Top 5 Professions for New Moms

So you recently had a baby. You are bleary-eyed and massively sleep-deprived to say the least. In the US, after about six weeks, your paid-maternity leave ends and its time for you to head – or rather wander – back to work. At this point, you really wish you had chosen one of the more “family friendly professions” – professions with plenty of flexibility.

According to a post from February 2011 in The Solutions Journal, A Revolutionary Change: Making the Workplace More Flexible, “approximately four out of every 10 mothers in the United States are primary breadwinners and almost 2/3 are breadwinners or co-breadwinners. This dynamic has transformed American marriages and families, with couples working more collaboratively in order to juggle careers and caregiving.” As a result, of the demographic changes in the workplace, women and men value professions with flexibility more than ever.  The ability to telecommute, have shorter work weeks or flex-time (setting one’s own hours), and ease of finding contract work are some key factors to look for.

Here are some of the top family-friendly professions for moms:

1) Writing:  a journalist or blogger has more flexibility than many other jobs;

2) Sales: Jobs such as executive recruiting or real estate often come with plenty of flexibility;

3) Web design and development: all you need is a reliable Internet connection and you’re in business!

4) Teaching can be great if you’re a parent, since you keep similar hours as your children. Plus, summer vacation!

5) Healthcare: there is such a high demand for nurses, you may be able to get flexibility. Nursing, though, can be very demanding, especially if you are doing the all-night shift, so you will certainly be trading off sleep for family time.

Here’s a list of the 100 Best Jobs for Moms from HuffingtonPost.com.

Please click here for more posts by Milbert Kiggundu-Bentham.

Milbert Kiggundu-Bentham is a former fixed-income professional turned stay at home mom. She is working on a children’s book and a clothing line, and lives in New York City with her husband and three kids. She enjoys reading, writing and travel. You can find more from her on her blog, Facebook, Twitter (@ihaveyouneed) and Pinterest.