Point blank, you should not have to choose between a fulfilling career and having kids. And yet, the outdated idea that you must pick one or the other still shows up everywhere, especially in today’s political and cultural climate. Many ambitious, driven women continue to receive messaging that their careers should be paused, scaled back, or never fully pursued if they want a family. On the flip side, there is often an unfair assumption that choosing parenthood means you must not care about your career.
The reality is much simpler. Women want the freedom to make decisions on their own terms and on their own timeline. At the same time, biology complicates this. As a result, planning for fertility can be an important part of long-term life planning for anyone who hopes to have kids someday.
For people in demanding careers, egg freezing can offer flexibility and help ease the pressure to rush decisions about family building. Based on what we see among our members, there are certain career paths where the time, training, or travel demands lead people to consider egg freezing more often. Here are a few of the most common ones.
Egg freezing during medical school, residency, and beyond
Women pursuing careers in medicine often find themselves navigating intense demands during the same years their fertility is at its peak. Medical school, residency, and fellowship require long hours, years of training, and a level of commitment that can make starting a family during that time feel unrealistic or out of reach. On top of that, medical school is not cheap. Most students do not have tens of thousands of extra dollars to spend on anything beyond tuition and living expenses.
For many in medicine who hope to have both a fulfilling career and children one day, egg freezing becomes a way to keep options open. This is not uncommon, especially given what the data shows. One study looking at the reproductive outcomes of 194 physicians found that 64 percent intentionally delayed having children because of career demands, and 28 percent later needed fertility assistance when trying to conceive.
Read more: The Hidden Cost of Medical Training: Infertility
For those pursing a career in medicine, egg freezing becomes something to think about as a way to stay focused on training and career progression while keeping future family building in mind. Because of this, it has become a more common consideration in medical training, and some medical schools and residency programs now even offer benefits that help cover some or all of the cost. If you are able to fit the process into school or residency (we even created a guide to help you find the best time to freeze your eggs as a medical student) it can be one way to take some pressure off and help you avoid feeling like you have to choose one over the other.
Egg freezing and military careers
People in the military are used to planning around uncertainty. Deployments, relocations, and irregular schedules, can all make it harder to think about when, or if, starting a family fits into the picture. Like medicine, much of this intensity often overlaps with peak fertility years.
For many people pursuing careers in the military, egg freezing often comes up as an option simply because of how unpredictable military life can be. For some, it is less about making an immediate decision and more about preserving flexibility in a career that does not always allow for long-term planning on your own timeline.
Location plays a role as well. Being stationed in different places, sometimes far from major medical centers or fertility clinics, can affect both access and timing. Because of that, egg freezing is often something people consider during periods of relative stability, when logistics make it more feasible.
Cost is another important factor. Military healthcare plans may cover certain expenses related to egg freezing, which can make it more financially realistic than it is in many other professions. Coverage and eligibility can vary based on role, benefits, and location, so understanding your specific options is an important part of the conversation. We put together a resource to help break down egg freezing options for people in the military and military spouses, including what may be covered, what questions to ask, and how to think through timing alongside service commitments.
Freezing your eggs as a law student or lawyer
From the intensity of law school to long hours as an associate and the pressure of the partnership track, the legal profession asks for sustained focus and commitment over many years. At the same time, the milestones of a legal career line up with key fertility years. In many large firms, the age at which people make partner tends to fall in the mid-to-late 30s, a stage when some are just beginning to feel professionally established enough to think about family building. By then, many attorneys have spent over a decade prioritizing career growth and stability.
Because of this timing, egg freezing sometimes becomes part of the conversation in law. For some, it offers a way to think about starting a family based on personal readiness rather than feeling pressured by biology or career timelines. It is not about choosing one path over another, but about creating more flexibility in a profession that does not always leave much room for it.
Egg freezing for teachers and education careers
Careers in education are deeply meaningful, but, like the other career tracks on this list, they also come with unique timing, emotional, and financial challenges. Many teachers spend their early and mid-20s completing credential programs, student teaching, or advanced degrees, only to step into roles that require constant energy, patience, and long-term commitment.
There is also the emotional side of the work. Spending your days caring for, supporting, and showing up for other people’s children can be incredibly fulfilling, but it can also be exhausting. For some educators, that daily emotional labor can make it harder to imagine having the capacity for family building right away, even if it is something they want eventually. Some research has even observed patterns suggesting that schoolteachers may experience higher-than-expected rates of infertility compared to the general population, though the reasons for this are not fully understood.
Considering the average compensation rate for teachers in the United States is often below what’s considered a livable wage, paying thousands for expensive fertility care is not practical. On top of that, teaching careers often allow limited flexibility around time off, especially during the school year. Stepping away for fertility treatment or planning around unpredictable timelines can feel difficult within rigid academic calendars or early-career expectations.
Based on what we see among our members, egg freezing can be a way to take some pressure off. For some, programs like Cofertility can also make it more accessible. Through our Split Program, you can freeze your eggs for free when you donate half of the eggs retrieved to intended parents who can not otherwise conceive. For many, it’s a way to support another family while gaining peace of mind for their own future, without taking on the financial burden.
Freezing your eggs in tech, business, finance, and other fast-moving industries
If you work in tech, business, marketing, consulting, finance, and similar fast-moving fields, odds are your job comes with rapid growth, long hours, and constant change. For many people in these fields, success often means grinding while you’re young. There can be pressure to stay competitive, say yes to opportunities, and keep momentum going, especially in industries that tend to reward availability. Because of that, family planning can take a back seat, even when it is something people want eventually.
Our Split Members come from a wide range of careers, including startups, big business, and everything in between. Many of them see egg freezing as a way to take proactive steps now without stepping away from their professional goals. Access and cost are still real barriers in these industries, but Cofertility offers an alternative to put egg freezing within reach.
Egg freezing and careers in science and research
Careers in science and research often require years, sometimes decades, of education, training, and specialization before reaching major milestones. Whether it is advanced degrees, postdoctoral work, field research, or highly competitive programs, many science careers demand long timelines and deep focus.
Historically, these fields have also been male-dominated, which has meant reproductive health was not always part of the conversation. When Sally Ride became the first U.S. woman in space in 1983, for example, she was infamously provided with 100 tampons for a six-day mission; a moment that underscored how little consideration had been given to women’s health in scientific environments at the time.
Today, that is beginning to change. Researchers and institutions are paying closer attention to how demanding careers affect reproductive health. While becoming an astronaut is not a common career path, it serves as a useful metaphor. The average age of a first spaceflight is 36, and that timeline is not unique to space. Many people in science-driven careers delay family building until after years of training and, as a result, fertility assistance such as IVF is relatively common. As a result, more and more organizations are encouraging employees to take proactive steps for their fertility.
Building your career without compromise
While this list is a helpful starting point, the reality is that for many people, any path that involves school, long hours, travel, or time-intensive goals can affect when family building feels possible. Whether you are in training, focused on career growth, or prioritizing other parts of your life right now, fertility timelines do not always align neatly with professional ones.
Cofertility was created to help make it possible for more women to freeze their eggs without worrying about costs, care, or logistics. With our egg sharing programs, we make egg freezing free and give women of all career paths more flexibility to plan their futures on their own terms, without feeling rushed. If you’re interested in learning more about how you can freeze your eggs while helping another family grow, click here to learn more about our programs and take our quiz to see if you pre-qualify.
