posted
Okay, for the past six years my mother has worked in the cafeteria in my high school. It was good for me and her when I went there, but now that my little sister will be a student she doesn't feel it is as appropriate to work there (long story). In addition she's extremely unhappy with the higher-ups and the fact that they are incomptetant in regards to managerial decisions, and since she has no power to set things right as the cash register woman, she REALLY want to leave.
However, if she doens't have another job lined up in the fall, she'll go back. I don't want her to.
She was really interested in a circulation post at a local library but didn't dare apply when a friend said they were probably filling the post internally and my dad advised against it. She's kind of shy when she thinks she's not wanted.
My mother is a 52 year old who left college after one year because she wasn't doing well because she was working to pay for all of her tuition. She did meet my dad and get an mrs. degree though. She was some sort of manager for a jewelry company, but quit to have kids. She did this thing when I was younger where she shelved magazines at grocery stores with my dad's cousin, but the lunch lady thing was her first real job.
My mom isn't a dumb women despite not having a college education. She was the presdient and treasurer for an investment club, and does our family's taxes herself.
My sister will be in school from roughly 7 until 2:15 and mother's hours would be awesome. The job would be a way to her to make some extra money during the day. We live in New England.
I'm NOT asking for anyone to hire my mom. Her lunch lady job was a lot of physical labor for comparable money than what I made in my on-campus job during the school year. I know that every business etc needs someone to do something. I'm looking for SUGGESTIONS for types of work that would hire someone like my mom. My biggest fear is that she won't find anything and go back to work at my high school. Not obvious places like Wal-mart, but really many things would be better than what she does now. Ever since I've read Nickeled and Dimed, I've been quite distrubed by job prospects in my mom's demographic, but seeing how the work situation is at my college, I know that better jobs have to be somewhere if only you know where to look.
quote:It was good for me and her when I went there, but now that my little sister will be a student she doesn't feel it is as appropriate to work there (long story).
quote:My biggest fear is that she won't find anything and go back to work at my high school.
Why is this your biggest fear? Isn't your mother a responsible adult who can make her own decisions?
Why? And has your mother checked out employment resources like your state's employment bureau (or as they call it here in TX, the "Workforce Commission"?) What does she like to do? What does she not like to do?
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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posted
If it's any consolation, my mom's in similar shape -- except that she hasn't managed to hold down any one job for more than eight months in the last ten years. I'm fully expecting her to move in when she can no longer work.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Is she willing and able to go for further training/schooling to pursue a better job? That will make a difference in my advice.
I'm a big cheerleader for the nursing profession, and at 52, she is not too old to go to school to earn her LPN. It is an 18-month program, but once you are out, there are lots of job opportunities and good pay, benefits.
Perhaps, since she is good at bookkeeping stuff, she may be interested in being an administrative assistant (secretary). Or a receptionist. If she is more comfortable doing the same kind of stuff that she has been doing, what about working in the dietary department of a hospital or nursing home?
But, if she is interested in the library job, she should apply for it. And going to what used to be called the unemployment office (in New Jersey, they now call it "WorkForce", or some such)is a good step not only in finding what kind of work is out there, but also in honing interview skills.
Oh, and P.S., I don't like the term "MRS Degree". Demeaning, it seems to me. I prefer something a little less judgement-loaded, like, "She got married and decided to concentrate on raising a family before she pursued a professional career"
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
My mother in law got a great job cooking for a day care. As far as I know, she doesn't have any special cooking certificates or anything...she just can cook. She LOVES her job.
posted
Would she consider working at a cafeteria in a DIFFERENT school than your sister's? That way, she would still have school hours, and work that she is familiar with, but not in the same setting, or under the same administration.
Or working as a teacher aide in a grade school -- that is very good work. And she might have already networked with some people (through her current job) who could help him find something in this area.
It is hard to find new work when you're in your 50s (based on my mom's experience) -- especially if you are shy and not real good at self-advocating.
quote:It was good for me and her when I went there, but now that my little sister will be a student she doesn't feel it is as appropriate to work there (long story).
Well the short version is because my sister is not as well behaved as my older sister and I were. We didn't mind having our mother be a lunch lady. I had no friends so I didn't care my mother was one of the "sketchy" women who feed us the cafteria food. My older sister was set in her social group and used it to her advantage to get cookies for her friends and made it cool. My little sister is slightly different. She gets into some minor social trouble, and is a big peer pressure target. Right now we're witnessing bigtime the middle school angst phase, and my little sister is faring worse than I expected her to. And while my mother is one of those people who sides with the adminstration on displinary issue and likes to know when and if her kids are wrong, she thinks it will make things worse for my sister since she knows the principals personally. She might act out having a mom at school instead of behaving better.
It's also slightly inappropriate because my father has joined the school committee. Her boss isn't too happy that there is that direct of a liason between the the governor and the school lunch program director. Mom has been complaining about him to my dad for years. My mom also found out his company is installing a couch in the cafeteria as part of some cutesy program that she hasn't informed my dad was actually being carried out. Basically my mom's boss answers to my dad in some respects as of January. Revenge is fun, but it really catches my mom in the middle. It makes her uncomfortable.
quote: quote:My biggest fear is that she won't find anything and go back to work at my high school.
Why is this your biggest fear? Isn't your mother a responsible adult who can make her own decisions?
While my mom is an adult I don't know if she has the guts to quit a job just because she's upset over some little thing. Things have added up at work so she is justified in quitting, but she doesn't quit when things get bad. Loyalty is a wonderful quality but she really needs to stick it to them She's one of the most responsible lunch ladies (another long story) in the cafeteria and yet she's worked there for six years and isn't treated that way. She got her worst raise ever becuase her boss needed to budget his money to get the couch and paint the cafeteria embarrasing colors. My mom also doesn't know when to stop putting up with other people's crap. She's too nice. She actually told her boss she was unsatisfied and will look elseware but besides the library thing she hasn't. It's too late for that job. She and my dad are reshingling the house together so she hasn't been actively seeking anything as far as I know. That's why I'm looking for career suggestions. She felt bad about telling her boss why she felt maligned even though the whole rest of the family feels he deserved to hear she thinks his management sucks. We all believe she should quit, but she won't unless she has somewhere better to work.
Posts: 1757 | Registered: Oct 2004
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