Being a mom to a toddler, my view of what “work-life balance” means and its importance are a little different from when I first hit the grownup job market in 1996. And balance doesn’t only relate to motherhood - more and more women are taking care of aging parents. And if you have none of these responsibilities, maybe you'd just like to have a well-rounded life!
The reality is that most women continue to shoulder the larger burden of family care - whether "family" means a partner, a child, or a parent. So your job will need to accomodate your needs as they change. (If you have a SuperNanny and/or Merry Maid for a spouse or partner, keep your good fortune to yourself!)
When I see lists of best paying jobs for women I cringe a little. If it was all about the money, wouldn’t career choice be simpler? But it’s not. Salary does matter but there are many other factors (like your personality) to take into account. (And the issue of salary equality with men is a whole other discussion).
What’s important to you? What life stage are you in? Find out by doing the activities recommended in “Learn More About Yourself.”
And in the meantime, I hope you’ll find these resources generate some ideas as you work through the career choice or change process:
The Self-Employment Key’s article “Work-Life Balance: Decision-Making for Women”
Best-Paying Jobs The Women Aren’t In (Forbes, 2/17/2010)
with an interesting response by blogger Lylah Alphonse (The 36-hour day) with some valid counterpoints.
More Mag’s “10 Best Jobs for Over-Forty Women”
You could argue this is not a list just for 40&overs...
U.S. Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau
Working Mother Magazine’s Work-Life Balance section
And many other articles on the site with “best companies” lists...
Role Model Project for Girls
Khake.com’s “Girl Specific” career exploration guides
I am fortunate to have a flexible schedule so I can spend more time with my son. And I remember that one of the reasons I chose my first career, law, was because of the flexibility in hours and cases a solo practice would offer me. This turned out to be accurate and a good plan; I used my self-employed time to travel and explore my interests. What career can you carve out for yourself that fits your life?
1 comment:
Like you I also have a flexible schedule, I am engineer but my company is very flexible about all this, I know working mothers that are allow to work from home. I think society is realizing that we have to do some changing in order that working mothers can also have great careers.
"http://lesanchez.blogspot.com"
Post a Comment