Seasoned Spouses, tell us: What do you do when you have spent your adult life supporting your service member, raising your kids, stringing together paid and unpaid employment—and then you need to find a real job?
We don’t mean just full-time employment. You can probably find something. We mean that ‘real job’ moment?
We mean that moment when you reached that point where you needed a job with full-time hours and full-time pay and full-time responsibility to match your full-time commitment?
We mean that moment when you send up a weather balloon to figure out if your career ambitions are still transmitting?
SpouseBuzz reader Angie is a seasoned spouse who is in that position right now. She has worked full-time, part-time, volunteer time. She is one of those underemployed/unemployed spouses we read about.
Angie wrote, “Often spouses are forced to start from the bottom and work their way up at every duty station. I do not feel that we are prepared to help spouses obtain reasonable employment for their tenure/experience.”
So Angie is asking for some seasoned spouses like you to share their stories. She isn’t interested in numbers or percentages. She wants stories from real people.
So how did you do it? How did you find work that suited your years of experience, Seasoned Spouse?
And if you had trouble finding that work, or if you had to start over again and again, we want to hear about that, too.
Numbers tell one story about spouse employment. Words tell another. Please share your words, your tips and your stories!
