Changing Careers When You’re a Mom

When you become a mother, your priorities often change and sometimes that can lead to you wanting to pursue a different career path that offers you better hours, more money or maybe more fulfillment in life.

If that’s you and you want to make a change, but you’re apprehensive or you don’t really know how to go about it, here is some advice that you find useful:

Get to the Bottom of Your Motivation

If you can work out exactly why you’ve decided to pursue that new career, you can work out if it is a good idea to go ahead. For example, if you are thinking about trying something new out of fear about going back to your old job and not being able to get into the swing of thing, it might be better to go back for a little while and see how it goes, whereas if you genuinely want to try something new because it interests you ad you think it would enhance your life, well what better reason could there be?

Try a Side-Gig

To further ensure that the new career you’re interested in is for you, test the waters by starting something on the side or taking a part-time job to see if it really suits instead of just jumping in. You will save a whole lot of time, money and heartache by doing this.

Online Education is Great

If your new career direction requires you to retrain, when you’re a mom with a young child, it can be difficult to fit education in, especially if you’re working a job as it is and you can’t afford to give it up. Luckily, you can now do an accountancy degree, get your masters degree in leadership, learn how to program, and pretty much anything else you would ever want or need to do online at your convenience. If you want to make life as easy as possible for yourself, this is the option for you.

Talk to Your Spouse

If you have a spouse, you will need to consult them about your plans because it will affect the whole family and since that family now includes a baby, it’s pretty serious stuff. You’ll need to work out who will be the main breadwinner, how many hours you will be both working, who will look after the baby and anything else that your plans to change career could affect so that when you do finally act, the transition will be as smooth as possible for you all.

Start networking

Next, start networking amongst other people who are already living the dream as photographers, real estate agents, writers or whatever it is you want to do. By connecting with them, you’ll find out a bit more of what it’s like to live in their world and build up contacts who could help you get your start in your new career.

Go for It

At the end of the day you’ll never know what it would be like unless you go for it, so do your due diligence but if you’re sure it’s what you want, don’t hold back!