Jobs/Careers and Gender Identity

[curiosity]

Hey again everyone!

I would love to get a discussion going about careers/jobs of people who frequent these boards.

I know that being TG can largely affect career and job situations, unfortunately.

What do you all do to make a living?  Are you happy doing it, or is it just something you do because you've always done it?

I, myself, am an idealist.  I tend to think in very black/white terms (my degree is in philosophy), and so I'm currently trying to figure some things out about the future, like what direction I'd like to head in.  Currently I'm thinking heavily about pursuing Gender Studies, and/or possibly aiming toward being a gender therapist.  Of course, I don't want to end up behind the life-killing and creativity-destroying wall of academia, hiding behind words all the time.  Who knows...

Anyway, what do you all do?  How important is it that your job relates to your gender identity?  Obviously, this identity is only one of many facets of each of us, but I still believe that it is such a huge part of our lives because gender is such an entrenched ideology in daily life, to the point that most of the population implicitly assumes gender essentialism without ever thinking twice about what that means.

As such, this is a very unfocused initial topic.  But let's discuss and see what comes of it!

[NickSister]

I personaly see my job(s) as irrelevant to my gender. I don't think work should have anything to do with your gender unless you want it to. Perhaps my identity affects what I like to do and the relationships I form at work, maybe even my work 'style'. But I don't see a reason to muddy the waters of something relatively straight forward - I do the work, I get paid, eveyone is happy.

I'm a qualitative researcher and interface designer. It is an ok job. I enjoy aspects of it. I'm also a helpline phone operator which I love. In the past I have been a wildlife control officer (trapping, killing,  culling - that sort of thing), make-up artist, questionnaire designer, analyst, burger flipper, recreation programme co-ordinator, band manager and journalist for a music magazine.

I like working with people, but not customers.

I thought philosophy was anything but black and white - unless you are looking at logic and critical reasoning?

[lisagurl]

I like working with people, but not customers

In this age we all are our own business and our boss is the customer.

I am retired and do not need to work. But in a few weeks there is a job fair in my town. I do like people and would not mind doing work I enjoy. In the past I have found that you can create jobs by going to a business and telling them how you can help the business be better. I have been very successful at getting hired or even just a consulting for awhile. It is fun and a challenge to excite people and giving them hopes and dream as well as turning them into reality. Being creative is a lot more fun than going through the want adds but you still have to do some homework on what the business does that you are going to talk to.

[curiosity]

I love your reply, nicksister!

In terms of black/white, I mean that gender/sexuality is such an important and large part of my life currently (and I think always will be), that I can't imagine taking a job or embarking on a career that doesn't deal directly with these issues.  Because gender issues are a large focus of my thoughts (I'm only beginning to explore my TG side, so maybe this will change in a few years from now...), all I can imagine doing is a job directly related to gender philosophy/psychology/creativity/etc.

Black/white world-views for me means that I only see myself working in a field that directly corresponds to what I think largely about daily.  When researching various job categories, I go through the lists and eliminate most things right off the bat because I know working them means I won't get to deal with gender issues.

Hmm, I'm repeating myself.  I admit, I'm using this to sort out a lot of my own thoughts and feelings.  And by being forced to respond and correspond with other peoplle, it greatly helps me clarify my own thoughts.

Has anyone else been in the same boat?  I'm genuinely interested in how you all deal with these issues.

[lisagurl]

After you are finished with transition gender issues fade away and are not on your mind anymore. I would think that a job in gender issues would tend to get old.

[GregEvan]

I'm a student right now, and being trans is difficult enough. Hopefully, I'll have transitioned before I settle into my career - medicine. I'm going to go through medical school to be an oncologist. I don't foresee much difficulties if I enter the profession as a legal male. Maybe if I were to go through the legal name change and such after getting a job somewhere, but yeah. Shouldn't be an issue.

[const]

As of now, I'm an unemployed loser. I have done a semester of college. But as of now, I do nothing, but dream. The job I would like would be as a writer, computer programmer, professional chess player, or a graphics design artist. If anyone is wondering, my parents are an accountant and a nurse teacher at a local college. My dad has a bachelors degree, and my mom has a masters degree. I'm sorry I can't be anymore helpful.

[Pica Pica]

I have a philosophy degree, I am doing a masters in creative writing. I'd love to be a writer for a living but i find living and writing are not good bedfellows.

I was a barmaid, I'm now a tourguide. They both rely on an ability to talk to people. But the tourguide suits me best because I get to tell interesting stories and showcase a city i love.

None of that is really related to being androgyne. It's just stuff.

[Jamie-o]

I currently work in a warehouse, mainly because it pays the bills.  I suppose the choice is somewhatly related to TG issues, in that it keeps me out of the corporate conundrum of having to choose between feeling like a guy in drag, or looking like a girl in drag.  (There being less difference between men's and women's clothes in casual dress vs. business dress.)

I'm hoping to be able to go back to school next year.  I'll probably major in Computer Science, but that isn't written in stone yet.  I figure if I can transition at school, I can come out with a degree in the proper name and hopefully start over again in a new career without having to out myself via my resume.  We'll see.

[Autumn]

I currently work in a warehouse, mainly because it pays the bills.  I suppose the choice is somewhatly related to TG issues, in that it keeps me out of the corporate conundrum of having to choose between feeling like a guy in drag, or looking like a girl in drag.  (There being less difference between men's and women's clothes in casual dress vs. business dress.)

I do sales and look like a woman in male drag or a woman in womens' clothing (depending on if i cd at work or not) or a guy in guy or womens' clothing (which is close enough to mens that most people don't know the difference.) I really enjoy sales but I know at a higher level I'd probably have to reign my appearance in, which I'm not looking forward to. Or transition fully.

[tekla]

I started doing what I do because it was pretty open to strange people and they had good parties.  Its still open to strange people, and the parties are still good, though I go a lot less now.  In academia it was pretty well known, I went out all the time in the college town, people in academia are much stranger than those in show biz, it never mattered to them either.

[annajasmine]

I right now I would take almost any job that allows me to finish my degree(maybe get a more specialized degree later), that pay $9+ an hour, and 32 to 35 hours a week. Unfortunately I'm the worse interview ever I'm nervous, tell the truth too much, and lack confidence.  Anyways the jobs I had was bus Boy, pizza delivery, gas station clerk, assembly line work, manual repackager, metal prep and washer, cook at a fish place, I did my own pc repair thing hated it, and now I'm selling stuff to get by.

   As for my education started out with Biology Major in hopes of becoming marine biologist I changed majors I didn't enjoy some of the labs, switch to Computer Information Systems at the time it was the in thing and my family wanted me to get a degree in technology, eventually got out of the two college with an AS degree in General Transfer, I started 4 year degree in Computer Science it did not go well but i did pick up a lot of history, social science, and art credits during that time, and now I'm a general studies major with a history minor I only have 12 hours to go but those classes are not offer every semester.  After the General Studies degree plan to go back and get something in history or education.
 
  As for being TS never thought much about it much only with transitioning on a job in the near future. I would like for my name to be right on my degree so I might just go for a history major right now which would give me some more time.

So I don't have much of a career here, don't know if I could stand getting another general degree.

Anna

[Scratchy Wilson]

I'm a full time student, pursuing an associates in Fire Science and Technology and a bachealors in Political Science. I work as a house painter right now to pay bills, but once I'm done with school I want to be a fireman and eventually be an Oregon Senator. Being a fireman might be a little weird with the locker room situation seeing as I'm not male bodied, but I'm sure I can work around it.

[joannatsf]

I'm a psychiatric social worker.  Being TG had little to do with it.  I have a BA in economics and prior to becoming disabled I worked in jury consulting and later financial services, a fixed income securities broker mainly.  Being sick, I spent a lot of time around doctors and other health care providers.  I wanted to go into that field and explored nursing but decided it would be too physically demanding.  My interest changed to mental health.  When I became able to work again that's what I aimed for.

[Sharon S L]

I am currently the Clinic clerk, in the Medical Records Department of the Alice Springs Hospital, this involves pulling files for outpatient clinics and other duties when required I am just one of the women. I am acknowledged as, accepted as, and treated as a woman, by my co-workers, other Hospital staff, and the general public, this includes people that have known me since I was a child.

I really do work with a great bunch of people, and we all help each other when needed.

[mickie88]

i am a service writer at walmart. i also work the sales floor in the automotive department. it really has nothing to do with gender identity, but i do enjoy certain aspects of it. i no longer want anything to do with being in the shop, i prefer to one of the pretty ladies behind the counter or on the sales floor. but if i ever do get the chance to go back to college, i intend to study psychology and gender issues so i can help all kinds of people like us, i know i am not the only one around here in this crappy state of ohio, but i want to make it better for our community, it still needs so much work. there are no clinics around here that specifically deal with gender identity and no lawyers return phone calls on the issue around here either, it seems they need educated extremely badly when it comes to these issues.

Best Wishes,
Warrior Princess Mickie

[Just Mandy]

The simple description for my career is computer programmer but being self employed
for a long time that is only a part of what I do. I really miss the days when
programming was my main focus. As far as how that relates to gender I was very lucky
to be in a market where predominantly the people I interface with are women which
I relate to very well and enjoy working with very much.

Amanda

[Joyce]

Like Tekla, I've found the academy to be plenty diverse, and being a professor doesn't strike me as having much to do with gender unless that's your field of study or something.  I'm also an administrator, and while gender doesn't play directly into the job, I think most academics have distinct preconceived ideas of the differences in women and men administrators.

[Beyond]

I know that being TG can largely affect career and job situations, unfortunately.

What do you all do to make a living?  Are you happy doing it, or is it just something you do because you've always done it?

<snip>

Anyway, what do you all do?  How important is it that your job relates to your gender identity?  Obviously, this identity is only one of many facets of each of us, but I still believe that it is such a huge part of our lives because gender is such an entrenched ideology in daily life, to the point that most of the population implicitly assumes gender essentialism without ever thinking twice about what that means.

I work in healthcare and transitioned on the job about 3 years ago.  I work in a female dominated (80%) profession and so if anything transitioning worked to my benefit as I'm now seen as part of the majority.  Back when I was in school for my career field 15 years ago, there were only about 3 guys in a class of 30 students.  Anywho, my 2 year degree (I have a second related 2 year degree as well) allows me to pull down about 70k/year.

My advice... go into a medical related field, most pay very well.

Gender identity has NO affect on my job.  Maybe some co-workers don't understand, but I don't care because I'm there for my patients.  And all they see is the woman who is there to help care for them. 

[Laurry]

I'm a Mainframe Systems Programmer/Storage Adminstrator, and have been working in IT since I graduated from High School several hundred years ago.  I can't imagine doing anything else, except write, but Pica is correct about living and writing not playing well with each other.  The pay is good, the hours bad, and in the cyber world, the only limit to what you can do is your imagination.

Still, many companies are very "Corporate" and transitioning can be a little tricky.  The good news is many of the larger companies have adopted anti-discrimination policies that cover transgendered employees, so maybe it won't be as scary in the future.

.....L

P.S.  I've been doing this so long that when I started, it was called Data Processing and the only PCs were the ones you built yourself from a kit.