I'm stuck with a career issue. My wife is currently 35 weeks pregnant with our first child. She has a great career in hospitality, making much more money than I do at my tech support job. Both of our companies require weekend (and holiday) work.

With the baby coming, even if we put him in day care, one of us still needs weekends off... which is definitely impossible for her, and highly unlikely for me. If one of us has to leave our jobs, it's the lower paycheck, which is me.

So I'm looking for a good work from home job. Any suggestions?

This may not be much comfort, but the situation you are describing is happening all over the country right now. If there is a silver lining, it's that you are going to get to spend some time with the baby at a critical time.

As far as career goes, I don't have any specific suggestions. I hope others do. It's good to remember that getting to spend time with the baby is worth a lot.

We worked this out for when our kids were 0 and one years old, thinking once they entered preschool and then kindergarten it would all work out and we could both go back full time and resume our careers.

Then I realized the value, in my opinion and if you can afford it, of not having the kids in full day day care. No judgement on parents who do not. Also the value of being able to pick them up after school lets out at 2:45 in the first grade. So the issue is not just one for the newborn.

I share all this just to say, having a kid required such a shift in our lives and the issue will not go away. Be prepared to make some really tough (or freeing) career decisions that will impact your whole life going forward including housing and disposable income.

Also, there are some studies (reference here) that show the US middle class is sending its kids to day care at a loss. Meaning they are earning less than it costs to send their kids to daycare while they are at work. This is done, I think, to keep your job in hopes of once the kid is in school you willreturn to normal.

Finally, and on a more positive note, I talk to a lot of stay at home dads, and while it is a tough job for either gender, they really dig it. Maybe they are a self selected group, but I gotta think there is some truth there.

Have you considered getting into starting an internet business of some sort? I have no affiliation with anyone, this is just what I'm currently looking into:

www.MasonWorld.com has a lot of good info on starting an online business. His model is to start "niche" sites that can pull in a couple hundred per month. Get 5 or 10 good niche sites and one can make a decent living.

www.internetbusinessmaster.com has a GREAT podcast on running an online business. They teach a different model than Mark Mason, but lots of good info. I'm actually a member of their academy paysite and learning a ton.

Let me know if you decide to look into this, maybe we can chat and help each other? Good luck!

-Ben

My wife works from home writing freelance for a company called www.demandstudios.com/.

I understand what your talking about. We make good money my wife and I but since we had our son. I think my wife cried for about 3 weeks before and after going back to work. She has started a new at home business. It not something you are going to get rich quick but I actually am a huge supporter on it. She has already started to make a little income from it. But don't let the mom thing get to you, if you check out her website. They are trying to get another website more gender neutral soon she said. Feel free to check it out if you want. www.momsworkinginhome.com

My wife ,after trying the part time work thing, finally found out the best option: Open your at-home daycare. Getting certified with your state is a straightforward process, and if you have the room to accommodate a few of other people's kids, you have the benfit of always being at home with your kid AND bringing in money.

The side effect, though, is the jealousy that comes with other kids in the house as well as not having as much time to dedicate to your own child.

Highly recommended solution, though.

I love the day-care idea.

My wife is has the higher of our two incomes, so would keep her job. And I don't think the world is ready for a male-run dayhome/daycare.

Or maybe it is, but I'm not ready to bet our house on it (which is literally what we'd be doing!)

I ran into same problem except I didn't finally make the move until my youngest was 6 years old. It's tough but there are home based businesses that are very lucrative. Just make sure you look at options carefully and run from anything that is get rich quick.

If you have computer skills it can be to your advantage and if you can talk to people you are better than 75% of the people who try to get into this business. There is a hi failure rate but there are things you can do to greatly improve your success rate. Hope this helps.

-Dominick

I realize that asking this question is just begging to be bombarded by spam....BUT seriously, stay-at-home-mommies, have any of you found a REAL way to make money online? I'm not talking about those "affiliate programs" or pyramid schemes where the whole point is just to get other people to join so you can make money off them. But aren't there any legitmate jobs online? I have a 2year old and a 6month old and money is so tight right now but I really want to stay home with them. what about assembling crafts at home? is that a scam somehow too?

I admire your motivation. I have a 3 year old and 8 month old at home with me and there's no spare time to work. The kids happily take it all...

From what I understand the assembling crafts at home/ stuffing envelopes scam is never going to break minimum wage. The only thing that I've seen people succeed at online is buying and re-selling items. And even that requires a place to store it while you try to find a buyer.

Perhaps looking into graphic design, freelance writing, or even web programming courses may help.

"I realize that asking this question is just begging to be bombarded by spam..." Sez the spammer. Creative effort though. (I check a spam site for addresses for new members... guess who's listed?)

Still a good topic though. It is my understanding there ARE legit things out there, a friend of mine is a medical transcriptionist... it's a heavy workload and deadlines are often short, but she apparently makes enough to make it worth it.

Avoid any "stay at home programs" where you have to pay THEM to join. That's a big red flag to scam/pyramid scheme.

The craft assembly/envelope stuffing can be legit, but I've read that the per piece pay is ridiculously low and not worth it.

To be fair, it's been 15+ years since I've looked into any of the work from home stuff.

If you happen to live in one of the cities that TaskRabbit serves, you should look into what it takes to become one of their workers. The work isn't steady or dependable, but it seems very flexible if you decide to be a stay-at-home dad and need a bit of supplemental income.

Hi

I have just started being a stay at home dad after working self employed .. and it was driving me mad not realy earning .. a friend of mine sent me this link

sumixs.com/?ref=1223431

its not a massive amount of money that you earn but its better than nothing and its something to do that doesnt revolve around housework..

cheers

hope it helps

paul

You may want to check Odesk or Freelancer for online jobs. You can bid and who knows you might get the gig. Goodluck!