Taking time out of career to raise kids (specifically interested if you're a librarian!!)

[DeweyDecibelle]

Also posted in chat as I didn't know about this section.

Hoping for some tales of experience here!

I have one DD already and am expecting my second. I have no local family support and I'm a bit worried about the logistics of having two children and the associated childcare costs. So I'm thinking of taking a year off after maternity leave until I've got the older one in preschool/school and I know what's what a bit more.

Career information, I'm a qualified librarian and moved down to part time hours after having my first child. It's currently financially worthwhile for me to work but once I have two in childcare the financial benefits will be hardly anything. However that would only be the case for a year or so before the situation improved, and in the current climate I know it's hard to find work, particularly within this profession.

Would I be silly to leave a permanent job? I would want to return to librarianship at some point so am worried it's not worth the career hit (not worried about career progression at this stage, just having a job!). I'm not particularly attached to my job, but I do want to continue working in the sector either here or elsewhere. My work MAY allow me to take an unpaid year off, there is precedent for this, but it's in no way guaranteed.

So my question is have any of you taken a year or two out to raise kids (if you are a librarian all the better but interested in thoughts from anyone), and if so did you find it difficult to get back into the jobs market at a similar level?

Thank you!

Not a librarian though I have worked in the field. It may not be what you want to hear but a career break that long is likely to make it difficult to find another job in the same sector. I'd be very reluctant to risk it unless you're happy to re-train/change careers down the line

Librarian here .

Personally, I would continue to work. It probably depends on the sector, but the more senior you get, the more you need to understand the context of the sector you are in, as I am sure you appreciate. So if you're in HE, a break might mean that you haven't kept up not only with developments in library service delivery, but also in the wider context.

I am pt and have managed to continue to develop my career. Had I stopped working, I would still be at the level of an early career Librarian, but without the experience I've gathered along the way.