Career Choice if/when Free?

[outhiking]

Would any of you have chosen a different career had you been born a woman? I can't say for sure since this is only hypothetical, but I think I would have truly enjoyed being a school teacher. I love working with children, especially K-5 grades, but it's not an easy path for a guy (at least not when I was in College).

If money was no object, I'd definately have pursued something in the creative arts.

Just curious...

[Laura912]

Nope, same career although at the time I entered it there were few women.

[briannad]

Same career choice, now women are well represented compared to 25 years ago.

[Lorileah]

In my profession it is now more than 50% female and in a few schools there have been classes where there were no men at all. Would I go into it again? Do I get the advantage of knowing what I know now? Then NOPE. and not because of the gender issue, because the profession is going to the dogs so to speak.

[Paula_56]

I always wanted to be a nurse, back in the 70's it wasn't an option for a guy.

[TGMarla]

Hmmm....it's hard to say what I would have done for a living had I been a woman instead. Doubtless I'd have opted for something where I could wear skirts and dresses a lot. But geez, the way the job market has been, who can say that any of us wouldn't have changed jobs five or six times in various fields?

[Kate Simmons]

Wife and Mother Hon. Possibly a Sunday School teacher, Troop Mother or Den Mother.;):)

[Marguarite]

Nope, I think I would still have been in sales. I love meeting new people every day, I have the gift of gab, am very empathetic, and a good listener. I don't think a thing would have changed, but i think i would have been more successful as a women.

[Tracii G]

Hard to say would I have been a commercial truck driver? Maybe so but I never planned on being a truck driver in the first place.

[Melissa_59]

Depends - if I'd had the funding to complete my astrophysics degree, I would have done that. Then again, if I'd had the funding to complete it as a guy, I would be doing that now.

I guess it's easy to say I'd be doing the exact same thing, barring any other obstructions.

-- Melissa

[Karren H]

I'm afraid I was destine to be an engineer no mater what... Dilbert in a dress.....

[NathalieX66]

All I know is, when my retirement day comes, my pension and my 401K better be there.
I hear so much bad news these days about these things.

My dream is to become an artist in my retirement in a coastal town, and I'm sure you all know what gender I prefer to present myself as.
I'm astounded that I can actually make a living out of drawing for a living, but here I am.

[Sophia Claire]

Nope, same career. Same backup career path, too. Just would have made it sexier because there are very few women who are REALLY good at it (and I'm REALLY good). A highly intelligent, intuitive woman with a razor wit in my job field is nearly unheard of. Even rarer if she's hot ;)

[Eryn]

I'm afraid I was destine to be an engineer no mater what... Dilbert in a dress.....

Wouldn't that be "Alice?" :)

(You capture her personality, too!)

[sandra-leigh]

In a thread a week ago or so, I referred to what is sometimes called "male privilege": that if I had been female in the time and place I was growing up, it is not clear that I would have had the opportunities I had.

My specialization is at the intersection of three fields, and in those days no-one would advertise a job for working at the intersection: they would instead advertise for someone in one of the three individual fields and hoped they worked out. (To be honest, these days the situation is much worse, as one of the three fields has broken into many sub-fields and if you don't have 8+ years working on the sub-field that was invented 6 years ago, then you are not considered qualified even if you have an amazing track record of adaptation.)

I got my jobs over the years through networking, and I have my doubts that I could have ended up networking into the same kinds of organizations if I had been female. Maybe, maybe not.

I don't think I would change my field to a more "female" field. I am unusually good at what I do. But I could imagine applying myself notably differently, such as going to work for a Non-Governmental Organization. As long as I got to problem-solve :)

[Cynthia Anne]

Would of been a house wife! Proberly divorced looking for a career! Just my luck! Hugs!

[Meghan]

I don't think so. I am a problem solver, not a designer. I think I would be attracted to difficult, non-linear problems no matter what my assigned gender.

I think there is some chance that I would have found my calling sooner if I weren't distracted by this gender thingy.

Meghan

[Lyndaloves]

I am a heavy duty mechanic, locomotives to be exact. I have been trying to grow my nails out and was quite happy with their looks and length. Carefully fileing and fixing any chips but today without thinking I reached into a bolt bin to collect a bunch out bolts.............I just finished trimming down my last nail to about 1/16 inch as I snapped and broke everyone except my thumbs but they were badly chipped. And also got the grease that was imbedded under them. Ya know being a man sucks because if I was a woman I would of cried right there and I actually felt like it too.....what is becoming of me since Lynda showed back up and wants to come out.
Would I have done the same job if I was a woman.............no way.

Lynda

[Mollyanne]

Wow, that's a good question for me anyway. Actually i don't know what i would have chosen as a career if i were born a female (i have prayed for that) but i think that it would have entailed something in a feminine occupation.

Molly

[Karren H]

Wouldn't that be "Alice?" :)

(You capture her personality, too!)

Beware the fist of death! Lol. Actually I look more like Alice and live in Wally's Sticky Note City cubical... With a dogbert attitude....

[gender_blender]

I would have loved to own a Bridal boutique. I still might, since I'm so young.

[Cheryl T]

I think I would have been a nurse like my mom....I always admired her.

[Xrys]

I have never had a career. I have been bouncing from one job to another, never able to hold a job for more than a couple years, most only for a few months. Years of repressing my feminine self has lead to great depression, and anger management issues. It is only in this current period of joblessness that I have learned to accept my true self. I have gotten my temper under control, and I am doing much better than I used to. If I had been born a female, I would probably have a career, and not just a list jobs that I messed up. I would probably have a degree in something aswell. Luckily, it aint too late for me. As far as what career i might have chosen, I have always liked being social, and doing jobs that most people think are beneath them. I would probably make a good secretary or personal assistant. I thought about being a butler for a while, but never got serious. I like serving other people. The job i had that i liked the most, i was doing house cleaning for a disabled family. I held that job for two years, but the family fired me and hired a cousin of theirs that was despriate for the money. It is hard to say where i would be if i had been born a woman.

[kimdl93]

If I were to make a career change it wouldn't have been driven by gender issues. I have worked most of my professional life in public and health administration. But I fell into by default. As a HS and college student, I didn't devote nearly enough effort to finding suitable a career path. Were I to do it over again, gosh, there are so many fields that interest me from engineering to business development. And now that I'm self employed as a consultant in health care, I have the freedom to explore and pursue interests.

[AmandaM]

I really like high fashion. I could see myself going into Fashion Merchandising or something along those lines.

[Stephanie47]

If I were born a woman, I wonder what my reaction would be if I discovered my husband was a cross dresser?

I would hope after a hard day working as a waitress in a white blouse, black skirt, black stockings and four inch heels I would hope she would be willing to mix me a drink in his little French maid outfit!

[Kathryn_Cox]

I am afraid that I could not have done the job that I have just retired from after 42 years :sad: even though I loved the job totally :cheer: it was deffinately a male job, so if i had been born female I would of hoped for a very glamorous job that I could wear wonderful girly clothes for :clap::cheer:
Kathryn xx

[AlysonCD]

I can say for certain that if I had been born female, I would not be doing the job I do now. I drive a septic truck. 'nuff said...lol

[linda allen]

Would any of you have chosen a different career had you been born a woman?

I'm sure I would have had a different career if I had been born female. My career was an extention of my hobbies when I was a child. If I had been a girl, I would almost certainly have had different hobbies.

Realistically, back when I was a child, most women didn't have careers, they got married, stayed home, and raised children. In my high school, girls who didn't take college prep courses were taught how to type and take dictation. (I guess that dates me, doesn't it.)

[Julia_in_Pa]

Before my transition I sat on my @ss, filed my nails and barked orders....After transition I sit on my @ss, file my nails and bark orders.



Julia

[daviolin]

I'm with you Amanda. Deffinetly in the fashion world I would be. I design and build furniture. Why not clothing. Daviolin

[SallyS]

Would have loved to been a female academic researcher or female science nerd.

Thankfully I'm aiming to be a freelance researcher, based at home, so who'll know if I'm doing my job in a dress or shirt & tie?:)

Most of my other jobs have been gender neutral IMHO, i.e. retail, manufacturing, social work etc.

[NV Susan]

In the 1860's I would have been a saloon girl.....
In our times I would have been a Hooters girl....

[Ally 2112]

This is a good question i never really thought about it .I started in a factory the minute i got out of highschool got laid off went to another factory got laid off .Then i went back to school to try to something different but ended up back in a factory which is now closed .So for the last 4 years i have been bouncing from one low paying brutal job to another .Now for the whole point of my thread lol if i had been a girl i might of tried for something different and maybe had a better chance (not that women have it easier) but i know i would have tried harder to stay off the factory treadmill which has left me high and dry