Has anyone else been a top performing, partner track, Big 4 individual, and then had a kiddo and wanted to give it all up? Did you stick with your career? Did you say so long?

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Yes. I have two young kids and I’m on a FWA. When I came back from maternity leave after my first baby, I continued to say I wanted to be a partner even though I wasn’t really feeling it. But I didn’t want to close that door for fear of not being able to reopen it, and I didn’t have a Plan B I was excited about. I actually didn’t really know much about the managing director role at the time, but the more I learned, the more I realized it was the role I wanted/needed.
My FWA worked really well for me as a senior manager and as a MD. It’s critical for keeping my client load manageable and my overtime hours down. Not sure what level you are currently but hopefully you are already seeing the overall flexibility that comes with moving up in the ranks. It’s funny - people sometimes say they leave Big 4 for the work/life balance and the compensation, but for others (including me), those are two of the biggest reasons we stayed.

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I’m on an 80% schedule (so a 20% paycut in exchange for a 20% reduction in hours). I keep a spreadsheet and make sure my hours even out fairly over the course of the year. I factor in 13-20% overtime depending on the year. If i gets too far “off” (like if I work a couple 60 hour weeks leading up to a big deadline), then I follow it with a couple 20 hour weeks to even it back out again. My childcare arrangements and my husband’s pretty standard hours help my ability to accommodate client and team needs (as opposed to if i had a part time childcare arrangement and I “had” to be home by 2 pm every day). So some days I work later, some days I work not at all, some days i WFH (even pre COVID). Also my schedule and balance have changed over the years and I adjust accordingly - my kids needs as infants were of course different than when my oldest got to kindergarten and I started planning based on school bus schedules and after school activities and volunteering at her school (rather than planning around infant feeding and naps and such).

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I want to hear some thoughts too! I'm currently thinking of taking a pay cut to work for the government for better WLB overall. I see my peers and boss struggle with working full time and paying for a nanny/childcare and I don't really want that life for myself, but I'm afraid I'm being shortsighted.

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I’m seeing a lot of likes but not a lot of comments haha. Does that mean a lot of you have felt this way but don’t have a good answer to this predicament?

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