Rant: I stupidly picked a career that’s not family friendly

[Anonymous]

And I should have considered this more when choosing a career. I graduated during the recession so picked medicine because you can always have a job. But now, I see my friends in law and tech who get 5-6 months paid maternity leave and get to work from home and pump. Meanwhile, I have to fight to get 12 weeks and I work such long hours that I never bonded well with my first baby. Pumping is an inconvenience so I will likely end up formula feeding again (which is fine but I wish I could have more ability to do exclusive breastfeeding.) I should switch careers but I feel trapped since I trained so long to do this. Just wish I had understood this decision more prior to making it.

[Anonymous]

Can you change where you work? I am also in medicine and have found some hospitals /departments more family friendly than others.

[Anonymous]

I changed careers. It sucked. I miss the old one. But it wasn't working with kids.

Can you change settings within medicine to be more flexible?

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about academic medicine? Or you see about working for a pharmaceutical company. Also--VA?

[Anonymous]

I know doctors who go part time or contract after having kids. Maybe not ideal but an option. I envy my mom MD friends who get paid so much more than I do working PT.

[Anonymous]

Quit whining. Go part time or consider academia.

[Anonymous]

Maybe telemedicine? My nurse practitioner SIL does it and seems like great work/life balance.

[Anonymous]

That’s strange because some articles claim medicine is a family friendly career, for the ability to work part-time. I know women physicians that work just one or two days per week. Of course that assumes they have a partner working full time.

[Anonymous]

Neither law nor tech is family friendly. Just because they have generous leave doesn't mean they don't look down on women having life balance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And I should have considered this more when choosing a career. I graduated during the recession so picked medicine because you can always have a job. But now, I see my friends in law and tech who get 5-6 months paid maternity leave and get to work from home and pump. Meanwhile, I have to fight to get 12 weeks and I work such long hours that I never bonded well with my first baby. Pumping is an inconvenience so I will likely end up formula feeding again (which is fine but I wish I could have more ability to do exclusive breastfeeding.) I should switch careers but I feel trapped since I trained so long to do this. Just wish I had understood this decision more prior to making it.

I thought people went into medicine to help
other people.

[Anonymous]

Law and tech aren’t really known for being family friendly (except for the maternity leave).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That’s strange because some articles claim medicine is a family friendly career, for the ability to work part-time. I know women physicians that work just one or two days per week. Of course that assumes they have a partner working full time.

I used to work in a hospital with plenty of 2-physician couples. It wasn’t uncommon for one spouse to have a big job while the other went part-time. ER is also good. You can work 3 shifts a week and have the rest of the time off.

[Anonymous]

You can do plenty with your MD degree. Stop complaining and start looking.

[Anonymous]

Law is not family-friendly but some of us go into low key government roles and sacrifice a lot of earning power for the sake of our families and our sanity.

I regret not choosing a career like medicine but the grass is always greener.

[Anonymous]

Am in law. If it makes you feel better OP, while the mat leave is great, there’s so much work outside of “regular” work hours, and a lot of travel too, which is hard.