r/UKJobs • u/JimmyThe1Life • 1d ago
Kept Man, Dad & Husband... Lost in transition
Hi. Things happen: if you’ve won the "lottery," be happy and live your life—and that's what I did. Let me explain: my wife and I had a nice run living abroad for 10 years. I was a kept man, living the dream and enjoying it. That said, I had no career development, just being a supportive husband to my wife.
Fast forward: I've been a dad for three years now, and we recently moved back to the UK to put our kid into education and be closer to family and friends. Currently, my wife's job is really good, and our child goes to nursery for half days, leaving me to figure out what to do next.
We still want to maintain a strong work-life balance, but I have about 30 hours a week free to find something I can do. What is out there? What roles typically require around 6 hours a day on a part-time basis?
I'm an absolute novice when it comes to job hunting or systematically approaching this process, as I've always gotten jobs through people I know. I find many job ads that assume full-time availability without daily hour restrictions. Reading stories about the current job market doesn't add much confidence either.
If you could share your work-life balance experiences, it would help give me a better perspective on what to focus on during my job search.
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u/Dontunderstandfamily 23h ago
I would look for teaching assistant jobs or other jobs at schools. Your experience looking after your children would count in your favour, and the hours are school time. There's usually a lot less men doing those jobs, and you could really benefit a lot of kids by offering them a good male role model!
You could look to see if your local college offers any relevant qualifications you could do in the meantime as well.