The author works multiple part-time jobs instead of one full-time job. Courtesy of Ashley Archambault 2025-04-22T11:07:02Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? I returned to work when my son was 6 months old but didn't get a full-time job until he was 5. As a single mom, I learned that working one full-time job actually wasn't for me. I preferred the flexibility that working multiple part-time jobs gave me. As a single mom, I returned to work when my son was 6 months old but didn't take on a full-time position until he was 5. During the first few years of his life, I managed multiple part-time gigs, including cleaning homes and offices, teaching yoga classes, doing childcare at a pre-k, and working at the library. At one point, I even started pet-sitting. I still managed to work 40 hours a week with all these jobs combined, but working multiple part-time jobs allowed me to spend the most amount of time with my son.During that time, I was still taking online classes and working on completing my degree. The plan was to eventually obtain a teaching position once my son started kindergarten and was in school for most of the day. I didn't want to work a 9-to-5 job before then because I wanted to spend as much time with my son as possible while he was very young. By working a few different jobs, I was able to make my own schedule and work mostly — if not completely — when my son was with his father.If I did have to work when my son was with me, I did so only while he was in his morning pre-kindergarten class.Designing my schedule, feeling like my own boss, and working multiple positions actually felt really good. Since I have a lot of interests, I liked getting to teach yoga classes a few times a week and also spend some time working at the library. I even enjoyed my time cleaning, as I found it therapeutic and rewarding, because it felt like I was helping people.Money wasn't overly tight, but I sometimes wished I had more income. The biggest downside was that I didn't have the benefits of a full-time position, mainly health insurance. At the time, my income was high enough that I myself did not qualify for Medicaid, but low enough that my son did still qualify. I knew he'd lose that coverage once he turned 5. I thought that when I became a teacher, I would not only be making more money, but I would feel more secure in finally having benefits for my son and me.I quickly regretted taking on a full-time positionI was hired as a teacher when my son was halfway through Florida's voluntary pre-kindergarten program and would be starting kindergarten in the fall. I was relieved at first to have only one job to keep track of, but it didn't take long for me to realize I wasn't thrilled with the change I'd made. Even though my son was now in kindergarten for most of the day, I still had to sign him up for aftercare, as his day was over at 2 p.m., but mine wasn't over until 4. I didn't like being unable to pick him up at the end of his school day like I once had. Even though I was working the same amount of hours before I started teaching, it was the first time I felt the pangs of working motherhood.I was proud of myself for being able to get benefits for both of us, but by the time the health coverage was taken out of my paycheck and I paid for my son's aftercare, I was making the same exact amount of money as I was before I started teaching. It was a bitter pill to feel as though I hadn't increased my income at all and was now spending less time with my son on top of it. I wasn't as happy on a personal level, and that affected my mood outside work.After six years in my full-time job, I went back to working part-time jobsI was surprised that I felt far less fulfilled from teaching than I did when I had a variety of roles. Even though I enjoyed aspects of the job, I wasn't used to having to be in any one place for that long every day. Sometimes, I would actually feel bored and catch myself fantasizing about the life I had given up. For sacrificing those after-school afternoons with my son, I wasn't even any better off financially. Most of all, it killed me that I wasn't as happy as I was when I worked in a handful of different roles.Eventually, after six years of teaching, I accepted that full-time work wasn't the right choice for me as a mom. I've learned that working several small jobs ultimately works better for me than one traditional full-time job, but I wouldn't have known it wasn't the right fit for me without trying it.Unfortunately, it's difficult to find a part-time job that offers health insurance benefits. If I had not remarried a few years ago, I might have had to continue teaching simply for health coverage, but my son and I are now covered through my husband's job. I've returned to working part-time, and my overall income is less on paper, but I feel like the energy I'm regaining and can put back into motherhood is more than well worth it. Recommended video