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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to contemplate switching careers with a young baby...

12 replies

Rkj7819 · 15/01/2021 10:31

I don't know if this is just lockdown restlessness but ever since I went back to work after having my daughter a year old I've been unsure of whether or not its the right move to stay in the same career.

On the plus side my jobs pays very well. On the downside it's soul-less and I don't find it at all interesting or, more importantly, meaningful / rewarding. I don't feel like my efforts make a difference to anything..I dislike the corporate environment of made up words and archaic rules. The hours are very demanding and I have to work a lot of nights and weekends which I think is my main issue...I didn't mind pre-baby but I feel like I'm then too tired to be 100% for my daughter and my family life is now my priority.

I don't feel like this lifestyle is sustainable for me + happiness long-term, especially as we would also like to have another child soon. I think lockdown has highlighted this fact more because work is all there is right now..it's not broken up by trips away or seeing friends etc.

My dream job would be a therapist...but I know this would be years of BACP studying and then starting out right at the bottom of a new career well into my 30s (I'm 30 now).

Possible mid-life crisis!! Would love to hear from anyone who has done this....or alternatively anyone who managed to make adjustments to a similar soul-less corporate job so it was more bearable. The soul-less job I do on a freelance basis so I maybe just need to set clearer boundaries but the nature of work is that we get a lot of last minute emergency jobs so it's very hard to say I'm not working weekends etc. My mum was an ultra career woman and I barely remember spending any time with her as a child, she worked away a lot so I think this weighs heavily on my mind.

OP posts:
tofuschnitzel · 15/01/2021 10:35

It depends what kind of career your baby has. Sorry OP, I couldn't resist after reading the title of the thread.

Rkj7819 · 15/01/2021 10:37

@tofuschnitzel haha I would love to switch careers with my young baby...she has a great day playing with legos and snoozing whenever she likes!

OP posts:
Enko · 15/01/2021 10:40

Op I am in my 50s and training to become a counsellor i am not the oldest in my group in fact several of us this age. So if therapists is what you would love i would look at getting there.

Xmassprout · 15/01/2021 10:40

I left a reasonably well paid job within 6 months of returning from maternity leave, and started on a completely different career path at an entry level, very poorly paid job. I have to do lots of training to get where I want to be but can only do that full time which I'm not prepared to do just yet, so 8m going to wait until my children are older. But I'm very happy with my decision, I've never looked back

user1493413286 · 15/01/2021 10:43

I think if you can afford it then go for it; I loved my job pre DC but to be good at it you need to put a lot of hours in and I just didn’t want to miss that time with my DC. It meant I had to take a bit of a side step with my career but i don’t regret it.

InTheFamilyTree · 15/01/2021 11:03

Maybe consider roles which can include counselling/therapy as part of thenwider role eg. Social workers canbtrain as family therapists as most counsellors earn very little (after long and expensive training)

minipie · 15/01/2021 11:25

Do it! I wish I’d switched at this stage. Instead I battled through (I did reduce my hours a bit but they were still long) and ended up quitting altogether when my second child was 2.

30 is still young from a career perspective. If you have a dream alternative it makes it much harder to enjoy the soulless job.

Pteppic · 15/01/2021 11:26

@tofuschnitzel

It depends what kind of career your baby has. Sorry OP, I couldn't resist after reading the title of the thread.
MN delivers. Grin
Liverbird77 · 15/01/2021 11:29

@Enko sorry to jump in but counselling is something I have always been interested in, but it always seems so expensive to train.
Is this the case, or have I been looking at the wrong courses?

WalrusWife · 15/01/2021 11:30

I’ve looked into training as a counsellor but it seems to be a lot of study and there are few jobs available?

TH22 · 15/01/2021 11:30

I don't have any advice, other than I feel like I could've written this.
Major cliché alert -
I do know that I don't want to be lying on my death bed regretting the things I didn't do!

It really depends on your priorities in life - a well paid job that enables you to live a certain lifestyle. Or a lesser paid job (though it might not even come to that!) that gives your more fulfilment in life.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do :)

InTheFamilyTree · 18/01/2021 20:38

Think VERY carefully about training as a counsellor, it can be very enriching but in my experience most people who train do not go on to do paid work as counsellors.

One usually has to pay tuition fees, pay for personal therapy and clinical supervision, and many go on to volunteer after qualification in order to get more experience and improve employment prospects.

There is also the concept of 'wounded healer', which suggests that those of us who work in a helping capacity may have an unmet need that we are trying to satisfy through doing the work. It might be fruitful to explore more deeply what it is that attracts you to this type of of work. Not that I want to sound negative or put people off! It can of course be very rewarding and worthwhile, but want you to go into it with your eyes open.

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