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[quote=Anonymous]I took steps back from a big job path 15 years ago when my oldest was a baby. I was a full-time associate at a DC nonprofit. After I stepped back, I have alternated between part-time jobs (50 - 60% FTE) and working as a consultant, or both.

I definitely like the work-life balance. But I make much less money -- maybe half as much --  than I might have had I climbed up the ranks. And I have fewer professional accomplishments. I see staff who were interns under me who are now the heads of big units in nonprofits and in govt, and I think, that could have been me. And I've been out so long, I don't see a feasible path back in, which is a bit scary. So I have some regrets, but I still think I made a good choice for me.  My spouse is the primary earner -- this path would not have been feasible if I were a single parent.

The upside is that I am available at home a lot, and I still have some earnings and some engagement in a profession.  If I compare myself to the SAHM path, I am in better shape financially and professionally.  But yes, I am much less accomplished than someone who stayed at work, which makes total sense.

OP, can you do what you do as a consultant?  Then you could take on a workload of your choosing.  Its definitely less stable, but more flexible.

Working part-time at an org with a full-time/overtime hard-charging culture is hard. I had a salaried part-time position for several years, was paid a proportionate FTE for fewer hours worked, but people in my org seemed to see me as slacking off. Being seen as someone who mommy-tracked herself was a liability in my org. If there were an organizational culture that could view a part-timer as someone who is contracted for fewer hours and then is rightly done with their work after working those officially shorter hours (plus some unpaid overage, but not 20 hours overage, which sometimes happened), it would be more feasible.

I've had a few officially part-time jobs in other fields as my 'day job' for a stable bit of earnings, and then do some consulting on the side in my profession to engage with what I'm interested in, as a way to make it work financially. Places I have found that offered actual part-time jobs are schools or small offices. 
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