Careers Gateway - It's Not a Life Sentence!

All those jobs!

By now you may already know about the huge amount of jobs that you could do. You could be a butcher, a baker or a customer services liaison officer!

You may have already looked at different ways of finding the right types of job for you. But how do you view certain types of jobs in general?

My Dad says…….

What type of reaction would you get if you (as a male) announced to your friends and family that you wanted to become a ballet dancer, a nurse, a hairdresser or a travel agent? Are they the sorts of jobs that you have grown up thinking you might like to do? Do you think you would end being teased and called a 'big girls blouse'?

My Mum says…….

What type of reaction would you get if you (as a female) told everyone that you were going to be a mechanic, a soldier, a plumber or an engineer? Do you think you would hear the words 'you can't do that….you're a girl not a tomboy!". Would you have ever considered jobs like these?

Power to ya!

I'm not saying go out there and choose a job just because you want to make a point or stand up for your rights. It's all about keeping options open to you without being pressured to fit in with how your friends and family see certain jobs for specific genders. It's easily done. I asked a group of young people how they would describe an accountant and this is what they all said :-

Male, old, grey hair, dull, quiet etc…..

Now, there may be accountants in the world who fit that description, but there are many people who don't. There are many female accountants who may be blonde, tall, and like to go clubbing and sky diving in their spare time!

The point is, don't get caught up in forming opinions of different types of jobs without the relevant information!

Be aware of why you do it!

So why do we have these opinions or ideas about different types of jobs? Well there are lots of reasons:-

History - Maybe in the past, certain jobs were carried out by men or women because of society in general. For example, a woman would have been frowned upon for wanting to become a mechanic because 'ladies' wouldn't do such a 'dirty' job or wouldn't be 'clever' enough. Now we all know this is not the case! It's the same for men. In the past men wouldn't have been expected to do a nursing job because it was considered that women are more 'caring' or that men couldn't be 'creative' enough to be hairdressers because that would be too 'girly' etc.
The media - We often see images on television, in the paper or magazines that make us associate different types of jobs with different types of people or genders (male or female).
For example, when you think of a managing director of a huge international company…….what do you see…..a man or a woman?

Or when you think about a beauty therapist …….what do you see…..a man or a woman?
Be honest….and think about it!

Keep an open mind

So the basic message is. It's normal to already have fixed ideas about 'jobs for genders' because your gran tells you, because of the images on TV or because 'that's the way it's always been'. Equal opportunities exist and whether you are male of female you should have as many options available to you as possible. Think about jobs with an open mind and consider them because they suit your skills, experience, interests and abilities and not because it's a 'boys job' or girls job'. If in doubt, have a chat with your tutor or careers / connexions adviser for further information.

Good Luck

Jennie Glitherow

At school or college? Look out for Jennie's future articles which we'll have here for the first Monday of each month, and which we'll link to the best sites we can find on the Web. Why not bookmark us now?

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