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How do you wind down after a rough day?
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You’ll hear anecdotes from people who took years off and returned to a great job and from people who took years off and felt it really stymied their career. I didn’t stop work after having kids, but my take is that your ability to return to “meaningful practice” will largely depend on the job market at the time, your connections, and some luck. These can’t really be predicted unfortunately. I would take the time off if you feel a strong pull to. Maybe your first job back isn’t a dream but you’ll likely end up where you want eventually. And, maybe your priorities change and what you think you’d want now no longer makes sense with three kiddos.
Lawyer mom with grown kids chiming in - I had great child care when they were littles, and I went to a reduced work arrangement when the oldest started kindergarten and kept it until the youngest graduated high school. I never stopped working and now that I have retirement in sight I am so glad I stayed in the workforce (not because I love my law practice lol, but financially and career-wise it was the responsible thing to do). This I will say - your kids need you around the most when they are teenagers, so if you are considering a career break or scaling down, that is a good time for it!
I have been on both 70% and 85% reduced pace arrangements since kids, and it has generally worked well. It basically allows you to better set boundaries and say no to work. Deal flow will always mean that there are some bad day, weeks and months, but they aren’t as often, if you manage staffing well with your team. My firm will also compensate for working above reduced pace. So if I end up billing 100% even though I was at 85%, they will pay out that lost salary at the end of the year along with my bonus.
Know a few. Quite hard to be honest
I posted about this a few months ago in the Women in Law bowl and got some helpful perspective there. I ended up taking the plunge and told my firm I am taking some time off from work and that I don’t really have any plans for anything in the next 6 months. I was really concerned about being able to come back to work whenever I do feel ready, but that fear has lessened, mostly because I’m not focused on work at all right now (kinda moved to the back burner - still there in theory but don’t really think about it much). My group was very understanding and supportive and now that I’m a couple months in, I am so glad I did it. It was the right move for me, and I’m extremely lucky and privileged to be in a position to make this choice.
I gave this a lot of thought (and research) after my second, and think it’s possible but takes planning and managing expectations. The Power Pause is worth a read. I ended up taking an extended LOA and am now back. Happy to chat.
About a year, but probably could have gone for longer. The LOA was great, because it allowed me to experience being a SAHM while still keeping my foot in the door. I went back because my youngest was going to be starting a part-day 2’s program, so between that and nap, it’s less time with them during the day. And we found a really great and proactive new nanny that would do a lot of house manager type work while the kids were in school in the morning. The transition back hasn’t been easy (mostly from a mom-guilt perspective), but it’s slowly getting better.
By the time I’ll be able to afford 1 kid my eggs will probably be all dried up. Lol smh