The debate about having a career versus having a family has gone on for far too long. It’s high time that society stops pressuring women to choose one or the other like it’s a mutually exclusive situation because it’s really not. Women can be mothers and professionals at the same time.
This is a double standard because men don’t get asked to choose between their careers or their families all the time, and it’s also not expected of them to let one or the other go. So women shouldn’t be expected to let their careers go just because they are the ones with the uteri and the birthing hips.
Besides, it’s not like children are deal-breakers in building a career. Women can fulfill two roles at once; it might not be an easy feat, but it sure isn’t impossible to achieve. Many women in history have managed to raise wonderful children and still make a name for themselves, so don’t be afraid to take the risk.
You already worked far too hard to just give up on your career simply because of an unplanned pregnancy that you decided to continue. You may need to put your life on hold for a bit to focus on your child’s needs, but you won’t need to put your dreams and aspirations on hold forever.
Understandably, returning to the professional playing field is frightening during the first few weeks because everything is new and different, but you can still learn to adjust. Don’t be discouraged from building your career just because you’ve lagged behind your peers; instead, look on the brighter side and focus on bouncing back from your pause. And here’s how you can do just that:
Finish Your Studies
Finding out that you were pregnant while you were still a student can feel like the end of the world, and it probably was because that incident ended a chapter of your life that shouldn’t have come for at least a few more years. And you can’t change something that has already happened, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t control what happens next.
When your kid is old enough not to require your undivided attention, consider going back to school to finish your studies. For instance, if you were in high school when you got pregnant, you should consider getting your GED to apply to college to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Or if you were already in college when you got pregnant, then check how many classes you have left and see if you can take them remotely so that you can spend more time at home with your kid. But if you no longer want to pursue your education traditionally, there are plenty of online learning platforms that you can use to develop your skills and expand your knowledge.
Apply for Internships
Once you’ve built your credentials, you can find internship applications for companies inside the industry you want to work in. The internship programs offered by companies are one of the best ways to gain firsthand experience in the career that you want to pursue, and it can lead directly to a job later on.
Of course, you can’t just apply for any internship available because you have a kid to support financially. So you need to find a paid internship in your chosen line of work. For instance, if you’re interested in a career in web development, then maybe you should find an internship in an esteemed IT company.
The point is that the internship should give you the experience you need to help you land a good-paying job in the future. It’s useless to take an unpaid internship for a different industry just because you want to, especially since you have another mouth to feed besides your own. You no longer have that kind of freedom because your kid depends on you for their survival.
Land a Stable Job
Internships aren’t prerequisites to getting a job, but they can help you gain a competitive edge against other job applicants because they give you the field experience they may still lack. So it’s up to you whether you want to intern for a year or not, but you should do what you think is best for you and your kid.
Job stability is important because it would be harder to raise your child if you’re busy jumping from one company to another. Most young professionals tend to job-hop freely because they can afford to be unemployed for months at a time, but you may not have the same luxury as them unless your financial status says otherwise. However, you should also know when it’s not right for you to stay because no amount of money is worth suffering under unfair treatment in the workplace.
That’s why you must always consider your kid whenever you make decisions that will affect them too. You’re no longer your own person because someone else depends on you for their day-to-day living, but that doesn’t mean that you should put your life or career on hold for good because of them. You can be a mother and have a career without completely sacrificing one or the other; it will just take some getting used to.
