The Best Part-Time Jobs for Moms

A part-time job is a great way to cover your employment gap while you're staying home to raise the kids. There are plenty of perks to working part-time, including:

• You have more flexibility to work with your family's schedule than being locked into a 40-hour work week.
• Moms can find part-time jobs that work around their family schedules so you don't have to worry about finding child care or missing soccer games and dance recitals.
• It's easier to pick up more hours should your family need more money at certain times of the year.
• Part-time jobs allow you to explore a field you've always been interested in so you can decide if you want to pursue that career path full-time later.
• Some employers will pay for employees, even part-timers, to take job training classes that you can use to enhance your career now and in the future.

On the flip side, there are disadvantages of part-time work as well:

• Part-time jobs generally don't come with benefits, such as health insurance or paid time off for sick days or vacations.
• Some part-time jobs will require a minimum number of hours, even up to 30 per week, which may conflict with your schedule.
• You will need to be upfront with your employer before you are hired that you can't work certain hours, such as when the kids get out of school.
• Some part-time jobs require you to work on weekends.
• Your hours may not be consistent each week.
• Busy times of the year may require you to work additional hours.

One of the best part-time jobs for moms is a substitute teaching position. Schools seem to always be looking for good substitute teachers to add to their rotation. Depending on the laws where you live, you may already be qualified to be a substitute teacher.

This is a great job for a stay-at-home mom because it coincides with the time your children are in school. You do have to be flexible, though, because you may be called within an hour or less of having to report to school.

You probably spend a lot of time listening to kids' music. Become a music instructor for kids and share your love of music with everyone from babies to big kids. There are many music programs for babies, toddlers and school-age kids that are always looking for instructors. After you become a teacher for that particular program, you can set up the hours of your music classes around your own schedule.

Where you can work as a music instructor:

• A facility you rent
• Special events like birthday parties
• Your home

You're used to running all over town to run errands. Make money driving with a delivery driver position. You can work a seasonal schedule when businesses need extra help, such as around holidays, or pick up a part-time delivery job with a more consistent schedule. Delivery drivers typically make a wage plus mileage reimbursement for wear and tear on your car or you'll be given a company car to use while you drive around town.

Where you can work as a delivery driver:

• Courier company
• Florist
• Restaurant

Free time in the afternoons can lead you to a job as a tutor. You're doing more than helping kids with their homework, you're actually teaching them about the subjects they struggle with the most in school. Your one-on-one help can give students the breakthrough they need to do well academically.

Where you can work as a tutor:

• A student's home
• Private tutoring centers
• Schools
• Your home

Working retail opens up a whole new world of job opportunities for stay-at-home moms. Love crafts? Work at a local craft store in the mornings while the kids are at school. Addicted to everything frou-frou? Work in a specialty shop.

Not only are these jobs great for stay-at-home moms, but many of them also come with an employee discount. Just be upfront about your availability so you don't run into a conflict when you're scheduled to work weekends and you only want to work Monday through Friday.

What types of retail jobs work best for moms:

• Cashier
• Customer service representatives
• Inventory
• Sales associate
• Stock clerk

Get in shape while you earn money! Through Zumba's certification program, you spend one day to become a licensed Zumba instructor. This qualifies you to teach Zumba classes at hours that are most convenient for you.

Where you can work as a Zumba instructor:

• A facility you rent
• Corporate events
• Health centers
• Private companies
• Private gyms
• Retirement homes
• YMCA

You're a pro at dropping off your kids and picking them up from school. Become a bus driver and help other kids get to and from school.

You will need a commercial driver's license to drive the bus and other requirements will vary by state. But being a bus driver is a great job for stay-at-home moms because your work hours are close to being in line with your child's school hours.

Where you can work as a school bus driver:

• Daycare center providing bus service
• Private school
• Public school

You clean up a lot in your day just taking care of kids. Cleaning positions let you get paid for all of that picking up you do.

You have a couple of options for this job. Work part-time in the mornings, such as at a hotel, or work part-time in the evenings tidying up at offices and other places that have high-traffic during the day but are closed at night. With many night cleaning crew positions, you may have the flexibility of bringing your children along for a couple of hours as you vacuum and empty wastebaskets.

Where you can work as a member of a cleaning crew:

• Hospital
• Hotel
• Office
• Private cleaning company
• Restaurant

While licensing rules vary by state, massage therapists who are self-employed control their schedule. This makes becoming a massage therapist not only flexible as a job for stay-at-home moms but it can also be quite lucrative financially. You set your hours and control how much or how little you work.

Where you can work as a massage therapist:

• Clients' homes
• Fitness center
• Hospital
• Hotel
• Rehabilitation center
• Spa
• Your own office

Companies are making it easier than ever to become tax preparers. Becoming a tax preparer gives you a lot of control over your schedule for the entire year. You can reap the rewards of your tax preparer job during the busy tax season but then you can take a breather after the big rush is over.

Where you can work as a tax preparer:

• Private accounting firm
• Tax preparation business
• Your own office

Call center jobs are perfect for stay-at-home moms. Many allow you to work at the hours most convenient for you. So while the kids are in school, you can be at home earning money as a call center representative. Call center jobs can include everything from answering customer service calls from home to calling people to conduct surveys.

Where you can work as a call center representative:

• Bank
• Cable and utility companies
• Mail order companies
• Political campaigns
• Telemarketing firm
• Travel agency

Were you an accountant in a former life? Or maybe you were a master marketer. Often times, you'll find your previous job can be transformed into a job for you now as a stay-at-home mom. You can lend your expertise to other companies as a consultant, work from home on a per-project basis or turn your skills into a telecommuting job so you can stay home with the kids while earning money.

Part-time jobs don't have to be outside of the home. There are plenty of opportunities for moms to make money from home.

Some of the types of work-from-home opportunities include freelancing, secret shopper jobs and home party hostess positions. Explore several legitimate ways you can make money from home.