Dah Job

Now, i'm only 17, so my opinion counts for little...But seriously, spend as much time with your child as possible.

What Job?

I don't have a kid, but:

I'm 18, I work a full time job and a part time one. Plus I am a full time college student. (I pay for school myself) Work sucks, but when something unexpected happens, having that extra money is really helpful.

You have to figure out if the difference in income versus expenditures due to the job is worth it.

If you take into account fuel, daycare, eating away from home and possibly clothing if you need to be well dressed for work you might find that you aren't really making that much.

I think one of the biggest considerations has to be "Where do I want to be in 10 years?" or something of that nature. True, right now your job is annoying and you have to spend more time away from your kids than you would like, and the income isn't going to bring in much more than you would pay out for daycare, etc. BUT, you are getting work experience, which can give you a valuable asset when looking for a job you would enjoy more. If you quit now, you sacrifice that experience, which will make it MUCH harder to go back to work once your kid(s) are spending more time away from home or are off to college. So, if your view of your future self involves a satisfying job higher than entry-level or part-time, you may want to keep working with the intention of leveraging that experience as you search for your "dream job". However, if your future self is content with part time work, or just something to keep busy once the kids are away, or if you have a cool hobby that could turn a profit (crafts, stationery, etc.) then you can probably quit and spend more time with your kids before they move off to do their own thing.

That's not totally black and white, of course. There are plenty of "stay at home moms" that go on to successful and meaningful careers once their children leave the nest. From a practical point of view, however, you are more likely to ascend career wise if you have more work experience under your belt.

Very true all of you, what I've decided, actually we've decided since it wasn't just my decision, the hubby had something to say too.. Is quit the present job as I don't see it go where I'd like it to and I'm going to stay home for at least the summer, then look for a part time job that suits my qualifications better, hopefully something more artistic but that's really hard to find here, or anywhere for that matter.

Or maybe I can start something on my own, dun dun dun.. ^_^ Being my own boss would be the best way to go.

At this point a career isn't really what I'm looking for, I just want something meaningful to me that gets us a bit more money, and that can be a number of things.