Am I mad to consider a career change?

[llareggub]

I'm hoping the combined wisdom of mumsnetters will help me on this one.

I've just taken maternity leave from a career I no longer enjoy. I work in a strategic HR role, which is flexible. I work part-time, in a job that is only a 10 minute walk from my house. I have a decent pension, good holidays, but a growing feeling that it isn't the role for me.

Until now I have really felt tied to the role and the organisation because of the flexibility and the location.

I've taken early maternity leave (29 weeks) because of this growing dissatisfaction and feel a massive sense of relief. When I took maternity leave last time I couldn't wait to go back (honestly) although I did enjoy the time off work.

I've seen a public appointment advertised which sounds ideal. It sounds interesting, challenging, and would open up (I think) a whole new set of career options/ideas to me. The maximum tenure for the role is 6 years, so I'll need to factor in the possibility of finding nothing at the end of it or combining it with re-training for something else. The public appointment would take up roughly 2 and half days a week but is flexible in that most of it is spent preparing from home at a convenient time, with a commitment to attend panels in London 2 or 3 times a month.

I'd decided on a year off for maternity leave but I decide to do this, and am successful, I'll have to start in September or October when my youngest child is 4 or 5 months. But, the work is flexible and would allow me to spend the next 6 years doing challenging and interesting work at a time that is (mostly) convenient to me.

I feel really excited about this in a way that I haven't felt about my current job in a long time. During my pregnancy I've been considering all sorts of options, including not going back to work at all. This, I feel, would give me the best of both worlds and would give me time with the children while they are small.

I feel really at sea about this. Any thoughts from anyone?

I think you should go for it! Opportunities like this don't come around too often and if you don't go for it you will be forever thinking about what might have been. You could always return to HR at a later date things don't work out.

It sounds fantastic. I'd go for it. Six years is a pretty long time and all sorts of opportunities could open up in that time.

You want to do it.

Dreading going back would cast a huge shadow over your mat leave.

Going back to your previous role (or something similar) afterwards would be not much more of a challenge than going back after a year.

You sound excited about this. Go for it.

So I'm not mad then? Phew!

DH is really encouraging about this. I'd made noises about not going back to work at all and to be honest we can't really afford this.

And yes, I am really excited about this. Obviously if I don't get it then I do have the safety net of my job which isn't something to be sniffed at given the current climate.

You don't think I'm mad trading in my maternity leave then? I've budgeted for a year off, so wouldn't get that now. But I would get 6 years of flexibility, wouldn't I? And I can express milk, it is doable, isn't it?

Excited now. Just got the added hurdle of an assessment centre at 34 weeks pregnant to content with, but hey-ho! (if I get through the application stage, that is)

I started a new job when dd was 6 months old and expressed for another couple of months (I did the assessment centre over 3 days when she was 2 months old and dh sat at home with a LOT of expressed milk. Had to pump in the disabled loo )

Def go for it. It sounds ideal and I am sure you can manage the logistics.

Go for it.

oh yes definitely apply! You sound so enthusiastic!