The Perfect Path

All this down-time during my unemployment has got me thinking... maybe it's time for a career change.

Without divulging the specifics of my industry, let's just say that the scope is fairly narrow, depending on the city where you live. And South Carolina isn't exactly a hot-bed for what I *thought* I wanted to be doing with my life. My degree is so specialized that very few schools had it at the time I went to college and even now, while some claim to be comparable, they just aren't. I pigeonholed myself, but it was the perfect fit.

It still is a perfect fit.

I'm just disheartened with the lack of opportunities in this industry in our town. Plus, the fact that nights and weekends are inevitable doesn't make the Mommy in me very happy. Puff doesn't want to be a single parent every Saturday! Nor do I want to leave my little bundle of cuteness in the morning and find her asleep when I get home at night. I need to find some balance and the longer I search for a job, the more I worry that's not possible.

Especially when I had an owner of a company tell me during a recent interview that I was the perfect candidate. And if I weren't pregnant, she would've hired me on the spot.

Some of you (ahem, Julie, lol) got a little fired up by that comment. Sure, it's discrimination and I have rights, etc. But am I going to start a legal battle with someone over a job that would've had me working over 40 hours a week, 3 Saturdays a month (at least), and had me working under a woman who probably would never be too keen on me having to take a sick day with Bimmer? No. It's just not worth it. Perhaps it was the eye-opener I really needed. I love the type of work that I do. I am qualified. I am super good at it too! But maybe this is the time I step back and re-evaluate my priorities. Maybe now is the time I suck it up and find a M-F, 8am-5pm sorta job.

Just one that won't make me want to gouge my eyes out.

I think if I could create my own fabulous job scenario, I would work the mornings as a travel agent and the afternoons at an elementary after school program. And I could free-lance in the industry I love, just to keep my feet wet. And maybe every third Tuesday, I would fill in for the local meteorologist. Oh yeah, and I'd spend about an hour a week coming up with names for Cabbage Patch Dolls. And while I'm throwing the impossible out into the universe, can you please find Puff a new job that he doesn't hate going to every single day? Thanks for having my back.

The sad thing is, there is a job in my industry that is perfect for me. I am chummy with the person who would be my boss. I would have a super flexible work schedule. I would have a great opportunity to further my career and expand the company. Sure, there would be some nights and weekends, but probably only two Friday nights a month with the occasional Saturday thrown in every few months. Plus, I'd get comp time for those weekends. And the pay? Well, it would be at least what I was making at my last job. I also would have the ability to work from home, if necessary, on those "Bimmer's sick" days.

So why am I not already IN that job?

Therein lies the problem... it's back in The Fort, which is my hometown, which is 400+ miles from where we live now. It's a place Puff doesn't really want to live. And I'm not sure I want to live there either. But the perks of that job, coupled with the fact that Bimmer would have family to grow up around? Not to mention the fact that we would have HELP with the kids? ::sigh:: If they just lived in a more desirable city, I don't think the decision would be all that hard. I think we'd be painting the house, planting some flowers, and staking a "For Sale" sign in the yard.

Lots of big, major, potentially life-changing decisions are on the horizon this fall after Bimmer is here. I just hope Puff and I can weed out the best scenario for our family and make the right decision... no matter what type of compromise that may be.