Dear Ladies,
I have been thinking of posting here for quite sometime and finally found time today. It's is a work from home day due to the snow in north east. I'm starting this thread to exchange ideas on how women who moved from US are spending time , making friends and how many of working women in US have chosen to work in India too.
Here in US with 2 kids and a IT job I'm always on toes. Work from home days are used for school events/Pediatrician visits/cleaninng lady. There's a constant battle to strike the right balance between job and home.
We will be moving to Hyderabad in few months. HAving live doutside for so long lost touch with most of college friends. Hearing from others, IT job demands long hours. So thats ruled out. Have anyone pursued any other oppurtunity . How about in kids schools .
Life in India for R2I women
Life in India for R2I women
sneha0508;364128 HAving live doutside for so long lost touch with most of college friends. Hearing from others, IT job demands long hours. So thats ruled out. Have anyone pursued any other oppurtunity . How about in kids schools .
I know a few parents who work in their childrens school. The newer schools don't always look for teaching experience or teachers training, but have their own selection process( which can be elaborate) and training period.
The hours - 8 to 4.30/5 pm plus commute time, including saturdays sometimes. If you plan to take the school bus, the commute time is longer because of pick ups/ drop offs etc. The pay is very modest, but will get a Tuition waiver/ significant discount on childrens fees- so will add up.
Teachers always have extra duties assigned to them- in charge of this club or that/ activities through out the year - annual days/ events.. that needs putting in extra hours. The vacation time ( summer/ winter) is significantly less for the teacher than the student- because of the commitments / training etc.
if you are like being around kids, involve in activities, teaching - you might enjoy it and perhaps not mind the hours and the pay! or.... might decide that the IT job would be better with a few more hours in, but a much higher pay check!!??
Disclaimer- Don't know anything about IT jobs, hours or the paychecks.
Life in India for R2I women
I was working in the US and life was a breeze. Kids would be in day-care, after school care, husband would drop them in the morning, I would pick them up in the evening, if the kids ever fell sick, one of us would work from home and things were perfect like clock-work.
I moved to India in May, took up a job in September, life is hell right now. I want to quit my job but am not sure what I would do after quitting, so just buying sometime for now. I live with my in-laws, have a domestic help for cleaning the vessels and floor, but still am not able to manage my time. I have to work European hours, I am now trying to push for regular working hours but they do not seem to have any projects with such timings. The commute to work is a pain, I live in south Blore, office is in north Blore, on a good day it take me 1 1/2 hours each way. So even if I find something with regular working hours in the present company, I would anyway be away from home for a minimum of 12-13 hours.To add to that my MIL has serious health issues and I have to be around to take care of her too apart from the kids. I have to get up at 5:30 every morning since the kids have to be out of the house at 7:00 a.m. By the time I hit bed in the night it is usually 11:00-12:00 because of my work hours. So you can only imagine how hectic my hours are.
Kids are complaining that I am never there at home, their school work is getting affected, other family members are complaining that I am not contributing towards any household work etc etc.I went on vacation the last week of December and every single day I would get calls from work. Apparently in India, you need to be available even when you are on vacation. It got to a point where I just switched off my cell phone.
Right now I am on leave without pay, totally confused and trying to figure out what to do next. The good thing about my being home right now, is that everybody is relaxed and happy. I am stress-free. I am able to help the kids with their studies, take care of MIL etc. I am hoping that I will find something closer to home. Cannot think of shifting my residence since this place is convenient for kids's school and husband's office is just 20 mins away.
Sorry for venting out in your thread. But like Cabo suggested, if you are inclined twds teaching that might be a good idea, or else find something with regular hours and closer to home.
I moved to India in May, took up a job in September, life is hell right now. I want to quit my job but am not sure what I would do after quitting, so just buying sometime for now. I live with my in-laws, have a domestic help for cleaning the vessels and floor, but still am not able to manage my time. I have to work European hours, I am now trying to push for regular working hours but they do not seem to have any projects with such timings. The commute to work is a pain, I live in south Blore, office is in north Blore, on a good day it take me 1 1/2 hours each way. So even if I find something with regular working hours in the present company, I would anyway be away from home for a minimum of 12-13 hours.To add to that my MIL has serious health issues and I have to be around to take care of her too apart from the kids. I have to get up at 5:30 every morning since the kids have to be out of the house at 7:00 a.m. By the time I hit bed in the night it is usually 11:00-12:00 because of my work hours. So you can only imagine how hectic my hours are.
Kids are complaining that I am never there at home, their school work is getting affected, other family members are complaining that I am not contributing towards any household work etc etc.I went on vacation the last week of December and every single day I would get calls from work. Apparently in India, you need to be available even when you are on vacation. It got to a point where I just switched off my cell phone.
Right now I am on leave without pay, totally confused and trying to figure out what to do next. The good thing about my being home right now, is that everybody is relaxed and happy. I am stress-free. I am able to help the kids with their studies, take care of MIL etc. I am hoping that I will find something closer to home. Cannot think of shifting my residence since this place is convenient for kids's school and husband's office is just 20 mins away.
Sorry for venting out in your thread. But like Cabo suggested, if you are inclined twds teaching that might be a good idea, or else find something with regular hours and closer to home.
Life in India for R2I women
sneha, most of us know working in India is challenging and hectic but if you have felt working in USA is more hectic then I suggest you take a break for some time while you r2i. Give yourself some time to see how things work in India and then look for a job.
As far as switching to another job stream as in teaching in schools vs IT:
Ps: Cabo, nothing personal against your view but just my opinion.
Sneha, think twice about it. The pay is significantly less and don't underestimate the role of a teacher. Janata is paying fee in lakhs and it isn't a piece of cake to work in school unless you love teaching and passion to be around kids most of the time.
Also, personally I don't buy the argument that teaching can give you more time than working in IT. Any job in Metros with long commutes, pressure at work along with managing home, kids is one and same.
Just imagine managing 40 kids in one class and I can any day say either be SAHM or work long hours in IT, but then it's just me:)
Also there are many threads discussing R2I and women working. Read them to get a clear picture of what it means and takes to work in India.
As far as switching to another job stream as in teaching in schools vs IT:
Ps: Cabo, nothing personal against your view but just my opinion.
Sneha, think twice about it. The pay is significantly less and don't underestimate the role of a teacher. Janata is paying fee in lakhs and it isn't a piece of cake to work in school unless you love teaching and passion to be around kids most of the time.
Also, personally I don't buy the argument that teaching can give you more time than working in IT. Any job in Metros with long commutes, pressure at work along with managing home, kids is one and same.
Just imagine managing 40 kids in one class and I can any day say either be SAHM or work long hours in IT, but then it's just me:)
Also there are many threads discussing R2I and women working. Read them to get a clear picture of what it means and takes to work in India.
Life in India for R2I women
MR
Maybe, I wasn;t clear enough. I was trying to say that teaching wasn't easier- you are away atleast 10-11 hours from home, plus lesson preps may be required at home, a smaller paycheck and a much smaller vacation time then we imagine. But , I also don't know how much worse IT jobs are- in-terms of hours, work related stress etc.
Maybe, I wasn;t clear enough. I was trying to say that teaching wasn't easier- you are away atleast 10-11 hours from home, plus lesson preps may be required at home, a smaller paycheck and a much smaller vacation time then we imagine. But , I also don't know how much worse IT jobs are- in-terms of hours, work related stress etc.
Life in India for R2I women
cabo;364206MR
Maybe, I wasn;t clear enough. I was trying to say that teaching wasn't easier- you are away atleast 10-11 hours from home, plus lesson preps may be required at home, a smaller paycheck and a much smaller vacation time then we imagine. But then, I don't know how much worse IT jobs are- in-terms of hours, work related stress etc.
cabo, not a problem dear:)
IT is stressful but as I mentioned several times in this forum, still manageable(? not sure) when I see doctors(may be just MBBS grads) life in corporate hospitals and doing 32 hours of work in one stretch.
Seriously, I just don't want people to think IT is the most hectic job when there are hundreds of different jobs which are worse than IT. Working and not working is individual choice and I have absolutely no comments on this but bringing IT as a reason is something that I don't completely agree with it.
Life in India for R2I women
My Roots;364208cabo, not a problem dear:)
IT is stressful but as I mentioned several times in this forum, still manageable(? not sure) when I see doctors(may be just MBBS grads) life in corporate hospitals and doing 32 hours of work in one stretch.
Hey! Hey! show some respect !! How are MBBS grads " just MBBS" grads, while BTech ones are not " Just that"? I mean, they have spent longer time - almost 6 years to get that degree!!
You need not reply, please- just kidding!!
Life in India for R2I women
cabo;364232Hey! Hey! show some respect !! How are MBBS grads " just MBBS" grads, while BTech ones are not " Just that"? I mean, they have spent longer time - almost 6 years to get that degree!!
You need not reply, please- just kidding!!
I am all ready to reply, no kidding. I myself was not so convinced to refer them as just MBBS grads and but carried away with our discussion in another thread and also added effect of plain vanilla comment from member cyberbadi.
I sincerely take back my comment.
Having seen how hard,competitive(and higher fees too) in getting MBBS, and all of a sudden MBBS loosing value without MD in last decade is not so right where as some other 4 year degree(read BE, BTch) can still help people make >20 lakhs.... :)
Life in India for R2I women
I guess every job has its pros and cons. Comming back to the Original post can we exchange ideas on options women have other than regular professional carrers like IT,MBBS etc. If one has to choose their field then the process would be straigh forward.everone knows how to get a job in their respective areas. I see that in US people change thir career paths frequently based on the family needs. Assuming that we are ready to take a paycut by not choosing the main area of expertise, IT(in my case) what are the choices. Do the communication skills developed by neing in US for so long help in any way . Can we use these for HR Dept in a corporate, for ex here in US there are diversity classes etc..or working for PR in any firm .
Life in India for R2I women
In the exact same boat, also working from home today due to snow J. I have been working in IT ever since I came to US (13+ years). These thoughts are always lingering in my mind too… how will be my day in India without working (that too In-laws living with us) ? For people with post graduation degree teaching in colleges (lecturer job) could be another option. I have taught in a college for a very short time before coming here and I liked it, so I might look into that. I might also see my eligibility (being a USC) for doing PhD in local universities.