“Tackling Two Tasks: Find a Job, Find Childcare” |
| Tackling Two Tasks: Find a Job, Find Childcare Posted: 04 Feb 2011 04:13 PM PST Yahoo! News asked readers to share their experiences of unemployment and job-hunting. Below is a story from a reader. [Your Voice: Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to share your stories.] In 2006, I was a new graduate with two undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry. I caught my first break when a small test-writing company in Champaign, Ill., hired me on as their leading science expert to write and review grade-school science test questions. Within six months, I had earned a 20 percent raise, traveled to three teacher question reviews and branched into math and English, too. Everything changed when I had my first child in January 2008. My maternity leave only lasted six weeks, and it just wasn't long enough. The company was reluctant to only have me come back half-time. I was not ready to go back full-time, so that was the end of my first real job. Before my baby's first birthday, my family moved to Switzerland so my husband could work on his physics PhD at CERN. Not a Swiss citizen, I wasn't eligible for most jobs; plus, childcare is hard to come by in Geneva. Alas, two years have passed and I am faithfully unemployed. 2011 brought wonderful news: The end of our European life and return to the United States. I have now added to the 9 percent unemployment rate. I am now living with family in Los Alamos, N.M., while hunting for jobs in Champaign that will, at a minimum, break even with daycare costs. Not living in the location where I am applying for jobs seriously increases the complexity of my search. Coordinating an interview multiple states away requires careful and advanced planning. Recently, I have been applying for jobs in science-related fields at hospitals, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at small companies within the area. The process -- building an application, waiting for its review, interviewing and waiting through their decision -- takes an appreciable amount of one's time. This is all being conducted simultaneously with my childcare search -- a fine balancing act. A chart is necessary to keep track of which jobs are full or part-time along with daycare providers who have space for only full-time or part-time kids. Although landing a valuable, high-paying job would be preferred, I fully expect to find myself in a job that is the basis for a career. A position that offers advancement to worthy employees paired with a flexible "Who Moved My Cheese?" attitude is a combination for success. Returning to the States after experiencing life in Europe has given me a profound appreciation for our country's ability to reward those who work hard. Down economies make ripe grounds for enthusiastic individuals with a strong work ethic, and I think I am one among this group. I am privileged to be part of a country that supports quality, rather than entitlement, and I maintain an outlook of hope for myself as well as our country. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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