HTT: Employment

lilmufish

How will your employment help or hurt your chances of adopting? For example, is your employer flexible? Are you in a field that provides you with good experiences that will help you in the process? 

pepomntpat

I have a very flexible schedule.  DH has a somewhat flexible schedule depending on the time of year.  Those things are both good.  The bad part is when something is scheduled it is nearly impossible to change it, so we both have to make sure we schedule around each other.

lilmufish

My past employer was absolutely 100% NOT flexible.  They fussed at parents for leaving for an hour to bring sick children home from school, there's no way they could be flexible in us being foster to adopt parents. I rarely even got lunch breaks!!!  I recently left, so now I'm staying home - which equals 100% flexibility   

Dh's employer is very flexible with in reason -- to which we are very lucky for.

As far as our career fields, I'm in the counseling field so I have a solid background on childhood disorders, treatment plans etc.  I keep having to remind myself that it will be different parenting a child with x y or z instead of just having them in the office in a therapy type of setting.

FinallyMrs.G

DH employer is not flexible, we're not real sure how to handle that when we get a call that we have been chosen and we need to fly out of state if that is the situation we will be faced with.

My employer is a little better but I'm sure I will get crap when the time comes. My boss does know that we have started the process and asked right away what I'm going to do about child care. I told him I had it taken care of. (he's not aware of me taking 3 months off yet though) We will see....

Dr.Loretta

DH's company has a very generous adoption reimbursement program, and his boss is one of our references, so from his end I think it will go fine. He's in an 8-5 job that for now is very predictable.

My job is very flexible, and I have a CW who adopted and is cheering me on (and giving me tips

Honeydew1894

We are both teachers so there is some flexibility. I plan to take the standard maternity leave, maybe more if it isn't near summer vacation.

EmmieB

I'm trying to be a novelist (which the government regards as "unemployed") and Husband works for a company that's fairly relaxed about where/when you work (he's a software engineer.)

So we'll be fairly flexible. 

silliestbunny

I have ten years at my organization, and I have a good record...so time away shouldn't been too difficult. 

My husband is a teacher.  I do worry that if we are matched during the school year that he may not be able to stay with me the while we await the ICPC.  That bums me out but I am sure my sister, mom, or BFF will be able to spend some of the time with me. 

I work in healthcare, and I think it may be an attractive career to BMs. 

noonecarewhoiam

For me, it's not an issue of my employment hurting the adoption, it's the impact of my employment on my family.

Adoption is for a set period of time--parenting is for 18 years.

We have a decent balance--my husband is a teacher, which means he has a set schedule but absolutely no flexibility. I have flexibility (heck, my boss doesn't even know where I am day to day) but no set schedule. So we're able to work it all out.

katerena

This is where I thank my lucky stars.  My employer is extremely flexible.  They support a full year of maternity leave (even though in Canada I would only be entitled to 8 months) and they reimburse me $10,000 of adoption related expenses as soon as we are placed with a child. 

Amy720

I'm a teacher and through all the IF treatments, the principal was very sympathetic.  I came in 45 min- 1 hour late sometimes 2-3 times a week.  She also had IF problems and adopted a daughter who is now 15.  When I got the call about Ben, it was on the first day of my summer vacation.  I called her and she said not to worry about a thing and actually found a sub for my family leave. 

DH was able to take the about 4 weeks off when we brought Ben home.  They were very nice and told him to come back when everything was settled down.  It helped having him here with me for a while.  Ben was in a routine and sleeping good by the time we both had to go back to work.