework with which to begin researching a day job or even a job working from home. What jobs could match the skills etc you’ve identified – use the internet, local papers, people you know – set aside some time and focus on research. Focus on it. When you identify something of interest ask yourself if it fits with your current situation – you need time for your dream career and your family.
Is the night job sapping your energy to do anything else? Will you be able to research effectively if you continue with your night job? Could you cut it down? You say it is exhausting and soul destroying – what could you do about it to help you move forward so that you can focus on your priorities?
You’ve done the hard bit in identifying what you need to do – now just go and take action!
This is question 17 of 41
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