Hi there, postdoctoral research scientist and I'm on a fixed-term research contract at a Russell group university and I am thinking about having a baby very soon (I'm 32). I am worried about losing my job and the quality of life my family would have. I have to leave my house at 6:30 am and return at about 6:30 pm due to my commute, do you think that this would be hard to do with a baby? Myself and my husband work in different cities, and we live in a small town in between. We have no family close by. I am finding my work life very difficult as it is, I am stressed and in tears most days, this is probably mostly due to the insecurity of my situation. We have discussed moving closer to one of the cities but because of the insecurity of our contracts, we are worried about losing our jobs and not being able to afford the larger mortgage and it would mean that one person would have an extremely long commute.
I work in a very male-dominated field, and the very few examples I've seen of working mothers in the department, make me feel very worried. One postdoc was expected to come to meetings and work throughout her maternity leave. She was in the office writing papers and coming to meetings 2 weeks after giving birth even though she officially took 6 months off. She was scared of her contract not being renewed. Other mothers have not had their contracts renewed or projects were cut short. Not 100% this was due to them being pregnant, but talk in the department is that this is the underlying reason.
I've been trying to get a permanent job in either industry or academia in a more practical location, so I could take some decent maternity leave, but I've been rejected over and over again. I don't know if I should have a baby now or wait until my husband and I can get permanent work in the same city. Has anyone else here experienced anything similar?
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should I have a baby?
31 replies
granolacrayons · 13/03/2017 13:01
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