Career change postpartum
I feel so stuck career-wise postpartum and I don’t know what to do.
Before photography, I worked in healthcare administration. Honestly, I got pushed into healthcare by my parents and once I moved out and had freedom to choose for myself, I switched careers and became a wedding photographer. It’s been good overall and I’m grateful it gave me a creative outlet and flexibility.
Then I became a mom.
I originally thought I wanted to fully be a stay-at-home mom, but postpartum has made me realize something about myself: I need creativity and purpose outside of the house too. I’m a very ambitious and creative person and I genuinely enjoy learning and building skills. I don’t think I’m someone who can completely turn that part of myself off.
Lately I’ve become extremely interested in museums. Not just casually interested, but deeply fascinated by how they operate, curation, collections management, preservation, archives, all of it. I loved museums as a kid and still do now. There’s something so meaningful to me about the idea that people intentionally (or unintentionally) preserved pieces of history so future generations could learn from them.
The problem is… I know museum work usually requires degrees, internships, networking, etc. And I’m sitting here postpartum with a baby, limited money, and no idea how I’d realistically go back to school for something like this.
I feel ridiculous because part of me is like “just be grateful you already have a career,” but another part of me feels pulled toward something more meaningful to me long-term.
Has anyone else gone through a major career identity crisis postpartum? Or transitioned into museum/archive work later in life without taking on massive debt? I just feel very stuck right now.