13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Part-time work is perfect fit for some local moms

Part-time work is perfect fit for some local moms

Indianapolis - WTHR reports about layoffs and the faltering economy on a daily basis, but not all the news is bad. Some companies are hiring and some work schedules are particularly convenient for busy parents.

When the economy started to sour, Carmel resident Vicki Burdick decided after 16 years as a stay-at-home mom to start looking for a job.

"I knew my kids, I knew their activities, I knew how to manage my house and I had kind of forgotten about me and what I was capable of doing. So it was more scary than anything else," Burdick said.

But fear turned into opportunity. Through the employment agency 10 Til 2, which works with mostly college-educated professionals looking for part-time work, Burdick found a part-time position at Fat Atom Internet Marketing. Her schedule is flexible.

"We have projects that need to be done, we have tasks that need to be completed by certain dates. We don't care if you work out of your house, you work weird hours or you come and go as you please, as long as those get done," said Todd Muffley, Fat Atom.

Delivering newspapers for The Indianapolis Star isn't quite as flexible. Yolanda Williams has to be at work at 3:00 am, but her work day ends around 6:00 am, before most people even leave for the office.

"It helps with having children at home and a husband at home to where I can get up in the morning and do the paper route and then go home and take care of my home," Williams said.

Internet marketing pays by the hour. The wage is commensurate to education and experience. A newspaper courier earns about 11 cents per paper or $150 to $300 a week, depending on the size of the route.

"When I first started, my route was not as big and then after losing my full-time job I took on more routes," said Williams.

She still has time to attend beauty school in the evenings. Vicki Burdick works less in the summer to spend more time with her children.

"I try and be in the office early and then leave at noon and have the whole afternoon to spend with my children and because I have my laptop and my phone I can continue to check my e-mails. I can continue to make phone calls but still serve their needs and do fun things with them," Burdick said.

They are two very different jobs that both give these busy moms a flexible schedule and additional income.

Both The Indianapolis Star and 10 Til 2 are currently hiring. The Star has a newspaper carrier jobs Hotline: 317-444-4637

10 Til 2