Working Women Burning Out By 30 [AUDIO]

They are ambitious go-getters who have greater opportunties and are landing good, high-paying jobs early on in their careers. They’re working as lawyers, doctors, engineers and corporate executives. And yet, many professional women are burning out by the age of 30. Research shows that 53 percent of corporate entry-level jobs are held by women. That percentage drops to 37 percent for mid-management roles and 26 percent for vice presidents and senior managers.

“Thirty is a very important age for women,” said Terri Boyer, Executive Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers. “There is more of a stigma around women taking time for their caregiving responsibilities, for family, for hobbies, etc, so they’re trying to counteract the bias surrounding that which is why they work as hard as they do early on in their careers.”

“Also, as women near 30, their biological clock starts ticking and they grow more concerned over whether they are going to have children and what their life is going to look like if they continue working, working, working without taking a break to start a family.”

“The idea is to find some kind of balance. Men might not be stigmatized for taking that personal time,” said Boyer. “Women need to start taking that time even as a younger person, even if they aren’t the ones with family responsibilities just yet.”

“In this day and age, there are many companies who have programs that cater to flexibility,” said Boyer. “It’s one of the number one things employees look for when looking for a job. Good workers are taking advantage of these type of opportunities because then they can have the best of both worlds, a good job and time with their family.”