What ’ s your job ? I am 56 years old , and I am on my second or third career . I have a strange work resume . In younger years , I worked in jobs that were really predominantly male , and then in my current career , I teach in an elementary school where it ’ s predominantly female . So , I have experience with two end
How did you enter this field ? I went to school to be a scientist . I studied Geology at Bryn Mawr College and accomplished my Master degree at the University of Michigan . I took a job in Alaska and worked there in the oil industry , but the reason I took the job was about its location . That ’ s a male-dominated job . After I had children , a lot of things changed . I worked for five years in the industry after my son was born . It all worked out when he was in daycare , but when he entered school , it was a challenge for me to manage because kids have a lot of vacation . They had more time off than I did in my job , and I got very frustrated with that . When my daughter was born , I quit my job . I looked at the jobs that allowed me to work but also be a present parent as well . I came back to New Hampshire from Alaska . I put my kids in school that I had attended when I was a child . They offered me a job to be a teacher . I have been teaching here for 14 years , and I have changed what I teach . When I came here , I taught eighth grade , and it was more like traditional courses such as Physics and Math . Sometimes , I was frustrated that the school might not have enough art for kids because the art department was not strong when I was young . I spoke to the director about it , and they offered me a job of revamping and changing the art program . So I stopped teaching eighth grade , and now I teach art to the whole school . Even though I am a teacher in the same school , it ’ s totally different than when I taught eighth grade . So my experience of entering this field is really different than anyone else ’ s .
How did you feel of being a woman in this field ? Being a woman in an elementary school is the norm . Sometimes , it ’ s even hard for me to work with so many women because I used to work entirely with men . I like both environments , but women and men are different kinds of colleagues .
What are some specific differences ? When I was working with men , I was working in oil rigs which are blue-collar work . It ’ s dangerous , so it ’ s kind of rough . There are nice guys , but they are little rough on the edges as they receive a different education . They were conservative politically while I was a young liberal white girl . I had to be aware of that I was on others ’ turf , so I had to be strong and respectful . But I had to stand up for myself or I would be railroaded . After that , I worked on the rigs for almost two years . Later , I worked in an office environment , wearing nice clothes . People in that environment were much more educated , and were a little more diverse in their political opinions . I worked mostly with engineers , who were all about numbers and percentages instead of being creative . Now I work with women . I feel we are much less territorial , less ego-driven , and are more willing to collaborate . But partly because this is a different field because a lot of male teachers are like that too .