Career moves while TTC?

[Mondayschild78]

Hi all,

I'm currently TTC#1 and in a stable job as a HR Manager. I have outgrown it but have held off moving in the hope of getting pg.

The long term plan was to stay in the job until taking mat leave then try and re-focus on my career after a year and apply for a new challenge. I am quite bored though and have seen an interesting job advertised that I'm considering applying for.

While I don't want to lose that work stability and maternity pay, I'm not sure I want to stay in the role for another year on the off chance that I might get pregnant.

So, do I go for it and not worry about the TTC as who knows if and when it will happen

OR

Stay in my current role and focus on TTC and not worry too much about my career for the moment?

Has anyone been in a similar position? Do you have any advice or comments?

Hi Monday, I totally understand your dilemma. I think there might be some questions you can ask yourself that will help you reach a decision.

How long have you been TTC?

Are there any fertility problems that might make being in a job where you have some time banked easier to take time off for tests etc?

Can you cope on one salary if you move jobs and are then entitled to stat mat pay only?

Would you find moving jobs stressful? Might that have an impact on TTC?

Can you put off TTC for a few months?

From personal experience know of many friends and self who have either changed jobs, hours or not applied for jobs bcs of TTC. I found answers to some of those questions above helped me.

Good luck

Hi Monday I have had a similar dilema in that my job security is not certain (due to huge reorganisation) and worried about the impact of being on mat leave if i was pg and not being able to 'position' myself into a role V's not ttcing but then risk working for a different organistion with new terms and conditions and no access to mat leave.

The mat leave swung it for me in the end. A new role in a new organisation would have meant waiting another 12 months until i was entitled to the full mat leave. I didn't want to wait that long and can't afford to not have access to it.

I would also think about what extra pressure and responsibilities might come with a new role, especially if its more senior and if you want to juggle them. xxx

Good luck with whatever you decide on. Its a shame we have to choose.

Hi both of you, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on my dilemma! It is a tough one and it was useful to see it from a few angles and consider the questions to ask myself.

I think that maybe for the moment it's worth staying put, main reason being I'm not sure I do want the stress of a new role and at a higher level when my no. 1 priority right now is getting pg!

I think I will just see whether there are any development opportunities within my current role that I haven't already exhausted and other than that, concentrate on the bigger picture.

It is a shame we have to choose, but such is life.

I'm a big believer it not arranging your life around potential future pregnancies but a job you have a proven track record in is a real bonus in the early years of parenthood.

You will lose a lot more than maternity pay (and that is worth having) if you leave and get pregnant in the next 26 months (well you're the hr person :o but it's something like that, deoending on new t&cs).

I would apply for the job - there is of course no guarantee that you'll get it, but if you do you can tackle it (and whatever else!) head-on.

Maternity pay is not the be-all and end-all. :)

To go against the flow a bit here - I discovered on my ML that I am more career-orientated than I ever imagined myself to be - I was chomping at the bit to get back and secured a big promotion within weeks of returning.

I was also chomping at the bit to return and secured a promotion before I had even goen back to work.

However, given the difference between my salary and SMP, losing maternity pay would have hurt a lot financially.

Being in a new job in the same company is very different from starting at a new company, both in terms of your reputation, your T&Cs and your personal relationships. It's very tough to be newly pregnant in a brand new job in a brand new company. The kinds of flexibility you might want on return will be harder to secure without a track record of reliability.

I'd think very carefully about leaving right now. It's a big fat pain in the arse, but the way the law and business culture works right now, you are way better off doing your early childbearing years in a company you have been with for a while.

IMO.

Hi All

Monday I feel your pain, I am in the same position. I work for a large consultancy firm and have been here 4 years. I am fed up and looking for a change. Plus a lot of our work requires travel and even women with babies are being forced to work away during the week. I am lucky in that I am on a local project but am scared it won't last...

If I leave I will lose my maternity benefits (which don't amount to much until you return where you get child care vouchers for the first year).

I have seen a job that I would like and is based locally so I'm going to apply.

It's frustrating as I've been unsettled in work for a while but have been TTC for 9 months...I can't hang around forever hoping it's going to happen.

Though I take the points made above about the added stress of a new job, although maybe taking my mind off TTC would help...

I don't know what's best...maternity pay isn't everything (unless you're public sector and get 9 months full pay!!!). The problem is I would hate to start a new job and get pregnant right away..!

Let me know what you decide

x

You don't know how long it will take to conceive so don't put your life on hold.

Maternity pay is never that much and if you get paid more in the new role you can save the difference.

Morning all,

Well today was crunch day - do I apply or not?! I was about to look at our finances thinking I will probably apply as I'd had a rubbish week at work too and feeling bored...

But....

Then I got a BFP this morning instead!!!!

So, for the moment I will stay put. But I think I had got to the way of thinking that if we could afford it then I probably would have gone for it as you are right you can't put your life on hold.

Good luck to everyone else and best wishes