Being in my late twenties, I have not encountered the sexism that generations before me struggled with. Sometimes I feel I am part of the first generation that is fighting not for a career but to have it all. The jobs, the kids, the whole enchilada. So why choose editing as a career?
In the electronic age, editing can be done in highly efficient online formats, and it can be done almost anywhere. If you have a computer, some basic software, and access to the Internet, you’re set.
The flexibility of my 50%-time schedule is an extremely attractive aspect of my job, for me and for any mom. It’s even more attractive when you’re working for private clients on contract.
Just last week, my daughter woke up late one night with a high fever. Obviously, I couldn’t get much work done the next day, but no worries. Since editors work on deadlines and not by set shifts, I can, to a large extent, adjust my schedule around my family’s needs. If my daughter is sick one day, I will simply have to put in a few hours of extra work during the next few days. For my contract clients, I can also work early in the morning (usually in my pj’s with a cup of coffee) or late at night when the house finally settles into the quiet that moms relish (also in my pj’s, this time with a cup of tea at my side). This allows me to get in thirty or forty hours of work a week — twenty at the day job and the rest on contract — and still care for my family.
Editorial work allows me to organize my life so that my work does not define my day; my child does. A sick child cannot wait for a mother’s comforting embrace; a book in need of proofreading can be put aside for a short while.
-TM
Tags: careers, editorial work, SAHPs, stay-at-home moms
August 2, 2008 at 1:53 am
Kudos for staying home! My mother was a freelance photographer. My sisters and I would not have had it any other way. Now that I am out of the nest, I know I’ll only work if it’s from home.
On behalf of your daughter, thank you!
August 2, 2008 at 4:13 am
Many thanks for your “child of a work-from-home mom”perspective. My daughter is only four and does not yet understand that many moms have to leave their homes to work. I hope she too will one day appreciate the luxury my jobs permits.
August 2, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I’m sure she will.
August 5, 2008 at 3:55 am
[...] Minchella presents An Ideal Job–for Moms posted at The Copyeditor’s [...]
August 9, 2008 at 10:03 am
[...] Stories hosted by Value For Your Life. I participated with my post on picnics. I really enjoyed this post on editing by The Copyeditor’s Desk. For another of their great posts, this time on an ideal job, read [...]
August 14, 2008 at 5:00 pm
[...] to live on for a two or three months if you lose your job. And finally, we were delighted to see my business partner’s first contribution to the Carnival of Money Stories, an essay at The Copyeditor’s Desk on how well editorial work fits the needs of a working [...]
August 22, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Nice new layout.
August 22, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I’m the mother of three kids, and have been a ‘SAHM, WAHM’ since I was expecting my first. I did charity fundraising for year (yep, phone work) as a supervisor and in the trenches, then started freelancing this past spring. I make a very comfotable living off of the two jobs (just playing supervisor now for my work at home crew of phone callers, writing full time) and am so lucky to have this life!