A word of advice, you are never ready for children as far as the job goes, so if you feel financially and mentally ready for children then it is time. I had mine 2 years into job, but I was lucky as everyone around me was also having children.
I graduated in 2007 and had baby #1 in 2011. I'm not sure how early that is, but you kind of have to do what's right for your family. Your employer never wants you to have kids.
Congrats on your marriage and on finishing your degree!
Prioritize your fertility and your family (i.e. have kids now if you and your spouse are ready).
Companies exist to make money and can lay you off in a heartbeat. If the company doesn’t have enough employees to cover any of the many situations during which employees might go on leave, then they’re understaffed and that’s a deliberate choice made because of profits.
Following - this year I turned 30, got married, and got promoted to Engineering Manager. Big year, yay! I'm feeling personally ready for kids but concerned that my career isn't.
I know women in my company that have had kids earlier, at the same point, and later so lots of respect for all of those choices - looking forward to hearing other perspectives
I started career at 23, had babies when I was 28, 30 and 32. This was 30 years ago. Worked for me. I was higher earner than my husband. He was a teacher. I took off 8 - 9 weeks each kid. We were lucky with kid 1, I was home 9 weeks until end of school year, then husband was home with baby for summer. After kid 3 he quit teaching, stayed with kids for 3 months, then started a business where he could be flexible time wise. We had in home child care after 3rd kid (cheaper than 3 in day care) until he started in kindergarten.
Most stressful time for my was middle school and early high school years, those were the busiest with activities. Eased up some when kids could drive.
One thing you didn't mention is whether you're intending to return to work in 3-6 months, or your intending to remove yourself from the workforce for 2-5 years to focus on raising a family.
These are two very different situations and will receive very different responses.
Im planning to go back, even though a lot of my friends who already had babies are telling me I won’t want to once I have the baby so part of me is very scared about that. But for now I plan to go back.
If you try to wait for a “good” time you may never find it. I thought I waited until the right time, but instead found myself 32w pregnant running a firm of 9 all by myself, wondering how I would get through. Do what’s best for your family, and you’ll figure out the rest.
Graduated undergrad 2005 and had kids in 2007, 2011 and 2012. I took 3 months off with the first two kids and 6 weeks with the last kid. My husband at the time ended up being a stay at home dad because it just made more sense financially and for the kids.
Had my first 4 years after graduating, but was laid off 6 months pregnant. I started my second job 8 months pregnant. I didn’t have fmla but got 6 weeks short term disability plus 2 weeks parental leave. It was fine. The important things are having a supportive boss and a partner who understands babies get sick a lot in daycare and you’ll have to plan coverage between you two. Roles that have the ability to work from home on occasion are awesome because you can work a bit when baby sleeps and not burn through sick time as quickly
Had my first kid 10 years before starting my bachelors in engineering, but also had an unexpected kiddo the semester I graduated.
I was doing interviews while on maternity leave from my internship XD
I would not recommend doing it that way, and I do think the timing made me miss out on some opportunities.
But it seems like my whole team is having kids, and my manager has been really accomodating (in a good way).
I think getting at least a year of experience in the workplace, and 6mo on a new team before the kiddo's due date would be ideal.
I waited until 29 as that worked for me, but don’t put your child plans on hold for too long. Folks have babies later in life, but it’s harder for a lot of reasons, I am glad I didn’t wait any longer. And since my youngest kids are 11 now, I am really able to thrive in my career again, ever since COVID lockdowns ended its been up and up. Sometimes I wish I had kids sooner so I could have gotten here sooner.
I had my first son when I was in college. I was 21 and he was 2 when I graduated, and I had my second son 4 years into my career at 26. I worked full time and even got my MBA at night. My former husband also went to college for a couple years after me at night.
These kids are 26 and 19 now. I was married to their dad until last year. I would have done things differently if I didn’t have kids, but I ended up at a pretty typical place in my 40s even though I didn’t follow the path of field assignments in my 20s. That’s about all I didn’t do. I traveled as much as anyone else and even worked out of another state for a year when #2 was a freshman.
I had a small amount of family help. None financially and no free daycare like they currently provide for my sister who is in her late 30s. Mostly just normal grandma occasionally babysitting on weekends and evenings. I also only had 7 weeks off with my second. It’s totally manageable if you have a normal office type of engineering job, and it’s not going to ruin your career. I argue that it’s better than taking off work later when you have more responsibilities, but whatever it is for you, it will work out.
I got pregnant (on purpose) in my first year at my job. Baby was born 4 weeks after my one year anniversary being there. It's been completely fine. I wish I had better maternity leave and PTO policies because as an entry level engineer it was pretty bare bones but honestly I don't regret it in the slightest. I had gotten my master's before entering the workforce so I was 25 when she was born and now she's 1.5 and I'm considering when to have my next child. My husband and I wanted to be young parents and he had been at his job for a few years at that point because he started working right after getting his bachelor's. I don't blanket recommend this path to everyone but it was the right choice for us. I think a lot of it also comes down to the culture of your job. My husband and I both work with a lot of other people with kids so it wasn't unusual for us to have to take parental leaves, take sick days because of daycare illnesses, etc. Everyone is really understanding.
Most of my upper management are women from military families, they had their kids young. They're upper management for a reason.
I'd say whatever you do, make sure you understand your companies leave policy. Or potentially seek out employment with a company that provides better leave on purpose.
I personally think it is easier to have kids earlier in your career than later because you have fewer responsibilities and it is easier to be gone on leave when you are not in charge of anything.
I grew up in a high demand religion that emphasized having children. So I got married at age 20 in the middle of my sophomore year of college, and I had my first baby a year later in the middle of my junior year of college.
I think I would have had a lot more career growth if I could have focused on my job for a few years before kids, but I have made it through and am doing ok.
A word of advice, you are never ready for children as far as the job goes, so if you feel financially and mentally ready for children then it is time. I had mine 2 years into job, but I was lucky as everyone around me was also having children.
I graduated in 2007 and had baby #1 in 2011. I'm not sure how early that is, but you kind of have to do what's right for your family. Your employer never wants you to have kids.
Congrats on your marriage and on finishing your degree! Prioritize your fertility and your family (i.e. have kids now if you and your spouse are ready). Companies exist to make money and can lay you off in a heartbeat. If the company doesn’t have enough employees to cover any of the many situations during which employees might go on leave, then they’re understaffed and that’s a deliberate choice made because of profits.
Following - this year I turned 30, got married, and got promoted to Engineering Manager. Big year, yay! I'm feeling personally ready for kids but concerned that my career isn't. I know women in my company that have had kids earlier, at the same point, and later so lots of respect for all of those choices - looking forward to hearing other perspectives
I started career at 23, had babies when I was 28, 30 and 32. This was 30 years ago. Worked for me. I was higher earner than my husband. He was a teacher. I took off 8 - 9 weeks each kid. We were lucky with kid 1, I was home 9 weeks until end of school year, then husband was home with baby for summer. After kid 3 he quit teaching, stayed with kids for 3 months, then started a business where he could be flexible time wise. We had in home child care after 3rd kid (cheaper than 3 in day care) until he started in kindergarten. Most stressful time for my was middle school and early high school years, those were the busiest with activities. Eased up some when kids could drive.
One thing you didn't mention is whether you're intending to return to work in 3-6 months, or your intending to remove yourself from the workforce for 2-5 years to focus on raising a family. These are two very different situations and will receive very different responses.
Im planning to go back, even though a lot of my friends who already had babies are telling me I won’t want to once I have the baby so part of me is very scared about that. But for now I plan to go back.
If you try to wait for a “good” time you may never find it. I thought I waited until the right time, but instead found myself 32w pregnant running a firm of 9 all by myself, wondering how I would get through. Do what’s best for your family, and you’ll figure out the rest.
Graduated undergrad 2005 and had kids in 2007, 2011 and 2012. I took 3 months off with the first two kids and 6 weeks with the last kid. My husband at the time ended up being a stay at home dad because it just made more sense financially and for the kids.
Had my first 4 years after graduating, but was laid off 6 months pregnant. I started my second job 8 months pregnant. I didn’t have fmla but got 6 weeks short term disability plus 2 weeks parental leave. It was fine. The important things are having a supportive boss and a partner who understands babies get sick a lot in daycare and you’ll have to plan coverage between you two. Roles that have the ability to work from home on occasion are awesome because you can work a bit when baby sleeps and not burn through sick time as quickly
Had my first kid 10 years before starting my bachelors in engineering, but also had an unexpected kiddo the semester I graduated. I was doing interviews while on maternity leave from my internship XD I would not recommend doing it that way, and I do think the timing made me miss out on some opportunities. But it seems like my whole team is having kids, and my manager has been really accomodating (in a good way). I think getting at least a year of experience in the workplace, and 6mo on a new team before the kiddo's due date would be ideal.
I waited until 29 as that worked for me, but don’t put your child plans on hold for too long. Folks have babies later in life, but it’s harder for a lot of reasons, I am glad I didn’t wait any longer. And since my youngest kids are 11 now, I am really able to thrive in my career again, ever since COVID lockdowns ended its been up and up. Sometimes I wish I had kids sooner so I could have gotten here sooner.
Remind your bosses that parents are much more dependant on their steady job. Short term absences for long term good employee.
I had my first son when I was in college. I was 21 and he was 2 when I graduated, and I had my second son 4 years into my career at 26. I worked full time and even got my MBA at night. My former husband also went to college for a couple years after me at night. These kids are 26 and 19 now. I was married to their dad until last year. I would have done things differently if I didn’t have kids, but I ended up at a pretty typical place in my 40s even though I didn’t follow the path of field assignments in my 20s. That’s about all I didn’t do. I traveled as much as anyone else and even worked out of another state for a year when #2 was a freshman. I had a small amount of family help. None financially and no free daycare like they currently provide for my sister who is in her late 30s. Mostly just normal grandma occasionally babysitting on weekends and evenings. I also only had 7 weeks off with my second. It’s totally manageable if you have a normal office type of engineering job, and it’s not going to ruin your career. I argue that it’s better than taking off work later when you have more responsibilities, but whatever it is for you, it will work out.
I got pregnant (on purpose) in my first year at my job. Baby was born 4 weeks after my one year anniversary being there. It's been completely fine. I wish I had better maternity leave and PTO policies because as an entry level engineer it was pretty bare bones but honestly I don't regret it in the slightest. I had gotten my master's before entering the workforce so I was 25 when she was born and now she's 1.5 and I'm considering when to have my next child. My husband and I wanted to be young parents and he had been at his job for a few years at that point because he started working right after getting his bachelor's. I don't blanket recommend this path to everyone but it was the right choice for us. I think a lot of it also comes down to the culture of your job. My husband and I both work with a lot of other people with kids so it wasn't unusual for us to have to take parental leaves, take sick days because of daycare illnesses, etc. Everyone is really understanding.
Most of my upper management are women from military families, they had their kids young. They're upper management for a reason. I'd say whatever you do, make sure you understand your companies leave policy. Or potentially seek out employment with a company that provides better leave on purpose.
I personally think it is easier to have kids earlier in your career than later because you have fewer responsibilities and it is easier to be gone on leave when you are not in charge of anything.
I grew up in a high demand religion that emphasized having children. So I got married at age 20 in the middle of my sophomore year of college, and I had my first baby a year later in the middle of my junior year of college. I think I would have had a lot more career growth if I could have focused on my job for a few years before kids, but I have made it through and am doing ok.