Making Career Decisions as a Mother: What’s Right for You in This Season?

May 9

working mom on her laptop with smiling daughter

Before motherhood, career decisions felt linear, or at least clear: Work hard, set goals, and move forward. You climb the ladder.

Then you became a mother—and suddenly, everything felt more complicated.

What used to be obvious now comes with layers of questions: Do I still want this? Can I handle this workload? Will I regret stepping back? Will I resent pushing ahead?

It’s not just about the work itself—it’s about how that work fits into a life that has fundamentally changed.

The Career Shift No One Talks About

Motherhood is a profound transformation, not just personally but professionally.

There’s a name for this shift—matrescence—the developmental phase of becoming a mother. Just like adolescence, it changes how we see ourselves, our values, and what we need from our careers.

For some, matrescence brings clarity: “This is what I want, and I’m ready to go for it.”
For others, it brings uncertainty: “I used to love my job, so why does it feel different now?”

Neither response is wrong—both are signs of growth.

The challenge is that while our identities evolve, the working world often expects us to stay the same.

The hustle culture, the unspoken pressure to “bounce back,” the expectation that we’ll want what we always wanted—it can leave us feeling stuck between who we were and who we are becoming.

Finding a Career Path That Fits This Season

One of the biggest mistakes I see working moms make is believing that career decisions are forever decisions. In reality, they are just decisions for right now.

Your needs today may not be your needs a year from now—and that’s okay.

So instead of asking, “what’s the perfect long-term plan?” try asking:

What do I need from my career right now—financially, emotionally, and logistically?
What excites me? What drains me?
If I had permission to choose based on what works best for me (not external expectations), what would I do?
What is one small step I can take in that direction?

This approach removes the pressure of getting it exactly right and allows for more flexibility. It also helps untangle what you actually want from what you feel you should want.

Ambition Looks Different in Different Seasons

One of the biggest myths about working motherhood is that you have to choose between being an ambitious professional and a present parent.

The truth is, ambition doesn’t disappear when you become a mother—it evolves.

Your career doesn’t have to follow a rigid timeline. You can set goals that fit this season and adjust as you go. You can pursue leadership, change industries, take a break, start something new—whatever aligns with your reality right now.

Your ambition is still yours. The challenge is allowing yourself to define it on your own terms.

You Can Choose—and Choose Again

If you’re standing at a crossroads, unsure of your next move, remember:

You don’t have to have it all figured out—just the next step.
This decision isn’t permanent. It’s just the right choice for this phase of life.
You are allowed to change your mind as your needs and desires evolve.
You don’t have to prove your ambition—it is already within you.

Trust yourself. You are the expert on your own life. And whatever you choose, you can always choose again.