Changing jobs while pregnant??

dboatman

This is my first time posting in this forum. I am not a working mom yet, but will be in a few months. I was hoping to get some opinions on my situation.

I have been with my current employer for years. I have a good amount of vacation and sick leave built up and a fairly flexible schedule. To be honest, it is a great place to have a baby because there are many other professional women I work with also having babies or young kids. Very family friendly. The draw backs are mainly job-related. My job is not challenging or interesting and there is no really prospect of moving up. The pay is definitely not great either.

My former place of employment has asked me if I am interested in coming back in a leadership capacity. This job is an amazing opportunity. It would be a huge advancement in my career and monetarily (10K+ more a year). I would need to do some periodic travel and occasional weekend and evening work (which I don't do in my current job). They already know I am pregnant and how far along I am and are fine with it. The schedules would be fairly flexible, but since it is an advancement, I will be putting in more work. This would be a new company and I wouldn't have very much leave accumulated so my leave would be unpaid and shortened. They did say I could work from home with periodic office visits for a while though.

What would you do in my situation? Stay at the calm, very-child friendly place of employment where the work is easy or take a challenge where I would need to work more but have a better career and financial path? If I wasn't pregnant, this would be a fairly easy decision. I guess I am just worried about juggling it all. I think having more financial stability is important for the baby, but am I being selfish?

Thanks for reading!

mrsshawnavanb

That's a tough one. I will say that there is definitely an adjustment period with being a new mom and I was grateful to have a fairly flexible job that is less demaning and stressful than jobs I've held in the past. Keep in mind that you will be sleep deprived too, and that can definitely take a toll on both you and your job performance.That said, financial stability is definitely important since there are a lot of added expenses once you add a baby to the picture. Will your current company pay out your accrued time off? If so, you could stash that away to help cover your maternity leave. If not, will you be able to make it with no pay during your leave? My best advice is to sit down and make a pros/cons list and really consider all aspects of the change.

Helenahhandbasket

You really just have to decide what is more important to you.  There is no right answer, unfortunately.

Will the 10K pay raise change your life dramatically?  Like, are you living paycheck to paycheck and this will allow you to save?  If yes, I would most definitely consider the advancement, despite the drawbacks you have mentioned (shorter leave, more challenging work).  In that situation, the short term issues would far outweigh the long term benefits.  

If the 10K won't really make too much of a difference (meaning, you are fairly comfortable now) I would probably personally be inclined to stay at my current job.  Becoming a mother was such an overwhelming experience for me that having to learn and function at a new job would have probably pushed me over the edge.  That's just me though-- it would be too many changes for me at once.  

Good luck in whatever you decide! 

jlaOK

I am all about family balance.  The thought of occasional weekend/evening work and travel wouldn't be a turn-off for me, as long as you have a supportive partner who could help take on some extra responsibility during those times.  You don't mention a DH/SO, so I'm not sure what your situation is - but that would be a huge deciding factor for me.

More money, a more challenging/fullfilling job, and more opportunity for advancement would be hard to pass up, especially if it is a company that you have already worked for and liked.

dboatman

Thanks for the replies! It is such a tough choice! Sometimes it just feels like everything happens at once...

The 10K+ will make a large impact. We are not able to save much each pay. My husband and I each have student loan debt. We are definitely working middle class.

My current place of employment would pay out for accrued vacation time.

 

dboatman

I do have a husband. He works a steady schedule in a lab. He said that he will support me in this by picking up some of the slack if I decide to do it.

Nechie122

I think you almost have to do it and you'll probably regret it if you don't.

The first several months will obviously be challenging because you'll have two learning curves, new job and new baby. But it sounds like your DH is on board and supportive. It's doable.

For whatever it's worth, from personal experience, I changed jobs when my DD was ten months old, and by then I was ready for something more challenging, longer hours, travel, etc. That's a really short amount of time in the grand scheme of things if you think about it.

Helenahhandbasket

dboatman:

Thanks for the replies! It is such a tough choice! Sometimes it just feels like everything happens at once...

The 10K+ will make a large impact. We are not able to save much each pay. My husband and I each have student loan debt. We are definitely working middle class.

My current place of employment would pay out for accrued vacation time.

 

This would be the deciding factor for me then, personally.  If the 10K was not going to drastically change my lifestyle I would be more likely to stay at my current job.

Good luck in your decision.  Which ever one you make I am sure you will be fine.

brettsmama

When DS was a new born I wanted to be around him as much as possible and I would have eaten top ramen or hot dogs to have a less paying job that gave me more time with him. That being said, he is 3 now I just took a new job. After weighing all the pros cons, the deciding factor for me was money. I too will be getting a 10k bump in salary. It was a super hard decision! Good luck.

dimondwind

Tough one.  If this were me, I'd stay put for now.  It would be more important for me to spend time with my LO and be in a family friendly atmosphere, especially during the first few months.  And your baby will probably be sick often during the first year in day care, and you want to make sure you have a boss who understands your need to take time off/work from home at the drop of a hat.

GL with your decision.