Did anyone choose career over kids and regret/not regret their decision? I’m 39 so it’s final decision time. (Adding that I recently switched from tax lit to tax transactional and feel like I’ve started all over as a newbie so don’t want to take a break. Ive got a good team and learning so much).

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I did it and never regretted it. I never had the urge to have kids when I was younger (I'm 40), and I always thought maybe I'd wake up one morning and want one but it never happened! Now I can't imagine having to care for a baby/toddler, on top of my career (which I love even though I represent soulless banks and corporations). I get to travel when I want, sleep in when I want, and my biggest non work responsibility is cleaning the litter box.

Of course, if you have a real desire for children, that changes the equation, but it *is* possible to have a full life without them. Good luck to you!

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I know plenty of people who did it and love it and some of them regret it. At this point, maybe you don’t want kids and if that’s the case, you probably should follow your gut feeling. There is no turning back on kids (I know plenty to of people who got them in their late 40’s too) but things are surely different with a career. If your heart doesn’t feel like it, it’s probably not something you will regret.

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I don't have anything helpful to add. I'm in a similar situation at 38. I don't want to give up my career, but I've decided to hold my nose and do "it." I'm afraid I will regret not having a child later, though it doesn't feel like the timing is right now. But I have a partner who is willing to be a stay at home parent and let me prioritize my career. Without that, I wouldn't/couldn't do it. Oh, and we'd only have 1. Difficult decision. Best of luck to you.

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Thanks. We looked into that and it didn't make sense for us to go that route for a number of reasons. I didn't like the statistics of success given the large outlay of money. Plus, if you have a male partner, there's a push to freeze embryos instead of eggs, and that comes with a whole other, and more expensive, set of circumstances.

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Thanks for posting. I’m 33 and see this decision in my future. Sometimes I think I want kids but once I’m around them or contemplate the day in and day out, I think it might not actually be for me. I can see myself getting to 39 and still having mixed feelings. Super difficult decision. Good luck!

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I don’t want kids, so no regrets. May foster or adopt teenagers in much later years, but no interest in biological kids. If I even slightly wanted kids, I would not let career stand in the way.

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I had this struggle a few years ago. Decided to have a kid (I’m now 39, have a 15 mo old). Some days I regret it. But the biggest feeling is love for my daughter. It absolutely shifts your focus in life and I don’t care as much for my career now. My energy level is always low. My husband and I thought we liked life now without a kid but we would be lonely and regret being childless when we were older. It’s a lot of work and emotional sacrifice along the way though. I agree with others that you should only have children if your heart tells you that you really want them.

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What do you regret MP1? And, if you knew what you knew now would you still choose to have a kid?

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