Jobs/Careers and Gender Identity

[Janet_Girl]

I am like Mickie in way.  I am also in the retail sector, but I work in the delivery department with a bunch of guys that might not be to receptive of my condition.  This is based on their comments and attitudes.  But I love retail.  And I would move to the sales floor if required.  Oh, Yeah I work for Lowe's Home Improvement.  And I know that the is a brother who transitioned in one of the other stores.  I wold really love to talk to him about his experiences with the company.  But I don't know his name nor do I wish to interfere with his life.  But maybe he is a member of our little community and he could e-mail or 'personal message' me.

I hope that I have broken any rules with this comment.

and s,
Janet

[Chaunte]

I am a high school science teacher.  If anything, my transition next year will role model to the students that it is alright to be different.

Chaunte

[Lokaeign]

My education was spotty and my empolyment likewise.  I did an electronics diploma--high-school level--at ages 15-17 (a year early), but I was very badly harrassed throughout the whole time I was there and that impacted on my grades.  I was then deliberately lied to and misled about my future educational options and ended up on the dole instead of at university.  I spent years scratching around for any work I could get, machine-minding, sweeping streets, cleaning toilets, you name it--until I finally discovered that I'd been lied to about the possibility of a university education.  I finally enrolled as a mature student aged 24.  I did okay at first but the word came that the department was going to close, the staff lost interest and resources dwindled.  The stress caused my epilepsy to deteriorate and I missed a lot of classes.  Lab staff failed to order vital componants for my final year project despite my repeated requests, and in the 2nd semester of our final year my class (down to 6 people) discovered that we hadn't been taught 1 1/2 years of vital mathematics.  I tried hard to catch up but in the end it was all too much for me and I left without a degree.

After I moved to Spain things got worse for a while.  I'd prided myself on always being able to get money somehow, just by being willing to do anything, but I was refused work in the blue-collar jobs I'd relied on in London.  Why hire a Brit when you can hire a native Spanish-speaker from Latin America?  Being unemployed again nearly destroyed me, but I was able to pick myself up, retrain as an English teacher, and find work in that field.  I love teaching, it's a fantastic job and I'd be ecstatic if I could make it my career.  But I'm going back to England soon and it won't be as easy to find work, not with my shaky qualifications.  I'm also finding it more and more difficult and painful to maintain the acceptably "female" persona I need for my teaching jobs.  I'm terrified of being unemployed again.  I don't know how I would survive if I couldn't get work.

[NicholeW.]

I've worked as a therapist, Trauma and Addictions/Mental Health, for about 19 years with an MA in Education, undergrad English, History (European & Latin America & a minor in Philosophy.)

A bit over two years ago I was forced to resign from my therapist job with an agency of the RC Church because they finally noticed, after about a year and a half, that everyone but the Admins knew my face and body had made drastic changes. The admins found that problematic if the bishop found out.

So, I've been in grad school again getting an MSW. Walked in graduation in May and will finish my final 3 hours on July 3rd. I'll continue to work as a therapist, but have no plans to reapply at any Catholic Charities services. I currently am setting up interviews with three facilities.

After two years I'll be eligible for my LCSW and plan to try private practice working with Trauma & Addictions and General Mental Health.

After a lot of soul-searching and originally deciding I would never do it, I do want to work with Trans people if at all possible. I believe I have managed to 'pass beyond' my own gender-issues and if I can work with others who have them I believe I can be some help to them, at the least showing people that life does exist after transition and that they can find their way to self-acceptance and some real human joy.

Of course, practically all of that 'goal' would be up to the individual coming for therapy. No one gets dragged into self-acceptance and joy. Ya gotta want it for yourself.

I agree with Beyond that careers in medical and medically-related areas are good choices, not always for getting rich. And judging by the numbers of Trans People in computer-related areas I would say that would be the number one choice.

Nichole

[Shana A]

After a lot of soul-searching and originally deciding I would never do it, I do want to work with Trans people if at all possible. I believe I have managed to 'pass beyond' my own gender-issues and if I can work with others who have them I believe I can be some help to them, at the least showing people that life does exist after transition and that they can find their way to self-acceptance and some real human joy.

That's wonderful Nichole! We need more of our own in the profession. During my transition, I worked with an excellent therapist who specialized in transgender, even so, I occasionally felt that I was educating her on intricacies of some issues.

Zythyra

[tekla]

And judging by the numbers of Trans People in computer-related areas I would say that would be the number one choice

For a long time in the Bay Area it was a running joke about how many ->-bleeped-<-s of all stripes worked in the computer field - and if they were not TG, then they were DeadHeads working in a haze of pot smoke and Jerry Tapes.  I think in the beginning it was such special knowledge - and done in such remote sites, far from the general office and such - that if you could make it work, that was good enough.  And the machines didn't care, so why should anyone else?

There also seemed to be many in health care, teaching and research - college level in particular, and show business has always been open to people who didn't quite fit anywhere else in life. 

What most of these replies say to me is how important a good education is when it comes to having a life you like and enjoy.  And how important education is to being able to switch what you are doing when the need arises.  And it will.

[Lokaeign]

I do want to work with Trans people if at all possible. I believe I have managed to 'pass beyond' my own gender-issues and if I can work with others who have them I believe I can be some help to them, at the least showing people that life does exist after transition and that they can find their way to self-acceptance and some real human joy.

That's a really worthy ambition, Nichole.  More power to you.

What most of these replies say to me is how important a good education is when it comes to having a life you like and enjoy.  And how important education is to being able to switch what you are doing when the need arises.  And it will.

I could not agree more, Tekla.  I would encourage anyone to stay in education for as long as they can, and if they don't get the opportunity to stay on, to return in later life.  It would have made my life so much less difficult if I only had a university degree.

[Shana A]

I'm a full time musician, I teach private music lessons, group classes and play some gigs. My career doesn't have much to do with my gender, however I think I immersed myself in music as a kid as an outlet to express what I could not otherwise speak of.

Zythyra

[JackieR]

Telecommuting is a solution, but that's kind of like staying in the closet.

I've had a few co-workers that were MtF, one was in accounting, which limited interaction with the general public, the other was in product design, which would occasionally be a problem when unsuspecting vendors/sub-contractors came calling.

The accountant was passing except for the man hands and facial features, and the designer was not passing at all.

[joannatsf]

We are what we do; doing life makes us what we are.  It can be cooking dinner, visiting friends or building a house; it is the doing that is important.  Doing life makes us people and doing a new life makes us new people.  If we get sick, disabled or transition, sometimes we cannot do our old life any more and we have to find a new life.  That comes from doing. You start again.  Decide what possibilities you have. Then try them to see if they work for you.

[funnygrl]

I work as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) for a detox facility here in Phx, Az. I have been an EMT for the past 16 yrs. and have worked for various ambulance companies here and was a volunteer fire fighter for a small rural community in north-eastern Az as well.

I have been having this discussion with my therapist too, as a matter of fact during this past Mondays session. I can't decided if I should go to nursing school or not I am in the begining stages of transition since Sept. 2007. I have a ways to go and no matter what direction I take I will definately be transitioning during that.

I work health care now I guess because "I always have" and I don't feel the passion I had for it in the past anymore. Also, even having a nursing license can I find a job? On most applications they ask have you ever gone by any other name, so if I was going to maintain some level of privacy I don't see how that would work.

Does anyone?

Great post BTW

[DJorgensen]

I work in IT, and have been doing it for others since I was 12. I summed up my current job with this one day:
My role is to perform multi-platform local and remote system and server establishment and administration, voice and data administration, network architecture and administration, and pretty much anything else that's thrown at me.

My coworkers are almost all new age retro hippies, and have always been fine with me.

I think that its a pretty safe field for someone such as myself. I have done programming to some degree in the past too, but I get little enjoyment out of it - preferring to stick to the hardware and back end of things.

[Kate]

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'm the sole IT person in a small office of around 25 people. It's pretty cool, as I've been there like 18 years and at this point every last cable and program and computer is there and works because *I* put it there, lol. It feels like a work of art to me, my little creation. It's supercool to watch people using everything, seeing it all work together, and feeling that satisfaction of knowing I'm contributing and helping everyone do their job. That's a neat thing about it: I don't "make money" for the company directly, but instead get to help *everyone* do their thing. That's pretty cool to me, helping people, feeling like I make life easier for everyone.

It's for a construction company of all things, lol... but I've never ever had a problem with anyone about my transitioning. I constantly deal with all my coworkers, get introduced to new customers, meet with vendors, deal with repair techs, etc. They've never tried to "hide" me, and I certainly don't hide myself, lol. In fact, early in my transition THEY pushed ME to get out more, to not be afraid and withdraw into my office. They sorta nurtured and protected me while I found my way.

And yet, I realize my entire future is a blank slate now. As much as I love what I do, I can't even imagine what my life will be like in a few years. Where before I sorta knew the "trajectory" my life was on, now... well, now the possibilities are endless.

~Kate~