I'm thinking about going back to work but honestly, I'm terrified. I look online at job postings but I just feel like I'm not qualified for anything anymore. I was a senior accountant before I quit to become a SAHM but I don't know if I just blocked it all out of my memory or if watching one too many shows on Noggin erased the knowledge I had but I feel like I know nothing about accounting anymore. I look at job postings and just feel so completely underqualified for jobs that I know I could have done before I became a SAHM and yet I don't want to go back to work to be a receptionist (not that there's anything wrong with that) because I think I'm overqualified for that.

I really don't want to go back into accounting even though that's all I have on my resume but I don't want to go into an entry level job that only pays like $10/hour to start out. Plus, I just feel like I've forgotten so much about accounting that I'd need to take a refresher course at the community college or something (something I'm not opposed to doing) but I just want to get away from accounting.

I just don't know what to do. Any advice?

If you want to change fields, I recommend teaching. Is your degree in accounting? You can check out the schools near you, but some have programs designed for people like you..those that have degrees but want to teach. That is what I did.

I love my job! I'm in elementary but want to move to middle or high. Anyway, the pay is good (well I think so!), and the vacations are excellent :) Teaching is a second career for me, and I love not having to worry about childcare during the school breaks.

Yeah, I should have mentioned...no degree. I got lucky to get the job I had back when I was working. I should probably just go back to school and finish out my degree. I'm not that far from it actually and Jeff thinks I should do this but I just don't know.

I think finishing your degree is the way to go. You'll have a lot more options once you have it, and you can also use the time to figure out what you want to do since you don't want to go back to accounting.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Dennis

I think I'd go back to school if I were in your shoes too... you have an opportunity to find something you really like which will make working a LOT more enjoyable. Good luck!

I agree with the school route. Being so close it'd be a shame not to finish it up - then you can do whatever you want!

OMG, I totally could have written your post! I too am thinking about going back to work but I am soooo overwhelmed. My degree is in interior design and since I haven't technically used my degree since 2003 I am scared to death that I won't be able to find something. And so much has changed in my field in 3 years and I feel so out of it!

**edited***
How about starting PT somewhere and working up to FT? I worked as a temp last year and got my foot in the door doing something totally different. Had I stayed in the same state I may have explored doing that job FT.

Good luck!

I would say finish your degree (is it accounting?) and then go from there. If it is accounting (mine is too :) ), I'd take some classes that qualify toward the degree, but are more diverse than tax, auditing, etc. ( :dead: ) that way you can get a little more exposure of what's out there.

As I said, my degree is in accounting, however, I do not do accounting. I totally happened into business insurance along the way and I enjoy it way more than accounting. My degree does help out, occasionally, and it looks impressive :lol:

Another vote for school - although I like the PT idea as well.

I was close to finishing my degree - but because of a cross country move, I had to stop. Recently, I have started going back to finish my degree - and while it has been stressful at times - it has given me a confidence that I can do the work. You just might need a little confidence boost - and taking a class where you do well might help you get the cahones you need to really put yourself out there. :nod:

I think school or finding something PT or via a temp agency is a good idea. :nod:

And I'm sure you know and remember more than you think you do. I remember feeling like that when I had to go back after my first maternity leave. It all comes back pretty quickly once you're doing it again. :) You'll do great, no matter what you decide!

Ugh, I know I should go back to school but it's just so hard to go back. :lol: I need to get my transcipts and see what my GPA is. Ideally, I'd like to apply to UGA and finish out my degree there but I had a D my very first year of college that brought my overall GPA down so I think I should just start out at our local community college, get my GPA up a litte and then transfer to UGA. The only problem is that I have absolutely no idea what I would want to major in. Basically, I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

Part of the reason I want to go back to work is because I hate that I'm not contributing to our income and if I go back to school, not only will I not be contributing, I'll be taking away even more.

Lynn, I've thought about going back PT and working up to FT or even going through a temp agency. Peyton actually starts Pre-K next September, which is paid for by the state, so our daycare costs would be drastically reduced. That might be a good time to start.

How about doing the the PT/temp thing to try different things out to see what you like and then go back to school once you figure that out? There's no sense in going back if you don't know what you want to study, right? A temp agency or something like that could allow you to experiment a little to see what you enjoy doing and what you're good at. Plus, it would give you more background on your resume. :)

I would say finish your degree (is it accounting?) and then go from there. If it is accounting (mine is too :) )

Sort of. I started out at a university and then transfered to a local community college. My original degree was actually Government and Politics (I don't know what I was thinking) but then at the local CC I was just going towards a degree in business with an emphasis in accounting.

Nichole, temp agencies scare me a bit. :lol: I once had a job where I had to go through every single one of their files and make sure they were alphabetized. Not file anything. Just look at each file and make sure it was in the right order. OMG, it was horrible! I made it 2 days, called the temp agency and told them I wasn't going back to that job. I was only 19 then and didn't have much work experience, though. Hopefully things would be different now. :lol:

Yeah, that would suck. :lol: I think now that you have more experience, you'll have the chance to be placed in better jobs. You should also be able to find more industry-specific temp agencies. That's how I was placed in my first biotech job; it was a scientific temp agency.

I agree with everyone about finishing out your degree. But meanwhile, don't be afraid to try something not necessarily accounting, but related. You could transfer those skills into anything financial, and supplement that by taking some business classes that aren't necessarily accounting (if business is where you want to stay). But having that degree will definitely help you in the long run.

You're just rusty- I bet you could get right back into the accounting stuff if you gave yourself a few weeks.

How about a part time office manager type position to start? We have one, and she works with an outside accountant, but still does a bunch of the financial duties for our company. She also keeps the place running, acts as HR, etc. That would give you a little bit of exposure to a number of different areas within a company, and I'm SURE that many small offices would jump at the chance to have someone with some accounting skills. :nod:

I don't think going to school is taking away. I see it as an investment. And if you don't know (heck, I don't even know what I want to be either), you can always go General studies. It's well rounded and gives you a bit of everything. Maybe then you'd find a focus.

One D - um, that's cakewalk compared to my GPA. I left school in 2001 with two big fat Fs and they let me come back. :lol:

Anywho - it's a tough decision, but I think that whatever you decide, you'll be fine when you get back into it. :up:

One D - um, that's cakewalk compared to my GPA. I left school in 2001 with two big fat Fs and they let me come back. :lol:



Yeah, dont let that stop you! Been there, done that! :lol:

I won't let the D stop me if/when I do go back.:heee: It will just stop me from transfering straight to University of Georgia. Instead, I'll probably have to transfer to the community college and then transfer to UGA.

hey that could be good though! CCs are usually much cheaper than the University!

Jenn, here's another vote for going back to school! Depending on what your cumulative GPA is, that D may not be an issue. I left college in 1994 with a 1.9 GPA :blush: and 7 hours short of my degree. I went back in 1997 to finish and managed to pull all A's in my final classes, which brought my undergrad GPA up to 2.5 Still not impressive by any means, but I finally managed to get my BA.

I've now been back since Jan 2005 working on my elementary education certification. My undergrad is in Communications, and I did use it before becoming a SAHM, but always yearned to be a teacher. I'll be student teaching at 36, but I'm having a lot of fun, and as an adult, my grades are much higher now than they ever were at 19. :lol:

A lot of schools offer an option where you can retake a class to improve the grade. My college offers it now, but didn't before I graduated in 1998, because I would've done so! I got a D in American History my first semester of school, and had to take it again for my current program...A+ this time around! The D is still there since it's part of my BA program, but *I* know the A+ is what really counts.

Temp agencies are also a good way to earn some extra money and get a feel for different jobs. If teaching is something you might be interested in, I know Georgia is in need of teachers and subbing is a great way to get some class time to see if you really think you'll like it. I always thought I would teach high school until I spent a lot of time substituting there. :dead: I felt totally at home in an elementary room, but out of my element with high school kids full of inner city attitude.

Good luck!!!

hey that could be good though! CCs are usually much cheaper than the University!

That's right! Also, I found that once I had my associate's degree that I was able to transfer almost anywhere - and they HAD to give me certain classes because I HAD the degree.