S/O: Working Moms Pay & Hours

[Anonymous]

I'm a lawyer. I make around $130 per year plus benefits. I can get my work done in essentially 3 days in the office plus evenings, or four days in the office. I switch back and forth between these two based on my children's and office's needs at the moment. No travel. Flexibility and understanding bosses to take care of snow days, illnesses, etc.

DH is BigLaw and works (and makes) markedly more than I do. I work because I love working and lucked into a remarkably flexible job.

[Anonymous]

$113k, work from home 80%. Very flexible schedule, but generally work 6:45am to 3.15pm. My employer's mission is important and I believe in it, but am not particularly fulfilled by it. The flexibility is too good to give up, so I stay.

[Anonymous]

I'm looking to return to the ft workforce and the best I'm probably looking at is somewhere around $50k.

My current pt job only nets me about $250-350 per paycheck. That basically pays for my toddler's diapers and some debt repayment.

Great, now I feel more depressed about how shitty my little life is.

[Anonymous]

Is this real?? I can't believe how much ppl make around here. And many w such flexible schedules...I was making 35k as a teacher but I left teaching and returned to school to get a degree in schoo admin.

[Anonymous]

I make 45K doing something I love but not doing it particularly well because I can only afford a nanny 3 days a week and am trying to wah while kids are home 2 days. I'm burning out but really love the work. And I check email 24/7. Literally responding to emails at 2am nursing sessions.

I'm really wondering how I'd feel if I left this work I love and did work I just sorta liked for twice the money.

[Anonymous]

NP here, also biglaw making $350k plus bonus. I'm 35 with two under 4. DH is also biglaw, though not as senior as I am so makes less (but still plenty). I do really enjoy a lot of aspects of my job and am glad I work. I'm senior enough and lucky enough that I leave around 6 every day, get home, have time with my family, and really try to limit weekend work to the evenings so that I can spend the days with my children. Like OP, I am getting tired of the constant on-the-clock feeling. I would even take the travel if I could just read a book in the evening, instead of logging back on (or falling asleep because I'm so tired all the time).

[Anonymous]

90k - work three days a week, 10-4. Have full time child care. It's pure heaven. I love my work and I love my kids but I just can't be at home with them all the time. Sometimes it hurts when people who are less qualified than I am advance but then I remember my flexibility and am grateful.

[Anonymous]

This money is unreal. I cannot imagine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:90k - work three days a week, 10-4. Have full time child care. It's pure heaven. I love my work and I love my kids but I just can't be at home with them all the time. Sometimes it hurts when people who are less qualified than I am advance but then I remember my flexibility and am grateful.

Dreamy! What do you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This money is unreal. I cannot imagine.

Yeah no kidding. I make 80K at a nonprofit, work remotely full time (not in DC, but my job is, so the 80K stretches farther) and thought I was doing all right! Hours... 9-6ish, plus some weekends and some evening work, and monthly travel. Young baby. Husband makes similar.

I guess it's all relative. To my in-laws, we're the "rich" arm of the family, which they actually told us to our faces once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This money is unreal. I cannot imagine.

Yeah no kidding. I make 80K at a nonprofit, work remotely full time (not in DC, but my job is, so the 80K stretches farther) and thought I was doing all right! Hours... 9-6ish, plus some weekends and some evening work, and monthly travel. Young baby. Husband makes similar.

I guess it's all relative. To my in-laws, we're the "rich" arm of the family, which they actually told us to our faces once.

It's definitely all relative. Plus your lifestyle expands to meet your income to some extent. I'm a lawyer (posted previously) and see it at the partner level, where suddenly someone finds themselves pinched making $1-2 million/year. For us, we save plenty and aren't very extravagant, but we also don't pay close attention to a budget and our monthly expenses, leaving aside mortgage and childcare, is $4-5k/month. There's no need for that but we're careless. I'm embarrassed even to admit it anonymously.

[Anonymous]

160K age 39, work 35 hours a week in office. can be longer hours a few times a year. no travel. work from home on a rare occasion bc i push for it but culturally its not commonplace. i have a 2 year old and another on the way and am thinking about leaving to start my own biz bc i'm mommy tracked and bored and want more flexibility.

[Anonymous]

I make 105k a year-- 9-5pm job, but super flexible in that I can dictate my schedule. If i need to take a day off, I do. If I need to leave early or take the morning off, I do. No need to check with anyone. I can also work remotely as I see fit, no one cares (literally). Which I hated having a "face time" job--but little did I know it matters whether your boss cares. Mine doesn't. And it's kinda sad.

I hate my job -- but I stay because my DS is in kindergarten and I don't think I could find another job with similar flexibility.

I would take a pay cut if I could find something better but will flexibility.

[Anonymous]

I like my job. I'm a fed lawyer, GS-15, about $150k now. Also the primary breadwinner as my husband makes maybe $100k and is in a high risk field (ie, we think there is about a 40% chance that he could lose his income entirely in the next year or so). And we're both still carrying student debt (about 80k or so left between us, I think? I haven't checked on it in awhile) and a hefty mortgage on a DC rowhouse.
Workplace is kinda flexible (1 day/week telecommuting) but I'm a litigator; so I frequently need to be there and generally put in around 45-50 hours/week, plus lots more when preparing for trial or major filings. Occasional travel.

I like it, don't love it. If we won the Powerball and became kajillionares, I'd quit tomorrow . . . and hire a parttime nanny. I can't see being home all day with my adorable 1 and 3 year old and not losing my mind. I'd do pro-bono work, travel (with the nanny), find other ways to contribute.

Currently looking to leave the area entirely and will likely take a paycut to do so, especially if i remain in public service. But if we sell the house and rent for a year someplace with a lower cost of living, we'll be well on our way to being debt free. When THAT happens, eventually, and/or if DH's business becomes more established, I may search for parttime work, but i'm not sure it is so easy to come by. I envision a future in which i can pick my kids up from school and take them to debate or karate or help them with homework at least a couple of days a week.

[Anonymous]

30yo, $90k with flexible schedule (I telework when I need to and will likely start doing so on a fixed schedule soon) in the private sector. 2 kids with a third on the way. We've been very fortunate to be able to pay off all of our student loans (which we have replaced with insane childcare costs!) Husband is a fed, makes $105k works four days/week two of them from home, cares for the kids on his "day off." Both could be making more, but the flexibility with the little ones is worth it's weight in gold.