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stellar_muddleHypothetical question...
You are looking at a rather good sounding (long term) job and trying to suss out conditions etc. There is some info on the web, but your main info is though the person answering questions for the job application itself and from the sounds of things, in charge of organising that.
Given this is lible to be a 5 - maybe 10+ year signup (1 year training (lets do honours level stuff again, whoohoo...), 1 year basic internship then ongoing career), you would really like to know things like maternity/parental leave conditions, but statements like:
make you think that such an enquiry is lible to sour your chances or at least taint it slightly. Or it may not but you are really not certain.
Suggestions?
Edit: which also gets you onto the interesting questions:
Would you employ someone who stated they wanted to take time off for pregnancy etc over someone equally qualified whos partner could do that biological stuff for them? Even if they were firmly committed (at that time) to staying in the job and returning to work after (while maintaining a reasonable work/family balance - whatever the definition of that is - you hear about the corporate male one...(another rant for later)).
Biological limitations/imperitives over natural inclination? Not so much never want to have kids - that is your fair call and anyone pressuring you over that should be slapped, but how do you handle if the mental inclination to do the 9-5 thing (or 8 hour shifts on a 24/7 system or whatever gainful paid employment) lies with the one who has to physically do the delivery etc?
And the practical considerations:
How much money do you need?
How essential is two incomes in this day and age?
How happy are you allowed to be in your work?
What are the flow on effects in paid employment taking either parent away from their children and what are the crucial developemental stages when the effects are most/least?
How sane can you stay through all this?
How much do I want to have my cake and eat it too?
Is the answer "Tough shit. Life isn't fair. Deal with it by making choices and sacrifices. You can't have it all."?
In which case, I want at least one chance at redefining the world in my local vicinity and trying to make it work.
You are looking at a rather good sounding (long term) job and trying to suss out conditions etc. There is some info on the web, but your main info is though the person answering questions for the job application itself and from the sounds of things, in charge of organising that.
Given this is lible to be a 5 - maybe 10+ year signup (1 year training (lets do honours level stuff again, whoohoo...), 1 year basic internship then ongoing career), you would really like to know things like maternity/parental leave conditions, but statements like:
Since we invest a lot of time and money in helping you become a productive member of our Company we believe that, once you're trained, you owe us your loyalty.
make you think that such an enquiry is lible to sour your chances or at least taint it slightly. Or it may not but you are really not certain.
Suggestions?
Edit: which also gets you onto the interesting questions:
Would you employ someone who stated they wanted to take time off for pregnancy etc over someone equally qualified whos partner could do that biological stuff for them? Even if they were firmly committed (at that time) to staying in the job and returning to work after (while maintaining a reasonable work/family balance - whatever the definition of that is - you hear about the corporate male one...(another rant for later)).
Biological limitations/imperitives over natural inclination? Not so much never want to have kids - that is your fair call and anyone pressuring you over that should be slapped, but how do you handle if the mental inclination to do the 9-5 thing (or 8 hour shifts on a 24/7 system or whatever gainful paid employment) lies with the one who has to physically do the delivery etc?
And the practical considerations:
How much money do you need?
How essential is two incomes in this day and age?
How happy are you allowed to be in your work?
What are the flow on effects in paid employment taking either parent away from their children and what are the crucial developemental stages when the effects are most/least?
How sane can you stay through all this?
How much do I want to have my cake and eat it too?
Is the answer "Tough shit. Life isn't fair. Deal with it by making choices and sacrifices. You can't have it all."?
In which case, I want at least one chance at redefining the world in my local vicinity and trying to make it work.
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no subject
Date: 2007-04-18 09:11 am (UTC)I thought I'd give my answer to some of these, since I am a former high-flying professional (in the sense that I had a senior management role in a multinational, worked 60+ weeks and commuted between two countries - and now I'm a housewife and mother.
Two incomes are not essential - if you're prepared to deal with the lesser income. On the upside, being at home means you can make savings in ways not available to you if you're working. Time is suddenly cheap.
I strongly believe that you need to be happy in your life. Working a crap job that requires nothing of you and leaves you free to do other things is perfectly viable to me; I've been a cleaner at a restaurant for a year for precisely that reason. I worked an incredibly stressful and demanding job because I thorughly enjoyed my time there. Either way, as long as you are getting something positive out of it, whatever that is, is good.
I am glad I have stayed at home with my kids, but I was raised by a single parent working shifts and that was just fine too. I don't believe that matters as much as people sometimes suggest; what matters is that you love your kids and they know it. All else can be negotiated. And yes, you do have to make choices and sacrifices; that's part of choosing to be a parent. And you deal with it. What else can you do?
no subject
Date: 2007-04-18 12:53 pm (UTC)On a related note job-wise, can I just say that four days a week is infinitely better than five? It's astonishing the difference it makes.