Is it purely because of financial need? For "extras?" Because you love what you do? For future security (retirement, investments, etc)?

Do you consider what you do a career or just a job?


Just curious about how other people view their work.

Financial Responsibility: I work because I must - I earn more than 50% of our income. DH does not earn enough for our household and we already live simply.

Post Secondary Funding: We have four kids, with two in Highschool and two in public school. So the two in HS will be heading off to University or College in a couple of years or so.

Personal Responsibility: My two eldest are also from my first marriage and though my dh does not feel this way, I feel I am personally responsible for them, financially.

Personal Satisfaction: Also, it is important to me to be independent. I have a lot of education, love my job, and have worked hard to get to where I am. So yes, I also work for personal satisfaction.

I work so we can live. :smirk: I am the sole provider for my children and myself.

Is it purely because of financial need? For "extras?" Because you love what you do? For future security (retirement, investments, etc)?
Combination. I wanted to send my son to preschool twice a week. We make too much for headstart and not enough to cover private preschool so the job at night pays for that and extras. I also do enjoy it since its starting me out in the fitness industry.

Do you consider what you do a career or just a job?
Being a circuit coach/fitness trainer at Curves is a job - thats all. But someday fitness will be my career and this will help on my resume. lol

I had kids later in life (30 was 1st) and had already finished my MS and all my professional licensing. So working PT keeps my resume up, my licenses up and paid for. Also pays for extras and a slim savings acct.

On the personal side, I love my full day of working in the office. That is about to change to either more days further away or less but from home. I'm not a WAHM type though.:lol: Can't get motivated, seem to need conference call ability, scanning, copying, etc.

Financial need - I'm putting dh through school.
Personal satisfaction - I love to cook, so I like what I do.
It could possibly be a career, but I have to be realistic. In another life I could pursue a career as a pastry chef, in this one I will probably transition to working part-time in another year or so, so I will probably be at a low level for awhile. But, you never know.

Purely for financial need.

Dh's income is less than stable and not sufficient lately.

I work because I wanted something extra to do and to bring in a little fun money. I now work almost full time to make extra money and to get adult interaction and a break from the kids. I love my job though and I enjoy it keeping me busy.

I also had my kids later in life (I was 6 weeks shy of 33 when I had my first). I'd completely finished school and was in a career that cost an enormous amount of time, sweat, and money and is something I LOVE. It is also something I intentionally chose because it is something that I can work my hours around my children's schedule, but I cannot step out of it completely for the 9 years or so from the time of the birth of my first child until my second child hits 1st grade. I cannot take 9 years off.

So, I'm currently mostly working to maintain a practice and a license and a skill set.

Secondly I'm working because it currently enables me to pay for my dd to attend a really great preschool part time

Then, I'm working because I love it.

Eventually, when both kids are in school and I can work up to 25 hours/week, I'll be able to make enough money for travel and fun family stuff, but right now it's just mostly to keep a practice going (I work 2 days right now).

I work because I like it. I like the work. I like the money. I like being something besides a mom.

I had my children young (20 when I had my first) and I worked **** hard to put myself through college with two young children. For many years I worked my schedule around my kids and made them my first priority. They are still my first priority but they are both in school now and I am really able to pursue my career goals now. I always knew that when they wanted to go back to school, I would want to work. I think it is just my nature.

Dh makes enough to support our family nicely but I enjoy contributing. I also like that we are able to afford some extras. I am happy to be contributing to my own retirement and building some savings (together). It makes me feel secure that if something happened to dh (God forbid) or we split (not likely) I could support myself and my children.

Anyway, there are a lot of reasons I work and I was just curious about your reasons.

I have always worked due to financial need mostly, but I can't say that if we were financially secure that I wouldn't work. I would still work, even if we were well off. I suppose then I could actually even CHOOSE a career, instead of pick jobs based on the pay/commute/flexibility.

I do think that without the financial need for me to work, I would be getting more education.

I don't hate my job, but I am not crazy about it either. Bartending is just a 'job' for now, education will be a 'career'. Speaking of which, I need to get back to writing up my resume. (I am so frustrated with it!)

i will be working because i am a single mom and i have to support the kids. i want them to have a financially stress-free childhood. i grew up very pooor and i don't want my kids to have that kind of stress.

Mostly for financial need but I do like to get out and interact with other adults. I really need that. I do wish that I had a different job that challenged me either in my current feild or something creative. It will come in time. RIght now I just need the paycheck to feed my kids.

I work fulltime for a hat company. Gotta pay those bills. I am lucky that my job lets me work at home. I just go to her house twice a week to pick up and drop off. I also melt glass as a business which I love doing.

I'm not working yet, but I'm actively pursuing employment. This is hard! I haven't worked in almost 3 years. My reason? I need to socialize more and I want extra money (especially with Christmas coming up). I don't have any small children to take care of. I had hoped to be pregnant by now, but since it isn't happening, I might as well try being productive out of the house!

Purely financial- we need to eat somehow! I've been the sole provider in my house since 2001.

Plus, dh got laid off in December and I now make 2x what he does. We barely get by.

I would always work from now on though, because there is nothing worse than the feeling of not knowing how you are going to pay the next bill because someone else let you down. Not that I think that is gonna happen ever again (I would have stayed single if I thought that!), but psychologically, I just can't let myself be dependent on anyone else like that again.

I used to tell myself I worked because we needed my salary - DH and I are both teachers but I have about 8 years seniority on him so my salary is significantly larger. The bottom line is that I love my job. It is more than a job, it's my career and I definitely feel that I am helping society based on what I do here in my inner-city middle school. ;)

I work for personal satisfaction. I don't make enough at what I do right now to support myself, but I've been a single mom before, and I feel that I need to always have something to fall back on just in case. I am very appreciative of the fact that I don't "have" to work. (Though it's close sometimes) I work at home with the knowledge that things change and I may not always have the option to be with my children. I don't *just* stay at home because I can't put myself and my children in a position to be blindsided.

<Hope that doesn't sound like I expect my marriage to fail, because I don't.....but I'm realistic. I was a single mom for 4 years. I've now been a WAHM for 5 years, and I choose to always be prepared.

I work because DH works for himself, and we need medical insurance. Thankfully all I need to work for is medical insurance, so I can take a job that doesn't pay much or require much from me, as long as I can get medical insurance. I am not ambitious, and I'm perfectly fine with just having a -job-, rather than a career. My last jobs have all been customer service type stuff.

I started working toward my degree as a single mother. Then once I graduated, I had acquired 3 more children and a husband, and he promptly got laid off. Then one child was diagnosed with cancer, and I carried the benefits. Now, I work part time hours for full time pay and benies, so that we can have something besides mac and cheese for dinner every night and maybe in 5 years or so we might have some furniture and a vacation! :)

I went back to work because we needed the money. Our plan was for me to stay home till all the kids were in school. I like my job (most times) and if I stayed there I know when I was ready to work full time they would hire me but I don't like that much and don't think I could do it 40 a week. So I think I am going to look for a bartending or waitress job which isn't as 'respectable' but it will pay the same for less hours. I feel guilty when I go out so working also makes me take some time for me. So that's a bonus. I should add I've worked at home for the past seven yrs but leaving the house and actually having to look at myself in the mirror before I walk out the door and having to worry about the kids has been a huge change lol Even though I worked 20-30 I never considered myself a working Mom.

A career, for sure. I'm a teacher.

I don't have to work (financially speaking) but I love it. Our youngest is in school full days this year, so this is my first year teaching!!!

I had been an at-home since getting my bachelors degree twelve years ago.

I did not expect this...but I'm a happier person now that I have a career. I'm more laid-back, more patient, and my husband and I appreciate each other so much more now.

My income is going towards getting us 100% totally out of debt. After we reach that goal, we'll invest my earnings so we can retire comfortably.

I love teaching and I'm good at it....so I'm where I need to be!

Michelle

I work for a lot of reasons. Not because I have to--dh has a good salary and great benefits. We could get by on what he makes, but I don't want us to just get by. I don't like how it feels to be just getting by. Been there, done that, it sucks and I'm never willfully going back.

I work because it's good experience and I'm learning a LOT about my field. I do it because the hours I work count toward necessary practicum hours for my degree and licensure.

I also work because I don't feel like myself when I'm at home all the time. It's a taboo thing to say in our community, I think, but I'm not 100% fulfilled by raising children. I want more than diapers and sesame street. I used to stay at home all day, and by 3 o'clock, I wanted to hide. I wanted to change my name to something besides mommy. Now, I come home at five and I'm sooooo tired, but I also have the ability to be fully present for my kids. Our weekends together are fabulous. I think that really quality time is pretty valuable.

I love what I do - I am a director of R & D for a small upstart company. I'm trying to get this company off the ground and build up enough clientele. My DH makes more than me now, since I'm payed enough to get by with the company expenses as they are. My income currently pays the mortgage, but we could get by on DH's. I have it set up that DH and DD are home for about 30 minutes without me after school - I'm home by 4 as much as possible. DH works nights, so we get an hour together as a family when he works. Some days though, I'd chuck it all and go sew my life away...

I'm not sure why I'm working. Last night I asked myself "why do I care if other women have natural childbirth choices and if they breastfeed their babies or not." Why should I be running this store when it's so much work and takes away from time i could be spending with my family. I still don't really have an answer except that when it's good, it's really good. And it's stressful.