Masters/job shake up...when to tell employer?

potbellypig · August 2014

Lots of new opportunities came to me last week. Here I was thinking we were staying put in this place for the long run, despite the lack of job security I face in the institution I work for. Background: we have two kids, 2.5 and 6mo and moved to little town from big city almost 5 years ago. I am the manager and sole pharmacist of a pharmacy in the long-term care institution and rumours of this place closing have been swirling for years and have intensified in the past few months.

Then last Monday I saw a job posting I couldn't pass up and applied for a job in our home city, if I got it we would be moving there (45 minutes away from where we are now). On Thursday, an instructor from the Faculty in the field I work in came to my work place to discuss my taking a student, and through our discussion she said that my unique work experience may be useful in teaching a module they are developing. When I said I wished I had pursued a Master's, she said, "you should email so-and-so, she's taking student in your area of interest". So I did, and I'm meeting with her to discuss starting my Masters in January.

Questions:

- is completing a Master's with two young kids even possible? I have no idea what a Masters program entails. It would be in Pharmacy if anyone has experience in that field. I'm hoping to get it done in the two years it normally takes so that it can be done by the time dd goes to school.

- at what point do I tell my employer about these things? I don't have an interview yet (application deadline was Friday), but the Masters and teaching the module are almost certainly something I will pursue, regardless of the new job working out. It is very likely that they will not be able to fill my position for a while if/when I do quit.

MommyAtty · August 2014

First off, congrats!! I was finished with school a gazillion years before I had kids, so no experience there. But as far as telling your employer, I wouldn't unless or until you are certain you are leaving and close to the time when you're leaving. My employer doesn't generally keep anyone more than one pay period after they give notice, so I wouldn't say anything until you are ready to go.

shakinros · August 2014

Second what @MommyAtty‌ said. Don't tell your employer until you're more certain about your plans. I told my last employer months in advance because I'd been there for a long time (7 yrs - a lifetime in nonprofit!), I had a specialty job that I thought would be hard to replace, and I wanted my boss to write me a rec letter for grad school. It sucked. Though everyone was nice enough to me, I was left out of meetings (that my dept should've had a rep at), not given work to do (understandable), and ignored at decision times. I thought they'd take advantage of my institutional knowledge while they could, but instead they just acted like I was already gone. It was very frustrating. Never again! Next time I keep my big trap shut.

Maybride2 · August 2014

I got my Masters degree prior to having kids. My husband got his after we had one but before we had two kids.

To be perfectly honest - there is absolutely no way in the world that I would work outside the home, go to school, AND be a mom to young children all at the same time. There are only so many hours in the day, and you still need to sleep at least a little. If your husband is willing to really pick up a lot of the parenting/home responsibilities you would be able to make it work.........but it would require you to sacrifice that time and energy with your kids. Think about your life now, and think about when you'd need to attend class and when you'd actually have time to do homework and study. Not trying to be a downer, just being realistic.

Regardless, you don't need to say anything to your boss at this time. You only need to give 2 weeks notice when and if you leave, and once you find out about your college acceptance and schedule, let them know if there will be any conflicts.

Good luck with whatever you do!

potbellypig · August 2014

Maybride2 said:

I got my Masters degree prior to having kids. My husband got his after we had one but before we had two kids.

To be perfectly honest - there is absolutely no way in the world that I would work outside the home, go to school, AND be a mom to young children all at the same time. There are only so many hours in the day, and you still need to sleep at least a little. If your husband is willing to really pick up a lot of the parenting/home responsibilities you would be able to make it work.........but it would require you to sacrifice that time and energy with your kids. Think about your life now, and think about when you'd need to attend class and when you'd actually have time to do homework and study. Not trying to be a downer, just being realistic.

Regardless, you don't need to say anything to your boss at this time. You only need to give 2 weeks notice when and if you leave, and once you find out about your college acceptance and schedule, let them know if there will be any conflicts.

Good luck with whatever you do!

Thank you for your honestly and I can't say I disagree with you! I looked into it a bit more yesterday, and I think I would have to go the pre-Master's route to get my GPA up first, which I'm not interested in doing. I think I'm going to go a different route and try to get my Pharm. D. online instead (once the admissions person calls me back I'll have a better idea), that way I can do it after the kids go to sleep/at work during my downtime and I don't have to be stretched *quite* as much.

rockychryslerb2010 · August 2014

I work full time, am two months from finishing my MBA and have a 2.5 yr old and am close to having #2. So, it can be done, but it required sacrifices from DH and me.

I started my MBA program when E was about 11 months, and will finish early Nov - so a two yr program. Honestly, the first year wasn't bad, just a lot of core classes that I was able to complete with some before and after work hours (and after E was in bed) and maybe a few hours on the weekend. The last year has been a lot harder and more of a commitment. Some of the classes have been extremely challenging and end up taking up most of my free time during the week and a good 8-10 hrs on the weekend. DH has definitely stepped up, and we use my parents and ILs for care during the weekend if I need to get work done and DH has something else going on. That being said, I've always tried to balance it and make time for E and family activities on the weekend. Usually that means I'm doing school work early mornings, during naptime or at night. Any 'free' time is really school work time.

With DD scheduled to arrive mid-Sept, I'll have about 6 or 7 weeks where I have a newborn, a toddler and am finishing my last two classes. I won't have work, and I'm keeping my nanny on during my maternity leave to help me. I'm so glad I went back when I did, there is no 'perfect' time to do it, but I imagine it would just be harder to go back as they get older. Right now we dictate E's schedule, but as they grow up and get involved in more activities, we'll be spending our weekend shuffling between events or sports, etc. I would much rather miss out on time now than the later years.

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