May is career month in our Women of Fisheries group! As we discuss careers in fisheries science, we thought it would also be a good time to return to a previous discussion in the private group: when is the best time to have kids?
Not all people see parenthood as part of their future plans, but for those that do, trying to figure out when to start a family with careers that involve so many stages (undergraduate and graduate school, temporary positions, moving to new places, settling into a new job, etc.) can be a struggle. In addition, having kids can disproportionately affect moms professionally over dads (see this article, for example) which adds to the stress of family planning.
A few years ago, we threw this topic out to the Women of Fisheries, and moms shared their own journeys as parents and their advice for those considering parenthood. We heard stories about having kids before or during school, having kids right after starting a new position, and having kids after being well-established in a career. Women shared experiences with planned pregnancies and surprise ones, with adoption and multiple births. The most common piece of advice shared?
There is no perfect time to have kids.
It’s easy to get caught up in planning, to try to find the ideal time for things like this. But one point our moms wanted to stress was that there is no perfect time, and we saw examples of moms excelling after having kids at all stages of their careers.
That’s not to say it’s easy – balancing kids and a science career. It is hard work that can be exhausting and overwhelming at times. Many of our moms mentioned how grateful they were for supportive colleagues and work environments, but not all parents are lucky enough to be in this situation. There are many ways that the fisheries field and science professions in general can be more supportive of new parents (see this and this for examples), which will help reduce the loss of moms (and dads) from our field.
For some awesome stories of fisheries moms, check out these posts from The Fisheries Blog: