New Job vs. TTC

[Anonymous]

Not sure I'm in the correct forum, but here goes:

I have been with my current employer for 5 years and hit 6 years (fully vested!) in September. While my job is extremely stable and the pay and schedule is flexible, I am rather unfulfilled and there is not much room for advancement or movement. My DH and I are planning to start TTC this summer. If TTC is successful, I will have enough leave to cover 12 weeks of paid FMLA. I know that if I start a new job, I will more than likely have to be in the position for more than a year before FMLA kicks in. So do I stick it out for another 2 years at my current job or start the job search now and just hope for the best? Should we delay TTC until I get 3 months into a new job? What if neither happens right away? So many things to consider...

[Anonymous]

There's something to be said for a stable, flexible job that doesn't require too much out of you the first couple of years of your child's life, especially one where you'll get a fully paid maternity leave. I say this as the mother of an 18-month-old.

Pregnancy and new motherhood can be hard, and putting yourself in a higher-pressure job at the same time that your body is on a roller coaster and you're sleep-deprived...you might find yourself really grateful for the job that once seemed boring and unfulfilling when you're staggering around half-awake taking three twenty-minute breaks to pump every day and you've gone weeks without working a full week of work because you or the baby is sick. There's something to be said to stay where you already have a solid reputation rather than having to prove yourself during a period of great variability and transition.

Sure, keep your eye out for opportunities. You don't want to miss the perfect one just because you're TTC. If you're pregnant and get offered a new job, ask that it be contingent on you receiving their normal maternity benefits. But realize you have something really great already.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Your life will be more hectic with a kid , that stresse free job may be all you can handle.

[Anonymous]

I'd stay out, TTC, then figure it out. Perspectives change. You may not even want to go back to work at all.

[Anonymous]

Definitely stay where you are. Being pregnant and then having a new baby are the best times to be in a flexible, stable job that you can do easily. You priorities might change after you have a baby. I'd recommend staying in your current job for now. I'm sure this won't happen to you but I had extreme morning sickness while pregnant (like Kate) and was in an out of the hospital. My boss let me work from home for several months since I had been at that job for a while and was a trusted employee. After my baby was born I was able to work from home two days a week which was great so I didn't have to rush home to pick up my baby (daycare was near my house).

If you decide you do want a more challenging job down the road, waiting a couple years is not going to hurt your ability to make that move a bit later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's something to be said for a stable, flexible job that doesn't require too much out of you the first couple of years of your child's life, especially one where you'll get a fully paid maternity leave. I say this as the mother of an 18-month-old.

Pregnancy and new motherhood can be hard, and putting yourself in a higher-pressure job at the same time that your body is on a roller coaster and you're sleep-deprived...you might find yourself really grateful for the job that once seemed boring and unfulfilling when you're staggering around half-awake taking three twenty-minute breaks to pump every day and you've gone weeks without working a full week of work because you or the baby is sick. There's something to be said to stay where you already have a solid reputation rather than having to prove yourself during a period of great variability and transition.

Sure, keep your eye out for opportunities. You don't want to miss the perfect one just because you're TTC. If you're pregnant and get offered a new job, ask that it be contingent on you receiving their normal maternity benefits. But realize you have something really great already.

Good luck!

OP, I am currently pregnant with my first and the above was my exact reasoning. Professionally, I should have left my current job a year ago or more: I've done all I can there. But it's family-friendly, I've earned leave, I have a reputation to fall back on when I'm not functioning well, etc. So for me, the stability of the job was a reason to get on with TTC so future career decisions could happen that much sooner. Also, when starting TTC, DH and I identified the narrow range of jobs I'd still try to apply for even if we were TTC/expecting: so far only one such job has come up and I'm pretty happy that I didn't wait around for it to do so.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks so much for all of the helpful advice! I guess I never really realized how good I have it at my current job. Grass is always greener and whatnot. I think the best move will be to stick around until I have my first and then start looking seriously. In the mean time, I'll be keeping an eye out for the "perfect" opportunity as well as possibly trying to move to a different department within my organization. Thanks again!