Career path planning

[AmyRI]

How early on in your career did you have a vision for where you wanted to end up? (i.e. stay in a technical position vs project management vs management, or do your time as a teacher before becoming principle, etc)
Or has your vision changed over time?

Did anyone influence your decisions or push you in certain directions, and if so, are you glad they did or do you regret following their advice?

If you have kids or someday want kids, how did that affect your plans?

[Deleted]

I've always been interested in a wide variety of things, so I just took opportunities as they came.

I 've been in a mgmt role since I was 26. I have interviewed for technical and higher level mgmt since then but it didn't work out.

[compassrose]

I mean, I decided I wanted to be a scientist & professor at 18 after going on a field expedition to Antarctica. I doubted myself many, many times over the next fourteen years, but I'm so glad I stuck it out to get my dream job. I love being a professor.

[AmyRI]

I had a vision of my career in a different field than the one I'm currently in. I prefer environmental science, and right now I'm working in defense. I do not feel at home at all, even after 4.5 years in my position.

The problem (bragplaint?) is that I am doing very well... I've gotten excellent reviews. I have been pushed into more of a leadership position than I want, but I have done well at it. My managers have a very clear career path laid out for me (scientist for another few years, then project management, and ultimately they're pushing a management track) that I do not think I want. It's not appealing at all. Maaaaaybe project management, but I have zero desire to be a line manager. I have no idea if this is normal or not. I do not want to lose out on opportunities by saying I'm not interested right now if I'm going to have a change of heart in 10 years... but I also do not want to commit down a path that I have no interest in. Honestly, if I thought I could get back into env't science without a huge pay and benefits cut, I would do it now.

To complicate matters, I have 2 young kids now and hope to have another in about a year. (We will be done after that for sure.) I am concerned that if I did take a leadership role, my performance would suffer because of the reality of having 3 kids and a career-oriented husband. I'm not sure that I can really have it all. Then again, I'd encourage anyone else to pursue it all... so why not me?

Apologies for my brain dump.

[compassrose]

Mar 30, 2015 19:57:36 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

I had a vision of my career in a different field than the one I'm currently in. I prefer environmental science, and right now I'm working in defense. I do not feel at home at all, even after 4.5 years in my position.

The problem (bragplaint?) is that I am doing very well... I've gotten excellent reviews. I have been pushed into more of a leadership position than I want, but I have done well at it. My managers have a very clear career path laid out for me (scientist for another few years, then project management, and ultimately they're pushing a management track) that I do not think I want. It's not appealing at all. Maaaaaybe project management, but I have zero desire to be a line manager. I have no idea if this is normal or not. I do not want to lose out on opportunities by saying I'm not interested right now if I'm going to have a change of heart in 10 years... but I also do not want to commit down a path that I have no interest in. Honestly, if I thought I could get back into env't science without a huge pay and benefits cut, I would do it now.

To complicate matters, I have 2 young kids now and hope to have another in about a year. (We will be done after that for sure.) I am concerned that if I did take a leadership role, my performance would suffer because of the reality of having 3 kids and a career-oriented husband. I'm not sure that I can really have it all. Then again, I'd encourage anyone else to pursue it all... so why not me?

Apologies for my brain dump.

I don't think there's anything wrong with your goal being to do work you enjoy and have the family-work balance you desire.  It sounds like you are still planning to be in the scientist role for another few years, which would take you past having the third baby, right?  I think at that time you can reevaluate what will work for you and your family.  And if you don't want to be in leadership, you can figure out if it's possible to stay at the level you are now or look for other opportunities. 

I am a complete type A planner and I like to know things 5 years in advance.  But the reality is that so many unexpected things can happen.  If you like where you are now and want that third baby, I'd focus on that for now and just keep your eyes open for the right opportunity.

[crashgizmo]

I have always had a pretty decent idea of my career path (since my first job in the field at 24). I've been lucky that DH has been supportive and at times made sacrifices for me, as I have for him as well. It has worked out well for both of us and we are both advancing in our careers at a very rapid pace.

We are childfree by choice, so there has not been that added consideration.

[carilyn]

Lurker chiming in:
I've always wanted to be a NICU nurse. Literally since I was 4. I am extremely lucky/blessed that it is everything I dreamt of and more. I got my dream job in an amazing unit straight out of school. Over the past 8 years, I feel like I've really grown into my role well (it takes a LONG time to be completely trained and comfortable in my area). When I started, I thought I'd probably be in the same role and hospital for the rest of my life. We have many many nurses in our unit who have been there for 30-40+ years. At that point, going back to school was a definite no!

However, over time, I've realized I really thrive best in high acuity situations (sicker babies) and get restless easily. I'm kind of maxed out in my current role as I'm trained in advanced skills (intubation, emergency umbilical line placement, and needling a chest for a collapsed lung) and I have zero desire to grow into management! I've ultimately decided to go back to school next summer to become a neonatal nurse practitioner with hopes to be hired by the physicians group I work with (which I think I have a good chance of).

Sometimes I wish I'd gone to medical school, but then I think about everything I would have missed out on. I truly love my job and have such passion for what I do. I wouldn't give up these past 8 years.

I have two young kids and no plans for more. My DH is a SAHD. My kids affect my plans in that I will wait till my youngest is in full day kindergarten before I start grad school.

[AmyRI]

Mar 30, 2015 22:25:01 GMT -5 compassrose said:

I don't think there's anything wrong with your goal being to do work you enjoy and have the family-work balance you desire.  It sounds like you are still planning to be in the scientist role for another few years, which would take you past having the third baby, right?  I think at that time you can reevaluate what will work for you and your family.  And if you don't want to be in leadership, you can figure out if it's possible to stay at the level you are now or look for other opportunities. 

I am a complete type A planner and I like to know things 5 years in advance.  But the reality is that so many unexpected things can happen.  If you like where you are now and want that third baby, I'd focus on that for now and just keep your eyes open for the right opportunity.

Yes, I have every intention of staying in my current role for a couple of years and that would get me through pregnancy, maternity leave, and pumping breaks at work every day until the baby is 1 (or close to it). And in general, I'd like to just wait and re-assess at that point. The pressure to plan is coming from my organization, which is pushing career planning for all employees, especially young professionals in an attempt to keep them, and bonus points if you're pushing women into leadership roles because the ratio is so bad. So they're trying their best to position me for advancement and I'm not ready to commit.
Thanks for your thoughts!

[explorer2001]

Mar 31, 2015 7:19:40 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Mar 30, 2015 22:25:01 GMT -5 compassrose said:

I don't think there's anything wrong with your goal being to do work you enjoy and have the family-work balance you desire.  It sounds like you are still planning to be in the scientist role for another few years, which would take you past having the third baby, right?  I think at that time you can reevaluate what will work for you and your family.  And if you don't want to be in leadership, you can figure out if it's possible to stay at the level you are now or look for other opportunities. 

I am a complete type A planner and I like to know things 5 years in advance.  But the reality is that so many unexpected things can happen.  If you like where you are now and want that third baby, I'd focus on that for now and just keep your eyes open for the right opportunity.

Yes, I have every intention of staying in my current role for a couple of years and that would get me through pregnancy, maternity leave, and pumping breaks at work every day until the baby is 1 (or close to it). And in general, I'd like to just wait and re-assess at that point. The pressure to plan is coming from my organization, which is pushing career planning for all employees, especially young professionals in an attempt to keep them, and bonus points if you're pushing women into leadership roles because the ratio is so bad. So they're trying their best to position me for advancement and I'm not ready to commit.
Thanks for your thoughts!

Lean in thoughts - would a man care if they made plans now but things changed in the intervening years and he ultimately chose some other path? Don't borrow worry from tomorrow ( or more accurately 3 years from now). I know you are trying to plan but so much can change in that time. What if you have your third baby sooner/later/trouble TTC? What if your spouse gets a dream job offer where you move? Etc. If you enjoy your job continue to do well and don't downshift before you need to. If you want to refocus and retool for environmental work do that but don't sell yourself short for a contingent future.

Overly personal story, I fully expected to be a young mom with my ex but I kept my career going. After I discovered his lying/ cheating and divorced him, I was so glad I kept my career going to be able to support myself and leave. Now I have a career I love and a fulfilling life, even though I'm single and still don't have kids yet, which wouldn't have been possible if I had downshifted in anticipation ofkids when iI married my ex. I known this isn't your situation but I hope you see my point.

[gt7301b]

We don't have kids, yet, but I admit that I fully expected to stay at home a little while when I was younger. However, seeing friends who are older divorce their husbands and have to restart their careers made me realize that I wanted to continue with my career. I did leave my faster paced career with a publicly traded company for my government job, but kids or not, I am much happier where I am now. Unfortunately, I am in a position where I have to wait for someone to retire for a promotion, so I am kind of stuck waiting for that to happen. I'm happy where I am, but that doesn't mean I am content waiting for that next position to open up. I am starting to put some feelers out there, while knowing I have the flexibility to not take on a super long commute or a position that will require super long hours.