What did you do after Mat leave?

[EchoAlpha]

I’m in an industry which requires hard work, long hours and dedication for you to succeed. I’ve always been career driven and worked hard to get to where I am

I am probably one of the youngest people to have a child in my team (my manager even told me to not think about having another kid soon, unless I want to commit career suicide).

I know I want to try another role but my question is: what do I do next?

1. Go in to something that pays more but will require even more hours. My husband is very supportive and all but I know this will be difficult. The thing is I’ve always wanted to try this sort of company out and I feel like this is the next step in my career but maybe it’s only really feasible without kids.

2. Take a pay cut, focus on being a mum and maybe have another. Once I’ve done this for a few years, I can maybe go into a role in category 1 later on down the line. My fear with this is that I would be sabotaging my career.

Is this the kind of sacrifice women have to make?!?! It would be good to hear what others did!

Thanks

It's such a personal decision, you need to decide what's important to you.

For me it was important to spend time with mine when they were little so I went back 4 days after having DD. I left the role after 11 months because I wasn't enjoying it any more and I felt that I was missing out on time with DD. The day I was 90 mins late home from work was a turning point for me.

I found a role in a different sector also 4 days/week and the work/life balance has been much better. I got a promotion when DS was 2 and have never looked back. I went full time when he started school in Sept. I'm very lucky in that our SMT have young kids as well so are very understanding with things like school runs, assemblies and illness. I work my arse off during my working hours but don't hesitate to step away at the end of the day.