Suggest jobs for me please

September 4, 2020 6:47 PM

I am looking for job suggestions. I have a MA in Communication (rhetorical theory, graduated 2001) and I have done uni teaching, non profit work, and retail management in the past. Been a SAHM for quite some time. Now looking for job change. Can you help me?

I quit working when our first child was born in 2007. For three years 2013-2016 I went back to teaching. I do not want to teach at a uni as an adjunct anymore. In 2019 on a whim I took a job working as a kitchen server in an assisted living facility. To my surprise I loved it! I loved the fast pace, the teamwork, the rush to get a meal served. I loved meeting the residents and feeling part of their lives. I loved going home feeling tired but accomplished and not thinking of work until the next day. I left the job bc of toxic coworker/boss situation.

I need a job/career. I loved the kitchen job but the pay is low. What jobs can I get without much more education or training that will pay around $36k USD per year that will also give me the rush of fast paced teamwork?

Bonus if it is in high demand/portable for future moves. I am open to all kinds of suggestions and I know there must be all kinds of things I have never considered. I would be working part time now, full time is possible in a few years.

Note: I thought about nursing but my gosh I am 49 and the amount of grueling classwork and long hours seems unsurmountable.

posted by ChristineSings to Work & Money (6 answers total)

What about PSW? Way less training than nursing but higher pay than food service and potentially in the same environment.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:30 PM on September 4, 2020

You could become a licensed practical nurse or licensed vocational nurse in a year, a certified nursing aide in even less time than that. Some healthcare employers will pay you during your training to be a medical assistant, pharmacy tech, sterile processing tech, lab tech.

In Colorado there are programs like this:
https://www.centura.org/careers/apprenticeships

Pharmacy tech can be surprisingly fast paced. Or you might like something like patient tech or transporter in a hospital. In Colorado, an advanced EMT only needs 470 hours of training, but idk if that 12-16/hour EMTs make would work for you.
posted by zdravo at 8:21 PM on September 4, 2020

What about event management? Obviously this may not be a growth industry right now with Covid, but I work for a hospital and our events team is still figuring out fundraising events, group meetings, etc., just with a lot more virtual work vs. in person stuff. It could use some of your past experience and education and also give you the fast pace and sense of accomplishment and teamwork.
posted by MadamM at 8:54 PM on September 4, 2020

As I read your post, I kept thinking maybe EMT would be a good option for you. I was an EMT and it has much of what you're describing - "the rush of fast-paced teamwork", as you put it, is an excellent summary of what the job is. The training is about $2000 for a fairly intensive summer course (say, 20/hours week commitment including studying), which can also be done in a more spread out way over a semester. There are licensing exams afterwards, which the course should prepare you to take. Pay varies widely by location and employer, but is lower than you'd think. You can probably make $36k/year. You also might want to consider adjacent careers in the ER, which would likely have many of the same characteristics but would likely pay more: for instance, an accelerated nursing course might be a good option (I was considering moving into that field), or I'm sure there are others. Do some ER shadowing if you can. As soon as I got into the ER for the first time, I knew I loved it, which was why I became an EMT. Emergency work is fast-paced, interesting, professional, collegial, with strong work/life boundaries, in which you go home after a day's work knowing you made a real concrete life-or-death difference in the lives of a few people. Really great.
posted by ClaireBear at 5:30 AM on September 5, 2020

Oh, forgot to mention: shifts are typically 12 hours, at least in my area (some companies have 8-hour shifts). The ER proper often has 12-hour shifts too for most positions, although also there are some 8s. Often three 12s/week is full time. I loved this because once you've psyched yourself up to go to work, staying 4 hours longer isn't a huge deal. And having two additional weekdays off per week is fantastic. With kids, I can imagine that it might be harder to make that schedule work, so you could try to find places where they have 8-hour shifts if you prefer, or you could see if your partner would be supportive enough to create a schedule of shared responsibility to make the 12-hour shifts work.

Also you could consider 911 dispatcher, which has much of the excitement and gravitas but isn't doing the hands-on work (but still doing a very valuable coordination job).
posted by ClaireBear at 5:34 AM on September 5, 2020

If you're interested in using your communications background, it might be worth looking into communications positions in government. I'm sure it varies widely place to place, but it's fast-paced (meeting media deadlines, responding quickly to communicate decisions made), can involve a lot of teamwork, seems to attract social people, and might have decent pay and benefits depending on your local situation. Also, it's generally regular office hours (although I imagine that could vary by location/level of government) which can be nice with kids.
posted by bighappyhairydog at 8:03 AM on September 5, 2020