have you returned to your old job and the same career after children?

[nabz]

Hi everyone

I just wanted some general feedback on the title above

How many mothers return to the old job after having children and the same career?

I am writing my dissatation and my main topic is mothers returning back to work however what I have mostly found out is that mothers generally find it hard to return to their old careers especially if they do take a long gap before returning back to work

Please let me know if you did this or not!

thanks!

Nabz x

[Trish]

I did initially for about a year then i was approached to apply for a different role in the organisation which meant a step up and fitted in with my family commitments better.

[esme]

I did but was basically demoted so swiftly found another job, better paid if further away, best move I ever made :)

Good luck!

[Saila]

I returned back to the same job, no change at all except that I was part time (4 day wk) for first 6 mnths back.

Didn't take much time off for maternity leave (4mnths) and have a v flexible, kind work environment (financial firm with female boss) meaning I can work from home and do drop and pick up most days.

Made much easier cos I failed to breastfeed past 5 wks.

[Curmudgeon]

I returned to my senior level job when my first child was 6 months old, left when he was 18 months old, spent 7 years as a SAHM then went to work in a support position in a school term time only which works for my family and work life balance.

[Saffron]

I had a baby 2-years into a my PhD. I spent two years writing my thesis (part time, unpaid but with full access to university fascilities). Then my department helped me to apply for grants, so that they could take me back as a fulltime postdoctoral fellow. It's essentially an extension of the work I was doing as a postgraduate, plus lecturing.

My tutor (who is also head of dept) was hugely supportive of my pregnancy and maternity leave, and very keen to have me back as fulltime staff. In fact there have been a few postgrads before me in the same position, and another recently graduated PhD from our group has just had a baby. There are so many bright and talented women in higher education now, it's a fact of life that many of them are going to have children. It's to the department's advantage in the longterm to support them. (My department has been very supportive of the fathers too.)

[Belle]

I didn't after my first as didn't feel I could do the job part-time, and lots of other reasons, and didn't want to be full time. Instead I freelanced a bit when he got a bit older. But I've recently gone back around a year after my second, to the same job (nearly 4 years later), part-time. Enjoying it, though finding i inevitably do work on days I'm not paid. In many ways it's like I've never been away. I feel fortunate to have had a long stint at home and then gone back at a senior level.

[bluesuperted]

I trained as a speech therapist (which was itself a career change from marketing and partly influenced by a planned future with children) up until I gave birth to my son, then did a very part-time MSc conversion whilst he was very little (taking him to tutorials, typing while he slept on me, you get the picture!). I finished this in October, then (very slowly!) starting up a funded PhD which I will put on hold from end Feb when I go on mat leave with number two. I'm incredibly lucky as I see myself really as a stay at home mum (which is what I wanted) who squeezes in some interesting academic work in a fascinating field in between naps and bedtimes, it's been perfect for me as I longed to stay home with my son and I fell into the funded PhD by being fortunate enough to have a uniquely family-friendly supervisor. She suggested I applied for the studentship even though she knew all about my desire to be there fulltime for my son (even down to understanding that I didn't want to use childcare other than family members, occasionally good friends or my husband). It helps that she did the same for her post-doc years ago (with three under three!) so she is both understanding and inspiring, it makes all the difference, as Saffron says. I don't know quite what the future will hold trying to keep my fledgling PhD going with two little ones, but I think it should be doable one way or another. My son will go to preschool before my PhD starts up again and then I guess baby number two will take his place in the sling for jaunts into town for tutorials etc!

I'm also lucky as I manage to do freelance marketing jobs here and there (again from home, in the evenings) which I found a godsend financially in the first year of my son's life. Means I don't get a great deal of sleep but I'm grateful for my unconventional and flexible set up! Pregnancy is meaning though that sleep gets prioritised over work at the moment but I'll catch up someday!

[bluesuperted]

I'm not sure if this is somewhat off-topic but thought you might find this interesting for your dissertation, a very thoughtful blog post that my tutor wrote about issues that affect some women when considering returning to work:

http://bottingblogster.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/what-puts-women-off-returning-to-work.html?m=1

[Mathilda]

I went back to the same profession but freelance, which is great as means I have more flexibility (though there are downsides too). Quite a few mums seem to take this route.

[Bellenden Belle]

I stayed in the same profession (arts fundraising) but moved to a different company and took on a part time role. This has so far (three weeks in) worked really well - it means boundaries of what I'm prepared to do can be set early on and also I don't feel defined as a "new mum". I just happen to have a family at home, just like plenty of people.

I knew if I returned to my old job, even though they were prepared to consider part time, I would essentially be doing a full time job in part time hours.

[KatDew]

I went back six months after my first baby, same job but reduced hours. A year later I took on a second part time job as a career stepping stone.

My second pregnancy was twins. I went back to my original job after 7 months and my other job after a year.

I did however after a year find doing both jobs too much and found I wasn't spending enough time with the kids. So I dropped back to doing my original job 25 hours a week.

I work in a senior professional role

[bishop]

I did, but I was PT to begin with and on a temporary contract which basically meant that when I went on mat leave with Baby 1 I was made redundant (sort of). Went back for 9 months in between babies, was again made redundant but I am going back in Jan with much more full time hours (30 hours a week, but over evenings and weekends) but I will be a PERMANENT member of staff this time.

I work in Law/Academia.

[amydown]

Same job, just 4 days a week. Company supportive, career progression unaffected so far and have just gone back after second mat leave. Both times took off about a year off.

[LalKJ]

Hi

I'm a corporate lawyer and went back after my first child, after taking 14 months off. Went back to the same firm and same senior position. I returned as a flexible worker, only meant to be doing (I.e. Paid for!) 4 days a week, however, no change in my workload from before and I basically worked full time, just had to do the extra hours in the evenings and on my day off when my son slept. I'm currently on maternity leave with no.2 and again plan to go back after 14 months+. Again, returning to the same position, although it has been made clear to me that if I was properly concerned with my career then it's not really acceptable to take more than 6 months maternity leave each time, so whilst I will retain my seniority, my chances of promotion are slim at best!

[Pugwash]

With my younngest I went back to work when she was 4 months old having secured a workplace nursery place, I went back to the same organisation but to a Human Resource Manager post at the same grade as my previious education post. Later got promotion and travelled to Bow each Day. When my daughter was 5 years old, I took redundancy and went to Uni for 3 years, then did a postgraduate professional diploma and qualified as a social worker in 1995

[Fuschia]

After child no 1 I returned to work when he was about 10m, to a temporary job share with the person who had been covering my maternity (I did 3 long days) though it was rather under sufferance.

Almost immediately I was headhunted for a similar job elsewhere and offered same pay, guaranteed flexibility (though longer commute)

I have now been there for almost 9 years, through 3 more children inc twins and have varied my hours as needed, for eg worked at home from 28 weeks of twin pg. returned to work when twins were 7m, and 4m for baby no 4

Currently work 36h but only go in 2-3 days pw, rest is at home

I am gone usually 7am-7pm on a mon and tues though

It is hard to juggle it, fitting everything in!! Luckily my partner works in peckham and is fairly flexible

[Houseoflego]

Edited as I was taking thread off topic. But there does seem to be a real dilemma amongst mums who have been hanging in there p/t at work and are now in roles that don't fit so well. I do think we gain a lot of skills in our baby years.