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Have your career aspirations changed after you became a mom?”

Asked by The Work It, Mom! Team on 25th July 2007

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My career aspirations have not changed, but my mental timeframe for achieving them has lengthened. My career dreams have been to become a software manager, perhaps eventually director of software, in a small company (I have neither the drive nor the political skills to become VP or CEO). At the same time, I have always aspired (not always successfully) to do interesting work and maintain a reasonable balance between work life and personal life along the way. Having a child and choosing to spend 2 years as a SAHM is part of this balance. Now I think about my career strategically -- what experiences do I need now to stay in the game and set myself up to reach my goals 5 or 10 years down the line?

Flag as inappropriate Posted by SoftwareMom on 26th July 2007
Yes! In the whole year my son has been in this world, he has prompted me to look for opportunities closer to home so that my commute is shortened and I can spend more time with him and my husband. The logical thing would be to just move closer to my stable, big company job. However, my son attends a fantastic daycare that we all love, conveniently located onsite at my husband’s office, only a short 5 minutes from our current home. Moving the family is out of the question! So now I am attempting to grow my career, increase my income, and find a flexible and challenging job closer to home. In my spare time I hope to start a blog and a business of my own. I would have to say having my son gave me the confidence to know that I really can and should put into action all the plans hanging out in my head!

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Kate on 26th July 2007
When I first had kids, I was going to be a Stay-At-Home mom who pursued dreams of creative writing occasionally. Since having kids, I have realized that I needed more than occasional work. It has also become necessary for me to bring in a full salary to support my family. But I definitely knew I wanted a career rather than a job. So, I have had a full-fledged change since having kids.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Caitlin McDonald on 26th July 2007
Yes! They've gotten bigger! I was a VP of Marketing in corporate America, then was forced to step down (as the single mother of a toddler it was tough going - physically for me; mentally for the company). Ironically, once freed of a corporate structure, my career aspirations became loftier. Who would've thought I could write not one book, but two!? Or found a company that has much larger growth projects than some of the companies I used to worked for. Yet, I have the flexibility to be my version of a "good mom".

However, like Nataly, my career growth plans are balanced with my son's needs. So, while the plans remain big, there are times that it needs to move forward at a snail's pace. Which can be frustrating, and as Nataly put it, running a start-up is tough, tough, tough, but worth the tradeoffs.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Diane K. Danielson on 26th July 2007
For me, absolutely. I still want to be successful, to create things, to explore and achieve things, but I am not willing to do it at the expense of being with my family. (Now you might wonder why I went and started a company if I wanted more time - but as tough as this is, being an entrepreneur is a way to do something that I love in a flexible environment.)

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nataly on 26th July 2007