I have a part-time WAH job (I work on a contract for a company) that I've been doing for about 2-1/2 years. Because I'm self-employed, my hours are flexible and I can work at night when DH and DD are sleeping, but there is a minimum amount of work I am expected to complete each week and often I stay up later than I would prefer because I have to get work done. The pay is pretty low, probably around minimum wage or less (I get paid per unit of work completed so I don't keep close track of my actual hours worked).
Since I started this job, the compensation rate has decreased, the work expectations have increased, and they recently implemented a punitive pay structure if certain mistakes are made. I haven't yet made the mistake that they are penalizing but that's not to say it will never happen; I am human after all.
I'm struggling with whether I should hang in there and keep working or if I should just quit. DH says he supports me either way. We don't need to money to pay our bills but it is nice to have an extra two or three hundred bucks each month for fun stuff. The work itself isn't usually difficult but I often have to stay up late into the evening to get it done and it stinks to be up working late on a Friday evening after DH has already started his weekend. I don't love the work and it doesn't relate in any way to my previous career or future aspirations.
The one thing I wonder about is how quitting would affect me if I ever tried to go back to a full-time job somewhere. I don't have any plans to return to full-time work and DH's job and our marriage are very stable, but you never know what live will throw at you. I've been away from my previous career too long to get back in but at least with this part-time job I can say that I have been working at something. Am I right in thinking that this would be beneficial on a resume vs. being a full-time SAHM with no recent work history?
If you've read this far, good for you! Do you have any opinions or advice to share with me?
Re: Advice about my p/t WAH job...to quit or not to quit?
Yes, you are correct that having a job looks a lot better on a resume than a huge gap in your resume.
With that being said, if your job only nets you an extra $200 or so a month, why not find a hostess/waitressing gig a night or 2 a week? That would bring you home the same amount of money per month, but be a lot easier than triyng to work a job for less than minimum wage you have to stay up until all hours doing.
I think you could find something more enjoyable and lucrative for the same time commitment. I would start looking for a better part time opportunity and see what comes up. I wouldn't want to make myself unhappy over a job I didn't need that didn't relate to any carer goals.
You are right in thinking that it would be good to have something on your resume, but that could be community involvement and volunteer work just as easily as an unrelated part time job.
Personally, I don't think working a part-time, unrelated WAH job will help your resume much. In my experience, employers just don't care about those kinds of jobs.
However, if you like having that extra money it may be worth it to keep the job. It just depends on how much the hours are getting to you. Being squeezed for extra work on for reduced compensation certainly would make me mad, though!
I think if you re-read what you posted, you'll see that you ought to quit. It sounds like the job sucks, you hate it, & don't need it.
Like a pp said, if it's extra $$ that you want, get another PT gig. I will say that waiting tables won't help your resume, but like the other pp said, most employers won't care about a PT job anyway. If you're only keeping the job in case the sky falls one day, that doesn't sound like a good enough reason to me. As someone who's family has been there (DH was laid off multiple times when I was pregnant due to the real estate crash, he SAH for the 1st 18 months, I'm now SAH, & we've lost 40% of our income from when we were both working), you can figure it out if it happens & make it work.