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Eight Ways to Get Back in the Game After the Mommy Years
By Sara Reistad-Long

Get back in the game. Of the 37 percent of college-educated women who quit their jobs, many to raise children, 93 percent are ready to go back to work within about two years, according to data published in the Harvard Business Review. But by most accounts, trying to reenter is highly stressful—from facing down the "What have you done lately?" question to shaking off the kind of insecurity that comes with years of speaking mainly toddlerese. And most women who find new jobs, research shows, end up taking a marked pay cut.

To the rescue, fortunately, is a whole new slew of crash courses specifically designed for reentering women. O checked out a few of them to wrangle some tricks of the trade.

Make the transition back to work.

From the September 2007 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. Subscribe now!