M2F - what industry or sector do you work in?

[Violet Bloom]

  Retail, a terrible environment to have to come-out in because it's so damned public and you're not supposed to upset anyones' sensibilities.  On the up-side it's a large company with a drug plan that's paying for most of my HRT.  They've also been quite accommodating of the numerous appointments I have to attend related to my transition.  I'm not out yet beyond Management and they are being fair with my privacy.

  I guess overall I'm comfortable with this job at the moment, but given a choice I'd go back to doing much more sophisticated stuff like I used to.  Circumstances landed me here a while back and I'm sticking with it for the security.  I actually do get paid quite well for what I do and I get three weeks of vacation per year.

[Christine Eryn]

Information Technology, AKA babysitting a bunch of ->-bleeped-<-s. I hate it with every fiber of my being. It is soul crushing, and the commutes to and from work are goddamn torment. I got into it over 15 years ago and it's had ups and downs. Ultimately, I'm stuck in a career in which I hate and can't do anything about it.

[Violet Bloom]

Everything involving the government is scary. They can make you disappear in an instant.

Damned Feds!

[LaurenL]

Airline pilot - Currently a captain on the Airbus A-320.

Type rated and ATP on the Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Boeing 727, Airbus A320, DHC-7, ATR-42, ATR-72.

Commercial license - single engine and gliders.

HRT 4.5 months now. Notified the FAA of my gender dysphoria and hormone treatment July 2014, new Class I medical obtained. Not out to the airline yet, but soon!

[skin]

Most important job - journalism student.  I still present as male at school, but I have been open in the classes within my major.  The faculty in my department are on board.  I am changing my name and presentation between this semester and next.

On campus I am just starting to do volunteer work at the LGBT resource center. 

To make end meet I wait tables part time at a chain restaurant.  There's been no issues with my androgynous appearance so far (4 months HRT), but I am still expecting to get fired when they find out.  Therefore, I'm trying my best to not let anyone there find out until as close to me switching to full time in Jan as possible.

[katiej]

Airline pilot - Currently a captain on the Airbus A-320.

Type rated and ATP on the Boeing 747, Boeing 777, Boeing 727, Airbus A320, DHC-7, ATR-42, ATR-72.

Wow, Lauren!  That is SOOO cool. 

By comparison my job in finance is really boring.  I just moved to Seattle (a very trans-friendly city), and I'm hoping to transition on the job in a year or so. 

[iiMTF]

Wow, Lauren!  That is SOOO cool. 

By comparison my job in finance is really boring.  I just moved to Seattle (a very trans-friendly city), and I'm hoping to transition on the job in a year or so.

Seattle is trans friendly? Since when was a trans friendly city a thing?

iiMTF

[Sammy]

I was torn between clicking "legal" or "public sector" and went with former as it is more specific. In reality it is more "civil service/public administration (AKA trouble shooting )".

[katiej]

Since when was a trans friendly city a thing?

Oh, it's definitely a thing.  I'm overgeneralizing here, but for the most part small towns in rural areas in the "Bible Belt" are going to be less accepting than big cities on the West Coast.  My experience is limited to the US and Mexico...each country would be different.

People who actually know you are somewhat of a wildcard no matter where you live.  But in general, cities that tend to be more educated/worldly are more accommodating of LGBT people.

[Kellee]

I'm in food service, working in a dining hall on a college campus, I've had a few episodes of dysphoria seeing all the college girls running around in everything from tshirts and shorts to their sunday best. Having about a thousand of them traipse through each day gives me a chance to study their movements and actions.  I have been testing the waters so to speak about the feelings of the company about transgendered employees, I think they will be more open than some places due to the fact that we have about a dozen lesbian and gay workers there already and there have been no major issues, but I'm still being cautious.

On another note I knew a girl who worked for Target about 10 years ago who transitioned while employed there and they were very accommodating to her, whether it was fear of lawsuits or just plain decency I am still not sure but she did very well there.

[LizMarie]

Inside the beltway in Houston, Texas, is actually pretty good but outside in the suburbs can be bad.

As for work, I do software development for a geophysical services firm that sells geologic data to oil and gas companies. We write software to extract, transform, and load (ETL) to target data stores, since it seems every geophysical application vendor stores their data differently from the next, and to get it to the geologists and geophysicists, we have to reformat it for each application.

[Kayleewantsout]

Had to choose other as my profession was not listed I'm in offshore oil and gas.

Kaylee

[Sammy]

Had to choose other as my profession was not listed I'm in offshore oil and gas.

Kaylee

Energy?

[Asniceasme]

Retail for me, although I am also a student again now, and at the end of the degree will be changing careers to medical...studying a psychology degree, and after I finish the degree, and the extra study that goes with it to become a fully qualified psychologist, I actually aim to be a gender specialist psychologist...one of only a very minor few who will have lived through what everyone coming to see me will be struggling with.

As for the retail job...not out to work, although I have outed myself to a workmate yesterday...went ok, he was surprised, but supportive...but unlike some people, I don't have to worry too much about the reactions of customers, since I work in a store right in the heart of the "alternative lifestyle" area of Sydney...and I am fortunate that my doctor is just up the road, so I don't have to go too far for appointments and such.

[Ms Grace]

Non-government community not-for-profit organisation, doing website and publications etc. I could probably get paid a $#*& load more working in government or private or even freelance but I doubt I'd enjoy the work anywhere near as much. At least this way I feel like I'm making a positive contribution to society since we advocate to improve government policy that affects disadvantaged people.

[ssneha23]

No bodys put this one here.. I am a management consultant

[Julia-Madrid]

No bodys put this one here.. I am a management consultant

I you do your MC work predominantly for a particular sector, maybe you can add yourself there?

[Julia-Madrid]

Hi Everyone

The results so far confirm my feelings that we are indeed an incredibly diverse bunch, and your stories are grrrrrreat, so PLEASE POST THEM for all of us to read.

When we get a say 100-200 responses we'll have enough to maybe draw some interesting conclusions and ask some more questions.

Keep them dawgies rollin'....

[Kayleewantsout]

Energy?

I work as a able seaman/integrated Rating on anchor handling vessels in Australia

Most jobs involve oil and gas projects

With my trade I can do anything from laying deep sea gas pipelines to working on cargo ships

Kaylee

[Sarah leah]

I am a MHSW "Mental Health Social Worker", which consists of case management and biopsychosocial therapy with anxiety, depressive disorders, schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. I only started in a new job two days ago working predominantly with adolescents and the department of education working 18 hours a week.