Pamela Johnson The mother of four had stayed home for several years while her daughters were small, and as she started to test the waters of the Anchorage job market, it didn’t take her long to feel like she was getting in over her head. “When you’ve been at home with kids for a while, interacting with another adult is kind of a shock to the system,” Johnson said. “I had applied at a few other jobs, and a few of them I didn’t get. I was feeling so bummed.” On paper, Johnson had picked the worst possible time to look for work.