Qualified accountant at Big4, prior was a junior trader at investment bank having worked my way up from settlements to trade support to desk assistant. Learned by befriending interns coming in from top schools over the summer. Got the same books listed on the websites for their courses and studied them intently. When I met a quant trader I decided I needed those skills and went about learning them myself.
Had my children at 31, 32 and 35. My ex husband started work at 17, worked his way up and ran his own business along side his ‘job’ with his employers blessing. He was a sales director at a food company.
I work longer hours than him and make much less. I used to bill 70-75 hours a week, which meant I worked 90-100 hours a week. I specialized in broker dealers, knocked it out of the park, client hired me, promoted to divisional CFO of the technology group (I did all the analysis of data for the broker dealer and clients, those quant skills paid off!) and left to run a risk group at a bigger broker dealer, again my unique mix of quant and financial skills paid off. I’m underpaid compared to my peers and the only reason I’m not trading (and earning 7 figures) is because I have to have my phone on me and I must be able to leave my desk if there is an issue with the children.
Often, not always, people don’t realize the skills, hours and sheer hell that goes into the higher incomes. I went back to work when my son was 8 weeks. I was processing payroll for my ex husbands company while in labour with the eldest child. With my third child, I issued my clients financials on the Thursday before Good Friday, delivered the baby on the Monday morning. It was intense. I can handle it and I see my role as opening the door for more women behind me to have the choice to develop/pursue their career, if that is their goal. I am nearly always the only mother and sadly too often the most senior female in the department/trading floor/company.