Torn as to whether to freelance or stay put ahead of next baby

[momofpickle]

Hi - I hope this is the right place to post this. I kind of just need to vent and would love to hear any advice or experiences of anyone who has been in the same position.

I am a senior specialist in a field with plenty of demand. I went part time after my son was born and then left the busy advertising agency where I was working in order to get a lower pressure job in house at a company.

This new company is a not-yet-profitable start up and although we are working hard and are hopefully 6-12 months away from being profitable, at the moment my manager can't give me any indication of how my role can progress. I'm the type of person who is motivated by having a path and goals to pursue for career advancement.

I've been here 18 months and it's gradually become more of an issue to me that my career seems to be at a standstill and the temptation to freelance is just getting stronger. It just feels so frustrating to be so busy as a mom and so busy at work without the notion that I'm going to get promoted at some point down the line and I'm just feeling like I'd be better off packing the corporate life in and working for myself.

Part of my turmoil at the moment is due to the fact we are TTC and I hoped to be pregnant or even on maternity leave by now - I'd planned to go freelance after the next mat leave but things aren't happening as quickly as we'd like!

Has anyone had experience of being in a frustrating job at all like this? Should I try to hang on until we hopefully have a baby on the way and make it to maternity leave or would it just be better to go freelance and free myself of office politics and a manager not interested in my personal development?

I have done some research and believe that freelancers are entitled to some maternity allowance which is less than statutory maternity pay you'd get from an employer but would be manageable in my situation.

I know there won't be a career ladder to pursue and success will all be down to me if I freelance - I'm willing to put the hard work in for a better work life balance. I know no-one can tell me what the "right" thing to do is - but I just think I'd feel better hearing anyone's relevant experiences right now if anyone has them?

Thanks for your time if you have read this

I say go for it. Your future sucess will be a direct result of the work you alone put in, rather than the 'waiting for what may or may not come' in the role you have now which relies heavily on others. Where you are working now may get rid of you at any time and you will have done all that hoping for nothing.

Thanks - maybe I just need to grab the bull by the horns! Do you freelance and find it better in general?

Never quite sure what freelance means exactly, if it means self employed then yes, I am a sole trader. I set it up a few years ago after doing the same work for another company and realised I just needed to cut out the middle man. I set up a website for free, a Facebook Business page and it took off from there.

I think the biggest frustration I have with freelancing is the lack of personal development so I wouldn't jump if that was your biggest motivation!

If you freelance, you're hired for specific skills that solve a specific problem. You're not hired to stretch yourself, to take a risk, to try that project that's just a smidge above what you're doing right now - you're hired to repeat the same skill over and over again. I'm 10 years in and essentially still doing the same things I did 10 years ago, just for different clients and better rates...