Dual Career Couples

In my reading the past week, I've come across 2 articles on dual career couples that my thoughts have been wandering back to - one on HBR (Finding Balance as a Dual-Career Couple), and another from McKinsey (How Dual-Career Couples Find Fulfillment at Work).

Are you part of a dual career couple? My husband and I became one just this April when he finished up his PhD. Prior to that, I was working and he was in "school" - which really meant intense research and writing. Fortunately, we haven't run into too much tension as it comes to work-life balance - driven primarily by the fact that we were both early in our careers, and have no debt or children to worry about.

Just under half of all marriages in the US are dual-career, and it rises to 63% once kids come into play - unsurprising given the figures I've seen attributed to raising a single child to adulthood (Fidelity puts this at just over $233k!). The topic of dual-career couples comes up quite a bit in academia, especially since tenure track positions are far and few between - often requiring a move to be close to the university.

My husband is in academia, but decided to pursue an industry job. Nonetheless, we moved so he could get a start on his career, as mine had already been established. We make very similar salaries, and comparable earning potential. Right now, 1+1 = 2 salaries; but once kids come into play, that figure could come down quite a bit, where 1+1 + (-daycare costs, -child-related expenses) = <2. We've never discussed whose career to prioritize.

I do wonder sometimes that if it came down to it, who would be the one to make a sacrifice in their careers? I often think about this scenario in terms of the prisoner's dilemma: better to cooperate and optimize the joint outcomes. 

Are you part of a dual-career couple? How do you and your SO handle work-life balance, long term life planning? Have you ever discussed who's career would take the back seat? Or is it a more fluid conversation?