Career Development
I had the career development conversation with my boss this afternoon. After catching her up on why I was placed here by the corporated director of environmental affairs, I got a pretty good feeling that she's going to be supportive of my goals. When we talked about what I want my next role to be, I mentioned the corporate job as an environmental manager. I told my new boss that I recently talked with the engineer I replaced who's now in that corporate role, and that I'd asked her if the travel was killing her yet (she has two children around Shorty's age). "It will be soon," she solemnly replied, and I started thinking about what I've set myself up for.
Do I really want to move to corporate in 2-3 years & start traveling a minimum 1 week out of every month to international destinations during my son's ever so critical teen years? I thought about what my mother said when I mentioned this to her (including that the company will pay for a nanny). I thought it was the perfect arrangement. He's old enough to be pretty self-sufficient now and is developing his own life & social circle with his friends. "Pretty soon he's not going to need me and I need to build my own life (especially my career) in preparation for him leaving home in 6 1/2 years," I told my mother. "That's when they need you the most," she said, "in that 14-18 range".
I'm thinking I'm going to look for other positions I can take here in IA so Shorty can finish high school before I move to corporate for my dream job. Unless some miracle happens & my half-child (aka baby daddy) actually is true to his word & moves to the town where corporate headquarters are (or I somehow end up married to the man of my dreams), I just don't want to risk Shorty feeling the same absence of self-esteem reinforcement I felt while I was going through those awkward teen years. My first career as a mother may depend on it. Guiding a child through that range is a developmental opportunity that only comes once, and it can make all the difference in that child's world when they're fully grown.
Do I really want to move to corporate in 2-3 years & start traveling a minimum 1 week out of every month to international destinations during my son's ever so critical teen years? I thought about what my mother said when I mentioned this to her (including that the company will pay for a nanny). I thought it was the perfect arrangement. He's old enough to be pretty self-sufficient now and is developing his own life & social circle with his friends. "Pretty soon he's not going to need me and I need to build my own life (especially my career) in preparation for him leaving home in 6 1/2 years," I told my mother. "That's when they need you the most," she said, "in that 14-18 range".
I'm thinking I'm going to look for other positions I can take here in IA so Shorty can finish high school before I move to corporate for my dream job. Unless some miracle happens & my half-child (aka baby daddy) actually is true to his word & moves to the town where corporate headquarters are (or I somehow end up married to the man of my dreams), I just don't want to risk Shorty feeling the same absence of self-esteem reinforcement I felt while I was going through those awkward teen years. My first career as a mother may depend on it. Guiding a child through that range is a developmental opportunity that only comes once, and it can make all the difference in that child's world when they're fully grown.
posted by N'j at 11:28 PM
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