Yes, my mom always worked outside the house. My mom had a BA and MA in romance languages. She taught as an adjunct at a local university until I was about three. Then she started working for various public health agencies with the state. She worked for the state and when she retired, she was the communications director for one of the DHSH divisions. However, when I started middle school, she decided she wanted to be a stay at home mom. That literally lasted one semester. She was miserable. We begged her to go back to work. Until my sister and I both graduated from high school, she worked 3/4 time, 8:30 to 3pm. She wanted to makes sure she was available when we got home from school.
Yes. She was a lawyer, kind of a trailblazer, the second ever female attorney in our area (fortunately many others followed). She had us (twins) two days after her 2L finals and then graduated with honors the next year (I could not do that, childless). As she was getting her practice off the ground, my dad’s job moved, so he resigned rather than uproot our family/her practice, and he became something of a SAHD/part timer/under-employed for a long time, and we spent a lot of time with him. Both of them, really. We were really lucky. My mom also did volunteer stuff, mock trial, she was our Girl Scout leader for a little while, a township solicitor, and she really made moments count with my sister and me. She was amazing and a huge inspiration for almost every aspect of my life.
ETA: As kids, we had a club where we pretended to be lawyers with my mom’s law partners’ kids, and it was so fun. Just this week I’ve been observing my younger daughter enthusiastically coordinate the formation of a club with a handful of her friends. At first, she was both the president and secretary (volunteer roles I currently hold/have recently held)… something seems to be getting through! ❤️
I'm 39, my mom is 68. She stayed at home while we were younger and then worked after my younger sibling turned maybe 11 or 12 until just last year. She has a bachelor's degree and has had more HR/payroll focused roles not specifically related to her degree field. Where I grew up many moms did not work or worked part time/volunteered. My mom's mother stayed at home and then once her kids were in college went back to work. I remember my grandmother was really proud of having her job, earning her own money and my for grandfather letting her work which I don't think was common in their circle. She worked at Altmans in St.David/Radnor until it closed in the late 80s so she worked into her mid 60s. My dad's mother also went back to work once her kids were out of college, but she had to as my grandfather had unexpectedly passed away.
My mom was a middle school teacher until my older brother was born. She was a SAHM for 7 years and then when I started kindergarten she went back to school for her MSW. She worked as a clinical social worker for 35 years. She's been retired the past few years. I'm 48.
My mom finished her engineering degree when I was 10 and when I was in college she went to grad school to become a teacher.
My grandmother went back to college and finished her PhD in mathematics (and was the first woman at the school to do so) the year my uncle graduated high school. My grandfather had his own business, but my grandmother was the real breadwinner.
My mom SAH until I was in HS and my sibling was in middle school. Her 8 hour a week secretarial job eventually turned into an office manager position with about 8 people in the branch office. She loved it. They closed the office my senior year of college, and she SAH for a few years before becoming borde. She then managed the lunch shift at a BBQ restaurant, worked as a leasing agent at an apartment complex, and finished with working in a small shop 1-2 days/week part time before finally retiring.
When I was growing up the vast majority of moms in the neighborhood stayed home unless they were teachers or worked very part time somewhere.
I’m 62 and my mom went back to work when my youngest brother started school…..so this would have been sometime around 1971-72. She was an office manager. My dad was in the military, got transferred again and got another job doing the same thing after we moved. She worked until she went on SS around 1995 or so.
Full time as a RN, on night shifts. She'd come home, sleep, pick us up from school, make dinner/do housework, then go back to sleep. I don't know how she did it. My dad worked standard office hours and was responsible for getting us up and to school in the mornings, but he didn't do very much cooking or housework.
Post by mrsukyankee on Jan 30, 2022 3:15:08 GMT -5
I'm 53. My mom stayed at home until my younger brother was in school and then worked for a church for a few years before going to get her library degree. We were the typical latchkey kids, walking 1/2 mile from the bus stop to our house (while I was growing up, we never locked the back door - rural living). I was about 10 at the time. We'd be home alone (with neighbours around) for about an hour max.
She had some stints as a school secretary when we were older but not regularly. I also did not know any moms that had professional jobs outside of teacher or nurse. It definitely impacted my college / career choices because I had no idea what possibilities there were.
Checking in - my mom went to nursing school (in the ‘70s) when I was a little kid and worked as a RN through my childhood until she retired a few years ago (she now teaches at the school she received her nursing masters). She considered her education a blessing and kept complete control of her finances, even lending my father money when he started his company (he paid her back with interest).
Fun fact : She told me that when she was considering working/a career she had 3 avenues of study/employment- teacher, secretary, nurse. She chose nursing . And in her day, a nursing degree was sometimes considered a “divorce degree” because women purposely pursued the degree for employment opportunities to get out of a bad marriage.
Wow.
Yes! My mom told me the same. She did not call it a divorce degree, though.
I'm 62. Mom did periodically work outside the home, but she was brought up in an era where the woman stayed at home and that's what she wanted, but she had to work due to the family finances. After my little sister was born when I was 10, she became a permanent stay-at-home mom.
When my little sis was 7, my parents divorced. When she married my step dad, she stayed a non-working mom for the rest of her life.
"Why would you ruin perfectly good peanuts by adding candy corn? That's like saying hey, I have these awesome nachos, guess I better add some dryer lint." - Nonny
I’m 39. Mom worked full time until my youngest sister was born, I was 4. She was a secretary. She then worked part-time at Hecht’s until I was 10, then went back to work full-time, again as a secretary. She managed to work her way up over the years.
I'm 37, my mom was a SAHM but was the volunteer coordinator at my elementary school. In 4th grade they added a 3rd secretary and hired my mom. She worked in different schools until her retirement a few years ago.
Her two best friends (and my friends moms) were director of special education in our district and one was a regional director of nursing homes so she traveled a lot. Didn't really think about it but all my friends moms worked (DC suburb).
Post by mysteriouswife on Jan 30, 2022 10:59:50 GMT -5
My mom had no choice but to work. We were poor. Occasionally she worked multiple jobs at the same time. Her main job was an assistant manager at a fast food place. She would clean houses and watch kids at night. After I was in 4th grade she moved to working in the cafeteria of a factory. She was able to stop babysitting. My stepdad also worked odd jobs to keep up. He would mow lawns and do lawn work
Post by wanderlustmom on Jan 30, 2022 11:04:32 GMT -5
Interesting thread! My mom SAH and only worked briefly after her divorce--not by choice. She didn't like outside work even before she was married and said she felt very fulfilled raising us. She was a good mom to us but I can't relate. I am 47. I enjoy work and my career. My little sister is like her and doesn't plan to work outside of the home.
In reading this thread, I'm fascinated thinking about my great aunt who never married nor had kids and worked 40+ years as a benefits coordinator in a huge downtown city office building. She was probably one of very few women in the office and likely saw women come and go as they got married and had kids. (She did not go to college.)
I'm early 40s. My mom was part time while dad moved us around in the military, but both parents were full time when I (the younger/youngest) hit 7th grade. She got her MBA at night and was more of the breadwinner and stable worker after I left for college.
Yes, my mom has a degree in chemical engineering (one of 3 women in her graduating class) and worked as a steam engineer for years. She also taught high school chemistry and physics. She is currently teaching steam engineering.
Post by midwestmama on Jan 30, 2022 12:12:24 GMT -5
I'm almost 40. My parents agreed on my mom being a SAHM until the youngest (me) was in school. My parents got married at 29, and because my mom moved to where my dad was when they got married, she didn't get a new job at the time, as they were hoping to start a family pretty quickly. When I started Kindergarten, my mom started working at my elementary school as a lunch/recess aide. Then a few years later she got a job there as a parapro and worked M-F during school hours. When my dad got a job in another town which required relocation (around when I graduated HS), she quit and was basically retired. (She couldn't get a parapro job in the small town they moved to. So then she spent more time helping her elderly parents.)
For the most part, most of my friends' moms growing up worked part or full time.
I am in my 50's and the oldest of 4. My mom did not work until the youngest was in HS. She worked part time in a funeral home. Very few of my friends moms worked. My dad worked for FDNY and always had a 2nd job.
Post by chickadee77 on Jan 30, 2022 12:19:23 GMT -5
My mom SAH for the most part. She had a successful career prior to getting pregnant. When my sister and brother graduated hs and moved out, she tried to go back to work just PT retail stuff, but hated it.
It's funny, because now I think she could have made a tidy sum from her hobbies, but just did things out of the goodness of her heart. Church bazaar wants goods to sell? Well, sure, I'll make 50 aprons, some tablecloths and napkins, and a few hundred cookies! No need to reimburse me, I just had the fabric lying around anyway! Someone needs food? Of course, come pick the garden! What's ours is yours. And here's some canned pickles, jam, and a few quarts of homemade soup, too.
We didn't have much money growing up, but we definitely shared what we had ❤
My mom was a real estate agent and I'm pretty sure she was FT (I was very little, in the mid-70s) - she went to real estate school while my dad was in the Marines. We moved out of state when I was about 10 y/o and she got her brokers license and worked at a bank in commercial lending all through when I was in HS and beyond (80s into early 90s). Even when my dad retired and they moved to Hilton Head my mom continued to work for a few years (mid-90s), again at a bank FT in commercial lending.
Im 42. My mom worked part time at Clover (like a Philly specific Target) til I was in 3rd grade. She also substitute taught in my school and others a couple years, leading up to her teaching full time.
I worked at Clover in HS! I even went to the Cashier Olympics one year.
My mom was a registered dietician, and she worked part time as a consultant for several nursing homes for most of my childhood. She switched to FT/employee status when my younger brother was maybe in high school.
Post by simpsongal on Jan 30, 2022 14:18:51 GMT -5
She stayed home when we were young (waitressed a bit at night though). When we got older she was a regular substitute teacher, she also worked as a store clerk during summers. Very few moms worked in my area (if they did it was small/part time stuff).
It’s sort shocking to see the extent of sahm re our moms and the flexible/part time other gigs they had as well. Would be interesting to see these responses w/ what your job is now (esp if youre also a working mom). ETA - I’m late 30s
My mom is a badass. She worked as a teacher when I was little and earned an additional degree when my sister and I were in middle and elementary school, respectively. She eventually went into school administration, and **PDQ** when she retired, **deleted**! I am in a completely different field, but I laugh at the idea of being half as successful as she was.
Post by nextbigthing on Jan 30, 2022 18:29:52 GMT -5
My mom stayed home after I was born (oldest with a sister 4 years younger). I was born in 79
When I was in high school she started working for the local yellow pages selling advertising (her degree was Marketing/Business), then a few years later she got into residential real estate and still does that at 71 years old.