Beyond the 9-to-5: How Moms Are Redefining Career Success

From building million-follower TikTok accounts to launching companies of their own, mothers today are rewriting the rules of what a successful career can look like.

For many mothers, the demands of parenting have forced their careers to take a back seat, or have kept them from taking a nine-to-five job. These days, though, many have also found new ways to make a living while juggling parenting, and one way is to build a business on TikTok.

Kelsey Pomeroy had just returned from an unpaid 12-week maternity leave to her job as a public high school English teacher, where she earned $39,000 a year, when she realized that the leave would push back her retirement by a year, or she would have to pay the difference if she wanted to retire on time. That prompted her decision to leave her job in 2019.

With a lack of adult interaction at home while caring for her child, Pomeroy turned to TikTok, where she began posting videos and eventually built a following of 1.3 million across different platforms, with earnings exceeding her husband’s salary. "I remember the first time that I earned my entire year's teacher's salary in a month," she told USA Today.

Pomeroy's story is a reflection of a growing trend among mothers who have redefined what it means to have a successful career. On TikTok, influencers can earn in several ways — through brand sponsorships, through sales from the TikTok Shop, from its Creator Rewards Program, through affiliate marketing, live gifts, and merchandise.

But it requires thoughtful planning and strategy to build significant income. This includes choosing a specific niche, creating a business account for monetization, researching competitors, planning content consistently, and engaging directly with followers through comments and livestreams.

Not every mother balancing career and motherhood is turning to social media. While studying dentistry in Nashville, hundreds of miles away from her family, Jadia Artis, 30, would pump breast milk between classes and ship it home packed in dry ice. "This time, I didn't want many years to go by, and my dream to get further and further," she said, explaining her decision to pursue her studies while breastfeeding, something she had already put off once during her first pregnancy amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Beth Wanner, 39, founded her company after experiencing what she describes as a difficult termination. Two days after learning she was pregnant, she was laid off from work. Then she found a new job, which eventually fired her after she requested an earlier C-section.

These mothers have learned that motherhood and a career can coexist. "I think we are told a story that work and motherhood are in competition," said Anne Welsh, a licensed psychologist and executive coach. "The reality is that there's a lot of ways to put your children first.” Welsh added that by taking care of themselves and fulfilling their needs, mothers become better parents and enjoy it more.

Whether it's building a TikTok following, relocating for graduate school, or launching a company from scratch, more mothers today are writing their own playbook for what a successful career looks like, on their own terms and timelines.