Latest / The Comeback Career Podcast with Fexingo: Returning After a Gap, Stay-at-Home Re-Entry / How One Parent Returned as a City Planner After a Decade Gap
Transcript
- Lucas: So, episode one hundred of The Comeback Career Podcast. When we started this show, we didn't plan on a milestone, but here we are. And I wanted to mark it with a story that really captures what re-entry can look like when you’re coming back to a career that requires very specific credentials and institutional knowledge. Luna: You’re talking about city planning, right? I saw your notes on this — a woman who went from stay-at-home parent to senior city planner in Portland. Lucas: Exactly. Her name is Rachel, and she stepped away from her career as a transportation planner back in 2014, when her twins were born. She was a senior analyst at a regional planning agency, good job, good trajectory. But she and her husband decided she’d stay home until the kids were in school full-time. That ended up being twelve years. Luna: Twelve years. That is a long gap, especially in a field that’s changed a lot. I remember when I looked into planning — software like GIS and SketchUp were already shifting a decade ago. Lucas: Right. And Rachel knew that coming back cold wasn't going to work. So she started small. In 2025, when her kids were in fifth grade, she applied for a part-time permit reviewer position with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation. Just reviewing site plans for curb cuts and sidewalk widths. It paid twenty-eight dollars an hour, no benefits. But it got her foot in the door. Luna: That’s a big step down from her previous role. But I guess the thinking was, get inside, rebuild the network, prove you can still do the work. Lucas: Exactly. And she did something smart alongside that job. She volunteered for the city’s Neighborhood Transportation Committee — it’s a citizen advisory group. That gave her a reason to attend public meetings, meet city engineers and planners, and refresh her knowledge of current projects. She told me that one of those meetings led to a conversation with a senior planner who later became her reference. Luna: So it's not just about the job itself, it's about surrounding yourself with the people who are already doing what you want to do. Lucas: Right. But there was another hurdle: her technical skills. She hadn’t used GIS in over a decade, and the city had moved to a newer platform. So she took a free online course through the University of Oregon’s extension program — just eight weeks, self-paced. She put the certificate on her LinkedIn. Luna: And that helped her get an interview for a full-time position? Because that's usually the hardest part — convincing a hiring manager that you're not rusty. Lucas: It did, but not directly. In early 2026, the city of Portland launched a mid-career fellowship program specifically aimed at bringing former planners back into the workforce. It was a one-year, full-time paid fellowship with a guaranteed interview for a permanent role at the end. Rachel applied, and her combination of the permit job, the volunteer work, and the GIS certificate made her a strong candidate. Luna: I love that. A fellowship designed for exactly her situation. Did she get in? Lucas: She did. The fellowship started in March 2026. She worked on a complete streets project — redesigning a major arterial road in southeast Portland. At the end of the year, she had a portfolio she could present, and the city hired her as a senior transportation planner, a role roughly equivalent to the one she left back in 2014. Luna: That's a real comeback. And the timing seems deliberate — the federal infrastructure bill has been funneling money into state and local agencies, so there's a hiring wave right now. Are you seeing more programs like this fellowship? Lucas: Yes, and not just in Portland. Several cities have launched return to work tracks for planners and civil engineers. Denver, Austin, even a few county governments in the Midwest. The infrastructure funding requires staffing, and agencies realize they can't just poach from each other — they need to tap the pool of experienced people who stepped away. Luna: That’s encouraging. But I imagine a lot of parents listening are wondering: what if my city doesn't have a formal program? What's the next best move? Lucas: Rachel's advice is to look for contract or part-time roles first, even if they seem beneath your level. She says it's easier to explain a gap when you can say 'I've been working part-time for the last six months.' Also, volunteer for a planning-related board or commission. Every city has them — planning commissions, zoning boards, transportation advisory committees. They're hungry for volunteers with expertise. Luna: And you get to demonstrate that you still know how to talk about projects, read plans, and handle public comment. That’s huge. Lucas: Absolutely. And she also emphasized that the confidence gap is real. She told me that in her first interview for the fellowship, she almost talked herself out of applying because she felt like an impostor. But the hiring manager told her they valued her historical experience — they were tired of training fresh graduates who had no real-world context. Luna: That's a good reminder. Sometimes the things you think are weaknesses — like being out of the loop on the latest software — are less important than your judgment. And judgment comes from having done the work before. Lucas: Right. So for anyone in a similar position, especially in a field that requires licensure or specific degrees, the path is: get a low-stakes foot in the door, volunteer in a related capacity, take one targeted course, and look for fellowship or returnship programs. And if you don't see one, call the city HR office and ask. Some of these programs are created because people ask. Luna: Before we wrap up this segment — and I say this genuinely — if today's episode helped you think through your own return, or even just gave you a little hope, that's worth something. You know, buying us a coffee is a small way to keep these conversations going. The link is buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just if it felt useful. Lucas: Yeah, we keep this show ad-free, and listener support is what makes that possible. So if you've gotten value from any of these hundred episodes, that's the gesture. Totally optional, but always appreciated. Luna: Alright, back to Rachel. She mentioned one more thing that I think is worth sharing — she said the first six months of the permit job were humbling. She had to learn new software, get used to a new organizational culture, and deal with the fact that she was reporting to people ten years younger than her. Lucas: That's a real part of re-entry that doesn't get talked about enough. You have to be okay with being the learner again. Rachel said she made a point of asking questions, even when she felt stupid. And her younger colleagues respected her for it. Luna: It's almost like you have to rebuild your professional identity from the ground up. But the foundation — your core knowledge — is still there. You're not starting from zero. Lucas: Exactly. And in her case, that foundation was strong enough that within a year she was leading a project again. So if you're a parent considering a return to planning or a similar field, take heart. The door is more open than you think, especially right now. Luna: We'll put some links in the show notes to the Portland fellowship program and to the free GIS course Rachel used. And if you have your own comeback story, we'd love to hear it. Email us at comeback at fexingo dot com. Lucas: Thanks for being with us for one hundred episodes. Here's to the next hundred.