LIFE & TRENDS Back in the Game
Innovative new programs allow women to get back to work after career interruptions. ::
BY TEMMA EHRENFELD C
arol waghorne loved life as a stay-at-home mom. “I always said I had my retirement in my middle
years. I played tennis, I gardened. My backyard ended up being the communal area for all the kids in the neighborhood,” she recalls. But when her marriage ended, her
life changed quickly. She had to find a way to make money, despite the fact that she had spent a decade away from her career in genetics research. Her transition back to the
workplace depended on a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for re-entry into science careers. Without it, she says, “I’d have been looking at Walmart.” A growing number of similar
programs have sprung up to help educated and accomplished women like Waghorne who have trouble landing work after a break spent caring for children or elderly parents.
MID-LIFE INTERNSHIPS Major law firms are offering one-
year paid internships that often lead to full-time positions. In the financial world, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Credit Suisse have created paths for returnees. Grants like Waghorne’s can make all the difference, and so can university boot- camps, which may run from a day to six months. Ideally, these programs help participants retool and build on interests, skills, and perspective
WAGHORNE 62 NEWSMAX MAXLIFE | MARCH 2015
PET PEEVE After being told no one would hire her over pet disputes given her skills, Debra A. Voda-Hamilton found new life in mediation — and proved the naysayers wrong.
acquired during their resume gap. “Decide what you want to do, and
if it doesn’t exist, make it happen,” Waghorne advises other relaunchers. Waghorne, for example, switched
from basic to clinical research, which is tied directly to medical care. She had a coveted basic research position at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Canada, when her child began
struggling in school and her husband, a pediatrician, faced declining payments in Canada’s national healthcare system. The couple moved to New Hampshire, where he joined a practice. However, Waghorne’s career was stymied by the fact that she didn’t have a U.S. visa to work. That’s when she became a stay-at-home mom. Ten years later, she knew she wanted a
VODA-HAMILTON/NIENE’S MOODLAB / WAGHORNE/COURTESY OF CAROL WAGHORNE
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