# Re-entering the work force after 10 years! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 23, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035 "2008-08-23T18:57:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035/1 "2008-08-23T18:57:19Z")
So I think I’m going back to work. What have I been doing with myself for the past ten years, you might well ask. Well, For most of them I was raising kids. But then when **mudgirl** (now 8) started school full-time, I didn’t re-enter the work force for several reasons: One, my hubby works out of town Tuesday morning thru Friday night, so I was not willing to take a job that required me to work weekends. Two, even though I have work experience, I don’t have a degree or anything. Anything I was likely to find would pay maybe $8.00 or so an hour _and_ require me to work evenings and weekends (it’s my understanding that when a place says “flexible schedule”, what they mean is it’s flexible for _them_, not for you). Three, my kidneys suck, and as such, I’d need to take more sick days than I thought any employer would tolerate. But my oldest daughter has been working at a call center for a while now, and they recruit _very_ actively. In fact, it is my understanding that basically, they’ll hire anyone with a pulse, and let them weed themselves out. She talked to one of the recruiters about me (as it so happens, most of my work experience is in customer service/telephone sales). The recruiter said that they have at least one project that would not require me to work evenings and weekends. And while it will be a while before I have any sick time accrued, if they’re happy with my work, they won’t fire me for taking the sick time I need. I went down last Monday and took the tests (a typing test, and an audio test where you enter information as it’s being given to you through a head set) and, as I expected, breezed right through both of them. They were talking about having me back for an interview this coming Monday, and said they’d email me the application. Well, for some reason, the application they emailed me won’t let me fill in dates (and in a lot of places, it’s a _required_ field), so my daughter asked them, and they said I can come on down to the office on Monday, fill out the application there, have an interview, and most likely be given a start date (which they anticipate will be September 8th). I’m kind of excited. It’s not a lot of money, I’ll be bringing home about $900.00 a month. And I know it’ll be crazy trying to settle into a routine. But it will be good to be “back out there” again. And I can get **mudgirl** into the after-school program, which means I’ll be able to put her on the bus in the morning and pick her up on my way home in the evening. Wish me luck! ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035/2 "2008-08-23T19:00:26Z")
Lady, that is _fantastic_! Good on you for getting out there. As much as the money will help, having a new social outlet will be even better. And the cool thing about working in a call center is that you can usually cruise the web while you work. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035/3 "2008-08-23T19:09:06Z")
Hey - congratulations! That’s very cool. Sometimes I think spending some time with people who aren’t your family is kind of good for a person (even if you really like your family). Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035/4 "2008-08-23T20:05:54Z")
Congrats! And how is the **mudgirl** situation? Any updates that you can share? ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035/5 "2008-08-23T20:49:27Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] Congrats! And how is the **mudgirl** situation? Any updates that you can share? [/QUOTE] No real updates so far. She is getting regular counseling that I would call, uh, non-invasive, which is how I want it. She’s fine. No word from the State yet on whether charges will be brought. She _is_ excited about the prospect of me getting a job, though, as I’ve promised to raise her allowance from $8.00 every two weeks to $10.00 every two weeks! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035/6 "2008-08-23T21:32:23Z")
Congratulations. Mrs. D is going back to work this fall after a 10 year hiatus as well. Our youngest daughter is starting all day kindergarten and we need to start thinking about college funds for our kids, so she’s going back to work. She hasn’t found anything yet, but we are not worried. She has plenty of time to find something she likes. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035/7 "2008-08-23T21:58:17Z")
congrats! i hope things go well for you. don’t forget to bring cookies for the coworkers. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/re-entering-the-work-force-after-10-years/461035/8 "2008-08-23T22:39:04Z")
[QUOTE=rocking chair] congrats! i hope things go well for you. don’t forget to bring cookies for the coworkers. [/QUOTE] Truly, it’s been so long since I’ve been in the work force, I think I _would_ have forgotten this! Thanks for the reminder! of course, if they were Dopers, I’d have to bring pie, not cookies.