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Ask the Business Coach Family Planning & Career PlanningQuestion: I am currently undergoing a career change and will be in school to become certified as a math teacher over the next couple of years. My husband and I would also like to start having a family soon. I was thinking that it would be best for me to have a baby the summer before I begin teaching. Although, this means that I would be pregnant while interviewing and most likely showing. Is this a bad idea? Should I just wait the extra year and teach for a year before I have a baby. Are my chances of getting a teaching position hindered if I am pregnant?Stacy Answer: As I understand the stated timeline, you will be in school yet for a number of years and are thinking about planning for your first pregnancy after graduation but before starting to teach. As this might turn out to be an awkward plan, here are a few key issues to evaluate before finalizing your decision. Be aware since this will be your first child - that you really have no way of knowing whether or not you will actually want to work immediately after your child is born. In fact, this is one of the things that most frustrates employers. They know especially with firstborns the chances increase for women to take maternity leave, promising to return to work only to find that they change their minds when the return time comes. You will also want to reasonably estimate the challenges of managing a full-time job with a first newborn which may lead you to consider part time rather than full time work while you adjust to the responsibilities of your new life. As for the hiring process, the fact that its illegal for a potential employer to ask pregnancy or childcare questions will be a non-issue if your condition is obvious. Which means, it is possible that it will become a deciding - even if unspoken factor for the employer. If you're obviously pregnant, a potential employer might be more tempted to take advantage of a loophole to eliminate you as a candidate e.g. the interview is allowed to list any duties of the job and ask if you are able to perform them including strenuous physical things. It would be legal for you to be eliminated as a candidate if your pregnancy would prevent you from performing any of those duties. The preferred alternative might be to wait until you've taught for a year or so. This will give you a better chance of landing the job you want without bias hidden or otherwise. It will also allow you to experience the real demands of teaching and determine how you can best combine them with successful child-rearing. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to prove yourself to be skilled at your work which will make it a lot easier for your employer to accept your pregnancy when it occurs and welcome you back wholeheartedly.
Also see: Disclaimer: The information in this column is intended to provide the reader with general ideas or concepts to be used as part of a broader base of knowledge they collect to determine their own best course of action and solutions most suitable for solving their workplace challenges. The information in this column is not guaranteed to be the appropriate solution for each individual.
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Joyce K. Reynolds is an expert Business Coach who works with CEOs, Sr. Execs, entrepreneurs and countless others providing knowledge, solutions, motivation and support that assist her clientele in successfully meeting workplace challenges. 