O.K. some already know that we are struggling financially. I am on the verge of putting my application in at a daycare in town. Here's the thing they have a new boss there and three women has already quit. Rumor has it that the new boss is difficult. I assume after having three to quit that I would more and likely get the job and I did work at a daycare once before. I am so stressed about the bills that I don't want to add to that stress by having a difficult boss. Plus we do have one car and it would be alot of shuffling back and forth. It would just be min. wage and there would be no medical benefits. I would be working part time I'd imagine. The good thing is that it would be a little extra money and hopefully we could try to get caught up on bills. I just want to be sure that it would be worth it after factoring in gas and of course more stress. I am very shy and every time I do step out to do something it's like conquering a fear within myself. I don't want to start only to want to quit in a few weeks. It's like saying that I couldn't handle it and I'm that stubborn to keep at something just to prove to myself and others that I could do it. I guess I was just wondering what everyone else would do? The logical thing would be to try and get the job but something's holding me back. (Maybe it's just the fear of the unknown?)

I think first of all you should try to estimate how much you would be making and how much you would be spending because of working, ex: childcare, gas, lunches, etc., to see if it is worth while to work. If it is, then you need to decide what you want to do. I can totally relate to you having fears of the unknown, I am exactly the same way! A lot of the time we have no confidence in ourselves but we should! Other people have confidence is us...so should we. I'm sure you can do whatever you set your mind to ! Who knows...just because those people didn't get along with the new boss, doesn't mean you won't! You could hit it off great with her! Change is a very scary thing for some people (me included) but if you never try anything, you will never know what you might be missing. I'm not saying to take the job because only you can decide what you can handle right now. I hope you succeed no matter which decision you make! (((HUGS)))

I've rejected jobs based purely on "gut feeling" and it turned out for the best every time. Listen to your gut.
Also, I wouldn't go by the fact that 3 people quit bc of the new boss. Do you know them? May be they weren't good workers and the new boss is trying to run a good day care. There are three sides to every story.
So, first I would do the practical thing - look at how much you would be spending in time and money to work there and weigh that against the benefits.
And then I would listen to my gut, because sometimes things might look good on paper, but not really be that good in reality.
Good luck!!

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Lena

I am also scared of the "unknown". You could visit the daycare, have an interview, and don't accept immediately. Ask for a few days to think about it, dicuss it w/ your husband, whatever. Do you know any parents of kids there? What do they feel about the director? I agree she may be trying to run a great center, and maybe the workers did not like the rules.

I've had good luck w/ "difficult" bosses. I found out what makes them tick. What I found usually, unless they are total jerks, of course, then there's no saving them, is that once you earn their trust you have their undying loyalty and the perks that go with it.

That said, there are just too many red flags in your post that make me think you should pass on this one - assertiveness is needed to work with difficult people. The pay just seems too low....I didn't see enough "green lights" in this situation, and your reservations make it even more iffy - go w/your instincts. IMO, keep looking.

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I would hand in an application. It's not a commitment. If you get an interview - go. It is also not a commitment. You could size up the new boss at the interview. Nothing ventured; nothing gained. You only have a decision to make IF you are offered a job. If you don't try, you will always have questions and be second-guessing yourself about what you should have done or could have done. As long as you are packing your lunch, your DH's and your kids lunches for school, you won't be out much more money. You don't have to have fancy clothes for work at a daycare. Your only problem would be the logistics of transportation with one car and the extra gas. If you work when your children are in school, then you don't have childcare costs.

Does your elementary school have a Boys and Girls Club? Our fees are $25 for the school year and the kids are kept from 3 pm up until 6 pm Mon-Fri on school days. I don't know if that is an option for you if you need childcare afterschool.

Good luck. Don't torture yourself over this. You won't get over your shyness and unassertiveness by staying in your comfort zone. Consider working just until you get caught up financially (but don't tell your prospective boss about this plan.)

One more thing. Your husband takes you as a tax deduction ($3300, I think) off his taxes each year. You need to factor in whether you would make enough money to make this amount plus pay for extra gas in a year. You would probably be fine for 2007 if you make less than $3300 working only part-time, but in 2008 you would go over and DH would lose you as a dependent.

I've found out more about the daycare job. My neice went in for an interview and said that the new boss is nice it was the one that got fired that was a snot. Anyways she had the job more or less but her previous boss wanted her to be her assistant and help baby-sit her kids and clean up her house etc. so she decided to help her. The three that quit was wanting more than min. wage and benefits. I really feel that if I don't try and get something to help my dh out that it will cause more stress. I don't feel comfortable going into depth with each bill that we have but I just feel like I'm drowning and just bobbing up every now and then for air. This credit card that I had to go to court over has really hurt us and the fact that my dh's pay varies every week and now since we had to get a loan to pay off the credit card they are taking out an extra $80 each week. I may just work until this year's up and then again I might just go ahead and keep working. Who knows? I know I have to factor in everything and also the taxes. Right now I feel like I have to do more than what I'm doing. There's really not that many jobs around here to choose from because it's a very small town.

I hope you find what you are looking for !

I asked my sis about the $3300 tax deduction and she laughed. She acted as if I didn't know what I was talking about. She says she makes more than that and she says she lists hers as married filing jointly. Could anyone explain this to me? I am thinking about going ahead getting the job this year and catching up on bills. I am also going to work the following year until the boys get out of school because they hated the year I worked at the other daycare and they didn't like spending their summer there. Anyways we live in a mobile home which we are paying for and it's not always easy to move. We are seriously wanting to move our mobile home either in a mobile home park or try and find some ground which is hard considering our credit isn't that great. Our hopes is that my dh can get a job where he used to work in Paragould AR. It had good pay and great benefits plus I would be able to have health ins. for me also. I am so ready for a change because I don't see us going anywhere here in this small town.

I would give it a try. If it does not work out, what have you lost?

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