In light of our recent situation, I have been debating going back to work full time. My area manager (who also happens to be one of my best friends, score!) has already spoken to the big boss man and he is in the process of pulling strings to see if he can get me back on. (Some background, I went part time a few months after maternity leave, but with the same company.) Now all I have to do is decide whether this is a good idea, or if I will end up hating it like I did last time. Here are some pros/cons I am weighing.
Pros:
- When I initially went part time, I was dealing with some pretty crazy undiagnosed PPD and it was a slightly rash decision on my part. I've been on happy pills since last Nov and I honestly feel a lot better about life in general and feel like I could handle it better than I did last year.
- $$$. Decent salary and potential for insane bonuses. Like ridiculously insane.
- Our part time division is located in the mall store, and it sucks donkey balls. The customer traffic is shitty and my direct supervisor is obnoxious. I really do miss the competitive sales environment and the autonomy of the regular locations.
- The scheduling, like any sales job, includes weekends, which works out well for our complicated child care situation.
- Great benefits, and decent maternity leave for when we decide to go for round 2.
Cons:
- The hours. I would be working 10-8 four days a week, and 12-6 on Sundays. 10-8 totally sucks, because I would spend all of Taylor's awake time in the AM getting ready for work, and she would be in bed by the time I got home. So I would really only see her 2 days a week and for a few hours on Sun. Not to mention this company likes to schedule extended hours and require 6 day work weeks on ridiculous holidays like Columbus Day. Don't even get me started on any major holiday.
- The travel. I would be starting out as a "manager on-duty" which basically means I wouldn't be the manager of any particular store, and would be used for coverage all over the city. OKC is super spread out, and we have locations all over the place. The longest drive I would have to take would be around 40 minutes one-way. Even when I am promoted to a store, the district manager has the power to put me anywhere he damn well pleases, which could mean a long drive every day.
- The risk. Depending on how store traffic is, and what locations I'm placed in, could mean the difference between just earning base salary or making good money. Although the base salary is fair, it wouldn't be worth all the cons if I'm not earning more than that.
- The fact that I'm pissed at them. My H worked for our operations team so I would basically be committing back fully to the company that fired my H. Awkward.
Sorry about the novel. Please weigh in, J12. I probably won't make a decision until after H finds a job, because his potential salary and hours could add more pros and cons to the list.
ETA: I thought of another pro and con.

Re: going back FT? WWJ12 do?
You can always go back to part time, right?
What sucks is that there are lots of decent job postings for clerical work, government jobs, etc here, that would be perfect for letting me see Taylor every day. But if I work M-F we will have to use some kind of daycare, which we can't afford.