Juggling Family and a Career in Taxation, Part 2
Beilei Yi, MST Class of 2020
In the second part in our series on managing a career in tax with a family, Master of Science in Taxation alum, Beilei Yi, offers her perspective on the challenges and successes of handling both.
Tell us about your work and family
I’m a Tax Consultant II at Deloitte Seattle office BTS (Business Tax Services) function. I joined Deloitte in November 2020, three months after my graduation from MST program at UW Foster. I mainly work for investment management, pass-through entities, and corporate clients.
I have a five-year-old boy, Jason. He is a kindergartener, loves superhero stories and playing with Legos and little nerf guns. Our family likes to watch Marvel movies and chat about the storyline together. We also like to spend the weekend walking around at pet shops, shopping for treats for our guinea pigs (we have four pigs at home!). We love picnicking and hiking out of town on sunny weekends.
How do you juggle work and family, especially during the busy season?
I prefer not to totally compartmentalize work and family in my daily life. In my mind, they are balanced in the long run since they are both the most important things in my life. Achieving my career goal brings me more energy to become a better mom; watching my son grow up motivates me to keep learning. That power helps me to stay positive and keep moving forward. However, in different phases of my life and career, I have had different priorities. I spent more time taking care of him. As he got older, I then felt like I had the ability to prioritize my work over my family in my first year as a public accountant.
I started my first busy season during the pandemic which was challenging at the beginning. I was constantly on my laptop and my work phone. I barely had time to send my son to school or cook for him. He began to want his dad more than me when he needed help. I had crazy to-do lists, but I would make sure I reserved a daily “connection” time for my family. I would grab some snacks and sit for a few minutes and chat with my son. Whenever possible, I like to take at least one day off during the weekend to recharge myself.
Do you have any advice for someone planning to start a family and work as a tax professional?
My advice is to try and plan everything ahead, prioritizing family over career during this period, taking PTO and the parental leave. At Deloitte, we have up to 16 weeks of paid family leave, and the time can be taken all at once or in increment as needed.
Another thing is being aware of your mental health when you return to work after the parental leave. Don’t be too hard on yourself, be realistic about what you can and should do. Reset expectations for yourself and adjust it along the way.
Click here to read the first part of Juggling Family and a Career in Taxation.
Interested in a career in Taxation? Click here to find out more about Foster’s 9-month specialized Master of Science in Taxation program.
