Kia Ora,

Just out of interest for those of you who have already transitioned and had worked in a particular profession for quite sometime prior transitioning, are you still doing the same kind of work?

Prior to transitioning I was working as an urban pestologist, since transitioning I still do some urban pestology work[once or twice a month] but my other work environment [which takes up most of my time] is predominantly "female" ...All the staff in the office where I work are female, however the clientele whom we deal with are both male and female...

Also for those who have yet to transition do you expect to stay in the same kind of work/profession after completing your transition ? Or will you look for a more gender specific job, one that tends to draw more of the same gender that you subscribe to ?

Many positions in the work force are gender neutral, however some positions tend to attract more of one sex/gender than the other...


Metta Zenda

um... I'm staying at the same college.... does that count?

I'm very fortunate to love my career and to have been able to stay in it.  Even more fortunate to be able to stay with the same company.  They know a good job done when they see it.   

     Nearly everyone I've been involved with has accepted me.  I'm a lucky girl.

I'm fortunate to have kept my job so far as well.  However, I'm going to change companies of my own volition at some point, just to start anew somewhere I don't have a history.  I write software, so it's a field where men and women are both common.  And thankfully a field where it's easy to find a job, even in this economy.

I stayed with the same employer for a number of years after coming out, transitioning and subsequently having surgery.  My departure had nothing to do with my medical background but rather was the dissatisfaction with the manner in which certain issues were being handled that we would have lost in litigation.  I then went to private practice but still in the same general field...and still in regular contact with my former agency. 

Private sector also pays me a hell of a lot better than the government ever could have done...

  I didn't fit into any of the choices given.  My plan is to transition at current employment and then find something else to do.  The job I have is not what I want to do (getting too old for this work).  I want to establish a work history with my new name and then get a job that I can handle.

Working in the Information Technology field is what I am good at, so I intend to stick with it. It isn't exactly my favorite thing to do in the world, but I find it enjoyable enough, Linux is sort of a passion of mine, so yeah, definitely want to stick with it.

I'm pre hormones (hopefully for only a week). I work in telecom, and I like alot of it. However, I live in the bible belt and deal with customers every day. My customers love me to death but they do not know I'm trans, and as my sister in law says: "You're in the SOUTH! This is the WRONG place to be *that*". My boss is a Baptist, and I highly doubt he'd wanna keep me around if I straight up told him: "Hey I'm trans, I'm gonna be a girl tomorrow!" (If things get too out of hand with my appearance, I'll just say tell him my endo believes I have an androgyn sensitivity issue). Not to mention occasionally I have to crawl in a hot attic or dirty ceiling, and I'm so sick of worrying about having to do that. So.... I'll be changing professions.

I'm enrolled in a cosmetology class and will be getting certified by the end of 2012. Cliche, I know. However I do like messing with makeup and nails, and it's a field that is one of the most understanding and accepting of M2F transsexuals that you can get in. My mother has been a cosmo for 30 years and has offered to help me learn. My school also offers job placement, so it's like it was all meant to be

I would like to change profession, but I don't know what other to do.
As IT specialist I have decent money (I'm that "happy" part of society which have above average income) for few hours of easy (for me easy) work, other time I just browse web or do something for me.
So I should keep it.

I would like to be given a job in my profession, which is engineering, but places don't seem to want to hire someone with this condition.

Hi,

Tho im a bit different i still do my trade,  im a builder & joiner , = a trades man . 46 years of & as both male / female . so really its never been an issue & nore would it have been , tho im retired now i still do what i have done plus a lot of other things,
If you put restrants on your self in what ever you have done ,  ill ask the ?  who says you have to conform or bend to others in how they think . you be who you are dont ever be dictated to is my advise.

& if any one had told me to change my work or job i would have air gunned them to  a  side of a wall. i dont & wont let others tell me what i should do...& as a strong woman i know what i can do. dont be pushed around  , you live your life your way , not how others wont you too.

...noeleena...

Before I changed my name and went full-time I left my job to return to study.  This was due to changes in the work flow aggravating an old back injury, and the likely stress of being Privatised.  I've been down that road before, and it was very stressful.
I would have loved to have stayed, as there has been nothing but acceptance from all those I worked with, and I still stay in contact.

Karen.

Mine was more related to the type of work I did. I restored old cars (some regular repair work) and it's a very "pro male" profession. I have only seen a couple of females in this profession my whole life. Besides being very physical, it doesn't lend itself to being a woman friendly workplace. I didn't expect to be doing this work much past my age anyway, sorta a young mans profession and my body was saying to me "Are you gonna keep doing this?" so it wasn't a hard choice to quit when I got serious about being full time. I was pretty feminine the last couple of years I worked there and probably could have transitioned fully in place but didn't really care to be a woman car mechanic, it's rough on your body/hands etc too. I still stop by to see them and say hi etc. They all seem OK with my being a woman now so it wasn't ugly or weird. 

I haven't transitioned yet. I hope to stay where I am, in the same type of work which is Parks and Gardens type work. I have been with this company for almost nine years and they respect me. I recently returned to them after being away for 2 1/2 years and pretty much didn't have to ask for my job back. I feel they may support me, it's a few of the other employee's who I am a bit wary of. Working with them on a daily basis and their degrading attitude toward women is quite annoying.

I look at possibly having a back up job, not sure yet, possibly IT.

I transitioned in place this past April.  I'm very fortunate to work in IT for a very wonderful company, and when I told my supervisor in January what my plans were, her first words were, "We're not just a team here, we're a family, this is your home, and you need to be who you are.  We'll support you 100%, and we'll do anything we can to make sure your transition is as comfortable as possible."  And they were all true to those words.  I'm completely accepted by everyone as Colleen, there are no bathroom issues, and everyone has remarked how much more friendly, outgoing, relaxed and happy I am since my transition.  I plan to stay with this company as long as I can, because they really stand by their words.  There are even people working with me now who know nothing about my past, which is really cool.

I transitioned almost 2 years ago at a large computer company that i have worked at for almost 32 years, i do computer hardware telephone support from home for our field force, it is a male dominated field, in all those years there has only been one other woman and that was just after i started back in 1979, i have have no issues with anyone and rarely are the wrong pronouns or name used, it is generally just a slip that they correct once they realize they made it.

Paula

Would have liked to, but I couldn't continue in my previous job because of state law.  Now I've been unemployed since May 6, sent out over 300 resumes, and haven't even had an interview.

Can't help wonder why I've screwed my life up so badly.   Always make choices that look fantastic, then come back to bite me in the ass.

I transitioned in the work place and kept the same position afterwards for 6 more years.  I was the safety manager of an international bus company.  However I retired on May 31st, 2011.  My choice, and nothing to do with my situation.

Yes and not coming out at work.

Well i work for my Dad...and at the moment he doesn't know about my future transitioning plans. I know i need to tell him but i haven't quite got my head around things myself yet. I'm basically the office manager/book keep/accountant..yes very boring lol

I'm thinking of going back to college to do some more courses and gain some qualifications to go work elsewhere though if things do go wrong when i come out and let him know of my future plans. Maybe not just that, we are only a small local business and some of our clients might not like it and i'd hate for us to loose business just because i'm living my life the way i want. Maybe looking into things to much but least i have a plan x