REAL WOMEN IN MEN'S WORK...APRILLE

Dr. Aprille Ericsson
Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineer
NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center
‘Moving Among the Stars’
No writer attempting to focus on Aprille Ericsson’s terrific job could possibly resist first discussing the fascinating woman herself. Aprille is the first African-American woman to receive a Ph.D in engineering at NASA, the Goddard Space Flight Center, where she works. She uses her brilliance to help move satellite projects, and people’s lives.
“Shoot for the moon. If you miss you’ll still be among the stars”. This is Aprille’s motto, and she has always lived it.
From an early age, Aprille knew she had far to go. If ever anyone asked “What makes you think you can do that?” her two grandfathers and her mother made it perfectly clear that she, and her three younger sisters, could do anything. She says now, “I think it especially makes a difference when men encourage girls in their life to achieve.” As a child, she was bussed from the Roosevelt Projects in New York’s Bedford Stuyvesant, to P.S. 199 in Brooklyn. She deserved to dream big. She was the only black student in her school’s Special Progress program, and she was very good at a lot of things. She graduated from middle school with high honors, and was a member of the basketball team, school band, and science and honors clubs.
Aprille moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to live with her grandparents and attend a private high school. Her interests were varied; debate, math, science, and athletics, and she considered many paths open to her, including architecture and law. She used her summers to try different things and narrow her choices. It was after her junior year of high school that she attended a program at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and experienced a flight simulator. She suddenly realized how much she liked things that move, and set her course for a degree in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering.
By the time she received her undergraduate degree at M.I.T, Aprille had worked on several projects geared to manned space flight, and she applied to NASA’s astronaut program. However, the Shuttle Disaster, which took place during the Reagan administration, diverted government energies to defense. It is important to Aprille that she not be involved in any ‘destructive projects’, so she went to Howard University’s Large Space Structures Institute, earning a Master’s in Engineering and her Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering. There, she specialized in developing design procedures to be used to help control large, orbiting space structures of the future, like the Space Station. Her award-winning papers took her all over the world for presentations.
Dr. Ericsson has worked on a myriad of fascinating projects, most of them at NASA, in the Guidance, Navigation and Control Center. Many of us would have a hard time understanding these marvelous scientific adventures (I did), but Aprille’s passion for her work comes through in her voice. Here’s how she described some of what she was doing at the time of our interview. “I help to build satellites. I’m in charge of overseeing many facets of the job, including building, integration, and testing. My job means staying connected. I communicate and coordinate. As a project manager, I’m responsible for budgets. I determine how much money, how much manpower, what skills and resources are necessary to create a satellite. I keep all kinds of people, including lawyers, scientists, and contractors, focused on the goal.” April creates instruments and telescopes for scientists. When we spoke, Aprille was working on a project where the lead institution was in another country. The scientists were in Amsterdam, the contractor in Belgium. Aprille’s task was to determine and demonstrate the degree of ability to collect science, of an instrument that Aprille and colleagues would design for them at the Goddard Space Center. Imagine having the confidence to convince a bunch of researchers that the $100 million they’ll need to spend is a pretty good deal! Aprille is also involved in developing the James Webb, the telescope to replace the Hubbell Space Telescope (Hey, can my son have that old one when you’re done with it?) and the JMEX, which will look at how the sun affects Jupiter (that does seem a bargain at around $10 million). Then there’s EO-1, the first new millennium earth-observing mission, netting amazing earth images for government agencies and the public. Check out; http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html for a great view of all the missions at Goddard Space Flight Center.
Have there been frustrations on the job? A few. Though attitudes are changing toward women and minorities in the profession, she does feel her career got a bit of a slow start due to her rarity in the field, until she proved herself. She works long hours, but that partly because Aprille feels a strong obligation to talk to young people about aiming high. She has acted as mentor, teacher, career advisor and friend to many students. She is a member of NASA’s speaker’s bureau, but tries not to have her presentations interrupt her day, and will work late to make up time she uses to give back to a society that helped her reach her goals with grants and scholarships all along the way.
Budget limitations can also frustrate Dr. Ericsson. “I want to pull off the great science. It’s expensive.”
On the plus side, the gratification is huge. Aprille has won so many awards, they’d need a chapter of their own. Many are technical (top female engineer in the federal government), and many honor her incredible outreach efforts.
Dr. Aprille Ericsson is no geek. “OK, I’m a rocket scientist, but I don’t look the part. I wear suede pants!” She’s an athlete. She still plays football, basketball, softball, tennis, and likes to ski and cycle. On weekends, she travels to play coed softball on her nationally ranked team! Recently, while speaking to a group of students in D.C., she was mistaken for singer Alicia Keyes.
Dr. Ericsson admits most people are astonished when they realize what she does for a living. “Its fun to shake them up, but I also make them comfortable.” She enjoys her life in the D.C. area, where there are plenty of well-educated African-American men and women, who think her job is “cool, no big deal”.
What kind of girl is suited to this career? Aprille emphasizes that a likely candidate is a natural in math and science, an avid reader, and interested in challenging textbooks.
She also says, “You need to be a people person. You need communication skills, good writing and verbal skills. As scientists, we’re not in black boxes anymore. You need to sell your ideas to get funded or to get partnerships. You need to know who your customer is and what you can deliver.”
She’s as brilliant as they come, and as practical as a car salesman.
Aprille Ericsson delivers.

REAL WOMEN IN MEN'S WORK...ALICE

Alice Suszynski
Cabinetmaker/Bench Carpenter
Aunt Alice’s Woodshop
‘Building beauty with her own two hands’
Diminutive Alice Suszynski has been a journeyman cabinetmaker for many years. Pixie-ish, and not much over a hundred pounds, she doesn’t look the part, but she can single-handedly build perfect cabinets, shelves and counters for offices, entertainment areas, and kitchens. She makes beautiful custom furniture, too.
Alice realized she was pioneering the field for women when, on applying to Chicago’s apprentice carpentry program she received a form letter notifying her of the aptitude test date. The very official letter began ‘Dear Sir’. How many guys do you know named Alice?
Alice became the first member of the Chicago Carpenter’s Union. This was a surprise to her. She thought becoming a carpenter was no big deal. “I like doing offbeat things.”
When Alice graduated from high school, she thought about college, but was anxious to leave home and the control of her parents. She took a bottom-rung office job, and knew very soon that it wasn’t for her. While reading Eric Fromme’s The Art of Loving, she was intrigued at the thought of a job where she could carry the process of crafting from start to finish, as he described. Which careers offered this ‘no disconnect’ feature? Shoemaker? Carpenter? Well, she’d always loved blocks as a kid. Suddenly, “I knew I wanted to build”. Carpenter it was! Her parents were stunned. Her uncle, an architect, urged to her become a cabinetmaker, not a rough or finish carpenter. Once Alice joined the union, they arranged for school one day a week and got her a job on the South side of Chicago. Talk about entry level. A whole year of floor sweeping. “It was horrible. I think they made me do it on purpose, to see if I’d be tough enough to hang in there.” But over the three-year apprenticeship, she met mentors who got her to think like a cabinetmaker, read drawings, and set up large equipment.
After her apprenticeship and her marriage, she and her husband moved to Portland, Oregon, where she went straight to the Portland Union to register. During her meeting, the interviewer inquired, “What makes you think you’re qualified for this job?” Surprised, she gamely outlined the particulars of her cabinetmaking experience in Chicago. The light finally dawning, the man asked “You’re not here for the secretarial position, are you?”
Here’s how Alice describes her job. “Measuring. Thinking. Using hand and power tools. Most of all, deciding and planning the process to accomplish a task. As a journeyman, you’re on your own. You may need to learn to direct a helper. There’s a certain amount of lifting, but not as much as you’d think. It’s manageable. Today’s cabinets are in smaller modules, and we have carts with leverage that help us lift pieces onto the saw.”
What does Alice love about her job? The creativity involved, and the opportunity to exercise her natural meticulousness and affinity for detail. Then, of course, there’s the satisfaction of seeing the completed projects (I saw a couple of her finished furniture pieces, and they were gorgeous).
Are there drawbacks to the job? “It’s pretty stressful because small mistakes have big consequences.” She was in the midst of a dilemma as we spoke. A customer was displeased with the shade she had chosen for her now-stained wall unit.
I asked Alice whether being a woman had held her back. “A long time ago, guys seem sort of appalled to have a woman in the shop, but that has really changed. I don’t get much reaction now.” As for clients, she did remember one incident where she had worked up a very thorough proposal for a couple from the Middle East. The wife was delighted with the plans, but the husband put the brakes on when he learned Alice would be doing the work herself. Such incidents are so rare as to be insignificant. “Most people just say,‘You do the work? Wow!’”
Alice had plenty of advice to give girls thinking of entering the trade. “It takes a girl who’s not afraid to use her strength. You must be able to think for yourself, be inclined to say, ‘I can do that by myself.’ Show initiative. Be ambitious. A curious, observant person will naturally want to get to the next step in the craft. It helps to be meticulous.”
According to Alice, the cabinetmakers making the most money are those with business instincts. “You kind of have three choices. You can keep working for someone else in a large shop. You can take it to the next level and go out on your own, as I did, or you can hire others and expand. I didn’t really have that kind of business acumen, so I think I hit kind of a ceiling as far as the earning potential.”
Alice had one more great tip. “I saw a few other women get into this at about the same time I did. They seemed to bitch a lot about the work, and the guys they worked with. In this job, it’s way better to be clever and classy in your response, not whiny and complaining. Instead of creating extreme hatred, it’s much better to figure out a way to inspire mild embarrassment!”

REAL WOMEN IN MEN'S WORK...BARBARA

Barbara Hauck
Automobile Mechanic
La Costa Limousine
‘Keeping cars on the road’

“I just love wrenching!”
When Barbara was 16, she was “dating a guy in the military who was always talking pistons.” Pretty soon she was in Auto Tech 1 in high school. She fell in love with the smell, and the more she learned, the more she liked fixing cars. Several more auto tech and auto engine performance classes followed.
She realized how much she enjoyed working with her hands. “I’ve always taken apart everything I could get my hands on...dial phones, old calculators. It used to make my Dad mad.” While still a teenager she “built a 4.3 litre V-6 Chevy engine that won second place at the Del Mar fair that year!” Beyond the classes she had taken, she learned from cars themselves. If a family member needed a brake job, there she was, to pull the car apart, and figure it out, however long it took.
After graduating high school in 1999, Barbara had been working at a grocery store, as a bakery, deli, and stock clerk. She was out driving with her sister one day and saw the job opening at the local lube center and decided to go for it. This was her break into the automotive repair business. Later, she tried to get into dealership service departments. She filled out applications for many a position for which she knew she was qualified, but thinks employers had a hard time believing she could really do the job. Week after week she would check back and the job would finally have been filled...by a man.
“It was frustrating. But my current boss knows women can do anything.” Her boss actually recruited her while she shopped at Pep Boys one day. He could tell she could talk the talk with genuine interest, and he gave her a better chance to walk the walk.
At La Costa Limousine, Barbara keeps the fleet in perfect condition for those many special occasions. She does all basic maintenance—brakes, transmission flushes, tires, oil changes, tune-ups, spark plugs. The cars vary in age and condition. Some are new, and some have 170,000 miles on them.
Barbara is so much happier fixing cars than stocking shelves. “I looove getting dirty. I have a great sense of providing real value to people. It’s good karma. And I love being able to fix my own car. I did my own 90,000-mile service. Cost me just $115 in parts!”
Have there been any serious drawbacks? Barbara had to admit, there’s a bit of danger. Scrapes, cuts and bruises are part of the job. “I’m covered in scars.”
Sexual harassment by other mechanics? “Oh, wow. It blows you away. Sometimes I just feel numb and don’t know how to respond” (which is probably the best reaction). “It’s really hard to deal with at times, but I think that some guys are just too gung ho and excited at seeing a girl on the job.” For a little while she attempted to eliminate any attraction factor, so no one would be distracted from doing the job. “I made a conscious effort to looking less feminine so I could just be one of the guys. It was a defense. That didn’t really work. My family said they’d kill me if I cut my hair. It just takes time.”
Customers can be surprised at having a female mechanic. “I remember one guy saying ‘What would you know, you’re just a little girl’.” Another time, while changing an oil filter at the lube center, “an older gent saw me under the car and asked my boss, ‘Is that a girl working on my car?’ My boss was right there with ‘Yeah, and she probably knows a lot more about cars than you.’” Women, however, are thrilled to have a female mechanic. I’ve spoken to several who feel that they would be more inclined to trust a woman not to gouge them on auto repairs. Barbara sees plenty of opportunity to make extra money in the future, repairing cars on the side.
Barbara is first to admit a woman needs a thick skin to do the job. “It’s not for the faint of heart.” Patience is important, too. Women auto technicians are a rarity, and they have to prove themselves to get ahead. “I’m pretty talkative, maybe too much, and I get along well with others. I think that’s important for a girl who wants to do this.”
The best job is not always the easiest job. For Barbara, it’s been worth the trouble. “It can be tough, but I know this is right for me. I have a passion for it. The more I get into it, the more I like it.”

REAL WOMEN IN MEN'S WORK...STEPHANIE

Stephanie Bache
Civil Engineer
Parson’s Infrastructure and Technology
‘Bringing safe drinking water to millions’
Stephanie Bache is pleasantly surprised at how very much she likes her job. “I struggled with the major in school. I didn’t love it. After I graduated, I still felt uncertain. I went into the Peace Corps.”
Her mother is a computer scientist. Her father is also an engineer. Stephanie was originally a student of architecture, but her parents kept encouraging her to go into engineering. “My Dad thought that women engineers with good communication skills have it made.” She dropped out of architecture at Berkeley, and went into civil engineering. It was tough, and she didn’t feel totally committed, but she kept at it until she reached a point where “I was too lazy to switch majors, and so I just ended up in it.” OK, that’s not the most inspiring part of this story.
“I’ve always had some of the ‘save the world’ mentality.” Stephanie’s specialty is water and infrastructure engineering. She helps design and plan projects that bring safe drinking water to large populations here and abroad. She has found a place in the industry where she can exercise her considerable analytical and science talents, and “It satisfies my nurturing tendencies.”
When I interviewed Stephanie, she was working on the preliminary design for a large dam, analyzing how quickly it would fill up with sediment. The entire project will divert water from a river, store it, treat it, and then pump it into the city of Las Vegas to be used as drinking water. Ultimately, this could be a billion dollar program involving new reservoirs, pipelines and water treatment plants. Stephanie will look at environmental issues, water rights, cost and engineering feasibility. It is work that matters.
“When I was working in Africa, with the Peace Corps, I helped with a plan to get water out of a river and into a town that had never had water piped in before. Doing what I do, I feel like I help people in a very tangible way.”
Quite a bit of Stephanie’s time is spent in her office and at her computer, coordinating experts. “The female thing is good because I pull everyone together. Engineers tend not to want to talk to each other. Women do well thinking about a lot of things at once.”
A typical day for this engineer consists of “about 50% engineering in a math sort of way, calculations, and 50% meetings, phone calls, writing. So I’d say it’s about half communication and half analyzing of data.” On her present project, she gets to go to the field, the Nevada desert, every other week for a day. “I like water supply, because the sites are usually really pretty...in the middle of nowhere. I get a sense of how we are serving people’s needs in an environmentally protective way. Part of the job is to concern ourselves with the fish, birds and other life that might be affected.”
What kind of woman can do what she does? According to Stephanie, not some absolute egghead. “I think the word needs to get out that interpersonal skills are really important on this job. You do a lot better if you’re a good communicator.” Just like Dad said.
Additionally, “You need to be competent. You need above-average technical skills...math and science skills, and it helps to be naturally curious.” You need confidence, too. Stephanie seconds the research showing that, when challenged technically, women are inclined to feel “scared, shaken up, so it’s hard to think straight. Men just assume they’ll figure it out.”
Once you’ve got all that, she thinks it actually helps to be a woman. It’s easier for women to get into engineering school, and companies welcome women engineers into their mix.
Stephanie is usually the only female engineer on a project. How is it going with all those male colleagues? “In Africa, for sure there was some shock, but here in the U.S., no one’s too surprised, there’s no need to break down barriers.” The other engineers are a favorite part of her job. “I really like the ethics and quality of my co-workers. They are super-straightforward. I work with really interesting, intelligent people.”
She does, however, recommend dressing really conservatively for the job, in order to be taken seriously. At first, she wore no makeup, and stayed pretty frumpy, to assure that she would be seen primarily as another engineer, not a novelty in the business. She thinks its important to be noticed for skills, not visual style, especially at first, in order to be respected. “I didn’t call attention to myself right away, by my look. I’ve found that, over time, I can be a little more me.”
She works with women, too. “For some reason, it seems like all the big government administrators are powerful women. But as a water engineer...I’m not exactly viewed as competition. They’re fine to work with.” She does notice that “human resource women seem to resent technical women. The only work-related problems I’ve had have been with them.”
As a female civil engineer, Stephanie can count on being in demand, working wherever she wants to on this fascinating planet. Plus, she gets to use her brain, and save the world. Sounds pretty good.

REAL WOMEN IN MEN'S WORK...JENNIFER

Jennifer Johnson
Police Officer
City of Carlsbad, California
‘Protecting and serving’
“Sometimes, when an incident’s over, I’ll think, ‘Wow, that could’ve really gone bad.’ But I don’t think about any danger when it’s happening. The training prepares you to just do what you’re supposed to do.”
It’s not just the training that makes Jennifer Johnson so capable. It was soon obvious to me that she has what anyone needs to be a police officer, including genuine confidence, a stable personality, and the ability to make good decisions independently.
I first met Jennifer at Starbuck’s before she went to work. In her beige tracksuit, with her latte, she looked like a pretty, fresh-faced college girl. At 5’6” and 125 pounds, she does not look like she’s about to take down a “perp”, except maybe on T.V. I was surprised to hear that most of the female officers she knows are similarly built. Later, when we went to the station and she suited up for work, I could see that there’s a lot of uniform involved in the Police Presence. I long to try one on!
Jennifer does patrol. She answers calls, including all kinds of disturbances, traffic collisions, domestic incidents, gang activity. She takes crime reports, and she apprehends criminals. Helping where needed is another part of the job. Police are there to help, just as our parents told us. Community service, representing the force both on and off duty, is a part of Jennifer’s life.
Jennifer’s studies in Loss Prevention at Sacramento State University led her to work apprehending shoplifters. Though this piqued her interest in law enforcement, the money was not great. She went on to earn a degree in Criminal Justice. She applied for a job at the Sacramento Police Department, and was hired as a Community Service Officer. In time, she was upgraded to Police Officer.
She later applied to the Carlsbad Police Department, north of San Diego, and near her family.
Of course, the police department had it’s own education. How hard was it to get through the Police Academy? Hard! It lasted six months. For the most part, it was a combination of daily academics, physical conditioning (especially running and weight training) and nightly firearms training. Stephanie described the atmosphere as “very military... bootcampish”. Right, so exactly how much running was there? The goal was a certain number of miles within a certain time frame. In her case, she recalls reaching a set goal of five miles in about 35 minutes. Hang in there, Ladies. It sounds worth it.
Jennifer loves her job. She’s happy not being in an office. She loves the independence, the discretion she gets to exercise. “It’s different every day. I’m dealing with all kinds of people. I see a lot. I see it all. I have many unusual experiences.”
On the other hand, Jennifer says there’s a downside to seeing a lot. “You can get very jaded. You can get cynical. It’s hard not to see all the bad in people. You can’t stay completely optimistic when you deal with so much negative. After a while you get less sensitive. You get a hard edge.”
Then again, she says, “You need that edge to be able to do the job. You need to be pretty tough inside. You don’t need to be as strong physically as you do mentally. You need a bitchy attitude I guess you could say.”
Her colleagues, mostly men, are terrific. “There’s great camaraderie, great team spirit.” Orientation at the Academy deals with issues of protocol between officers. “They treat me just like another guy.”
She has not felt that being a woman has held her back in the least. In fact, maybe it helped her get her job. She is confident that she can make her own future on the force. “In Sacramento, there was a woman sergeant and a lieutenant. They’d like to have one here, too.”
So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. How do the bad guys react when she tells them they’re under arrest? Well, it turns out that a trace of chivalry still lives under dire circumstances. Jennifer thinks they’re actually a little more cooperative, maybe because they don’t feel as personally threatened as they might with a male officer. “They seem to just go with the program.”
“Women are a different story. They don’t like another woman telling them what to do. They don’t listen. They argue.”
I wondered whether being a police officer had affected her life outside work. It seems like a way of life, not the kind of job you leave at the office. “It can intimidate in your social life. Guys don’t like control. I was always pretty assertive, but this job makes you more so. You get used to taking control of situations. My boyfriend’s a police officer, too (in a different city) so sometimes we butt heads.”
She can’t deny, though, there’s something about a woman in uniform. “I get hit on a lot if I’m out with the public. It’s rather annoying. It must be the whole uniform-fantasy thing.”
Watch it, Buddy.

VII. ARE YOU READY TO DO MEN'S WORK?

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road---unless you fail to make the turn.” -Ed “Too Tall” Jones

Are you a trailblazer? It takes a strong woman to do Men’s Work. Its not always physical strength that’s required, but rather, that which the English call ‘intestinal fortitude’. It is not always the nature of the work itself that’s the greatest hurdle, in non-traditional employment. It can also be the ambience of the work place. What should a woman consider before choosing a ‘man’s job’? What is the difference in the mentality needed?
Say you decide to leave your job at the hair salon, where your boss, also a mother, always understood if you needed to leave for an hour to pick up your son from school and take him to baseball. A customer, Art, offers to train you to repair air conditioning units. The pay is much better, plus you would have benefits, a set schedule, and no weekend hours! Art is a nice guy, although most of the girls are nice, you won’t miss the catty atmosphere that sometimes tainted the air at Ruby’s Cut ‘n Curl.
At first, you are subjected to a few chortles as the manager, Mac, and the all-male parts team work through all the double-entendre they can summon related to your requests for various hoses, clamps and screws. Some of the old time customers are even worse. You muddle through and the teasing subsides. You also survive the filthy unisex bathroom in the service department.
On your third day at work, you listen to your cell phone messages during your lunch hour (you can’t take calls at work, like you could at Ruby’s). It’s your son, Freddy, calling to say that his best friend didn’t show up for school, and you were counting on your son hitching a ride with him to scouts. When you tell Art, he looks at you blankly, not getting the connection. Nobody leaves the service counter at Art’s before the next guy is on duty. Nobody.
You often wonder if Art is pleased with your work. He doesn’t say much. You spend part of your time at the rather grubby sales counter, and part of it in a small service cubicle by yourself. You love doing the repairs. Each one’s a puzzle and you get a great feeling of accomplishment when you solve it, but you often wonder if you’re learning or working fast enough compared to others.
Art gave you the blank look again six months later when you said your mom had offered to take you and Freddy with her on a 3-week cruise to Alaska. You’re still months short of earning your first week of vacation.
You’re thinking you might have to go to part-time. You realize you might sacrifice benefits. You try to chat with a couple of the guys about your difficulties, hoping they’ll work with you on some plan to pinch hit for you when you need it, but they just shrug and say, “I guess you’ll have to ask Art.” You finally do ask Art if you could get off duty at three each day. That is not an option. You last about 3 more months but can’t pull it together. One day, when Art seemed to think you should be finished with the fan installation you were doing, and Freddy left his lunch in the car, you quit, with tearful apologies. Art is pretty chafed that he took a chance on his first female technician and spent all this time training you. He thought you were just about ready to go on house calls, and now has to get someone else. He tells Mac. “This time, I’ll get a guy.”
When you go back to Ruby’s part time, you’re immediately impressed with the empathy you receive as you tell your story to both coworkers and clients. At Ruby’s you know that you can deal with almost any situation that arises by working with the rest of the girls to find a solution. Ruby herself would pick up Freddy if it came to it! You soon miss the money, though---only half what you made at Art’s---and the challenge. You start wishing you had planned things better and had put everything in place to do the job right when you had the chance. You wonder if you should find a teenage girl to pick up Freddy after school, take a class in HVAC and give it another shot somewhere else.
This little tale is meant to illustrate the following: Men’s Work often includes less part-time opportunity, less scheduling flexibility, less vacation flexibility, less tolerance of outside/personal life influences. There is often more of a sense of isolation on the job, more expectation to work independently. There is less opportunity for decision emanating by consensus, group support and reinforcement of action. There is less structure, more flexibility inherent in many of the jobs typically sought by women.
Accentuate The Positive
It is important that women who take jobs traditionally held by men realize that they are paving the way for other women who hope to have more options that they can count on to support their families in the future. They have a responsibility to be committed to performing the job as well as, and as reliably as, a man. They must be prepared to both meet the job description and adopt the style of the existing work context. The hiring of a woman in the Men’s Work world is sometimes viewed by the employer as an experiment. He has shown his optimism by the hiring itself. Now the pioneering woman should do all she can to make the experiment a success.
While reform is certainly needed in all sectors of the job market, and while the mentality of the job environment should reflect the needs and working styles of both men and women, we are certainly not there yet when it comes to “Men’s Work”. We can expect change to take place gradually. If we accept that women have more sensitive natures than men, and that they work differently to men in some ways, then we can see that compromise in the non-traditional workplace would consist of some increase in sensitivity on the part of the workplace, and some decrease in sensitivity on the part of the women pioneering the occupations. The decrease might have to come first. Expecting politically perfect accommodations, could result in the slamming shut of doors just beginning to open a crack. If you want to do the work, you must accept that male-dominated environments will, for the time being, have male atmospheres. The modus operandi will suit the male nature.
Not long ago, in a London newspaper, I read featured two incidents in one glaring headline: “Women Take One Step Forward and One Back”. The one step forward was the promotion of a 51-year-old mother of six to a top position in a major London corporation, Tesco. The one step back was a lawsuit being brought against Merrill Lynch by a woman suing for 7.5 million pounds, claiming sexual discrimination, bullying and unequal pay. 22 bankers all backed Merrill Lynch’s contention that the woman was “out of her depth” professionally, and “did not have the leadership skills or other qualities necessary” for her marketing job. The newspaper immediately interpreted the second occurrence as a step back for women. Especially as the suit came on the heels of a one-million pound award to a female Merrill Lynch Lawyer who claimed a colleague “made lewd comments about her cleavage and invited others to do the same” (the British reporting almost made it sound as though it happened over tea and biscuits). Even though, when such litigants prevail, some future disrespect might be deterred, there is a price to be paid by women generally, as companies nervously wonder if they should risk someday having to pay a hefty price for a careless mistake or misstep. While a case like this may need to occur to create parity for the individual victim it is not an advance for career-womankind.
Success Is The Best Revenge
While, in this day and age, women should not tolerate abuse, neither should they be especially touchy as they define inappropriateness, especially if they want to gain ground in the non-traditional job market. When working in a context of men unused to considering their presence on the job, there will be mistakes, awkward moments, maybe even an irksome or startling one here and there. Sometimes confusion might result, while men struggle with their youthful training to be solicitous and helpful to women, risking the implication that a woman cannot carry her own weight as well as a man. Over time, if her behavior is consistent, and she does carry her own weight, she will be treated increasingly as a person on the job, not a woman on the job. If women constantly accentuate the differences and sensitivities, progress for women in non-traditional employment will be slowed. The goal is that the gender difference becomes invisible, or at least unobtrusive, at work.
Another part of making this happen has to do with a woman’s demeanor at work. Parlaying her sexuality to her advantage or exploiting her femaleness, even in subtle ways in the workplace, will only cause eventual disruption of the work atmosphere. This is no place for her to boost her ego regarding her womanliness. For her own sake, and that of the next woman to apply, she should save this behavior for her personal relationship(s), and then, enjoy it all she likes! There is no doubt that men and women are different, but the place to ‘vive la difference’ is not at the office or job site.
Some men might feel threatened by increasing numbers of women entering their fields. Their own jobs seem slightly less secure than they used to be, as more women assume responsibility for family support, and more women take work seriously. On the other hand, other men are beginning to want more personal time to enjoy interests and family life, and, so, there will, over time, be less dichotomization of male and female roles. Ideally, men will, more and more often, enjoy the benefits of having help with the breadwinning and more personal time. Women will have more confidence and satisfaction in the workplace, less guilt at home. These changes in attitude will take a long time. Be prepared for a mixture of responses from the men you have chosen to work with. Try to be tolerant and take your time before reacting. Be larger than the small incidents that challenge you. Be thick-skinned, resilient, and flexible. Take pride in being a woman who is a little ahead of her time.
On the other hand, while you are staying aware, and making adjustments for the sensitivities of the men you are working with, do not lose sight of your goal---to be successful at the job and advance in your work. Do you know that women actually tend to feel guilty when they do so well that they overtake their co-workers on the success track? Women sometimes go so far as to suggest that another, more senior, worker be given a new responsibility. She would rather keep good feeling among her colleagues than accept the opportunity to show what she can do. This phenomenon would likely be even more apparent when a woman is in an almost all-male, competitive environment. Making this mistake would also differentiate you on the job, in a negative way. Accept any progress quietly, graciously, and without self-effacement. That is how you will best gain respect over time.

“...You can’t get ahead without passing people.”- Marilyn vos Savant

The woman pioneering Men’s Work needs to be reliable, resilient, thoughtful, and thick-skinned. She needs to take pride in being a woman who is a little ahead of her time. she needs to adjust to the conditions of new territory. If that sounds like you, do it for yourself, do it for all of us, but if you don’t think you can, step aside and let someone else blaze the trail.

PLAN To Have It All
“The difference between what we are doing and what we are capable of doing would solve most of the world’s problems.”- Mahatma Ghandi

All working women are challenged to keep the rest of their lives, apart from their job, running smoothly, but once a woman decides she has the temperament and determination to take on Men’s Work, she needs to be especially careful to arrange her life into a condition that allows her to get the job done.
Is this more of a task for her than for her male co-worker in most cases? Yes. Is that fair? No, but that’s the way it is, and it may take some real strategizing for some women to arrange their lives into and around their very best job opportunity. Be ready to juggle, maneuver, bend and stretch.
When my oldest daughter was finishing middle school, a luncheon was held for the girls of her small graduating class. One of the mothers gave a presentation while the girls had tea and sandwiches in their white ruffled dresses. The theme of the speech was “You CAN have it all”. I still mean to tell this woman (Lynn H.) what an impact that afternoon had on my life, and how often I’ve recalled her words to my girls and my friends.
The girls were about thirteen at the time, thinking about the party to come that evening, and I doubt they paid full attention. They’re all thirty now and if they weren’t listening, its time they get this message!
Lynn was an attractive attorney, wife, mother of two, and active in local politics. (She also happened to be a good golfer and tennis player, too!) She was a real rarity in our community—one of the few moms employed outside the home. She was trying to tell the girls that they did not need to choose between career and family any more than a man had to. They could anticipate having satisfaction in each area of their lives—career, children, relationship, and more—but that it took careful choices to have it all.
Many women are married, have children, and work, but many of those slog through the workday filled with guilt that the kids don’t have a parent at the soccer game. Some women are married with children, but long for the satisfaction of some work outside the home. Some ‘have it all’ but find it to be much too much. With the housework and family duties, they can’t imagine the luxury of reading time or other personal pursuits. Lynn was a living example of a woman who understood the art and science of planning life. She had it all. I have used the inspiration of that afternoon to derive a formula to maximize the chances for career success in the context of real life. Here are the main points she made, with elaborations. Keep in mind, she was addressing girls who were young enough to start from scratch and build their lives from the ground up. Those of us who have already built rather complicated structures of ours can use the advice to remodel, improvise, and make the best of our situations.

PREPARE AND ESTABLISH
It seems obvious, but without knowing what you want, it is not possible to set goals. Once goals are set, you must strategically place yourself exactly where you need to be to get the best preparation, develop the best contacts, and secure the best position possible.
Researching jobs, finding the source of the best possible education/training to do the job of choice, selecting the best locale for employment in your chosen field, refining your profile to suit the particular job you want---all of these go into preparation to have your destination career.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Most women want many things from life. Patience and wisdom are required at a young age to assure that a woman takes timing into account in making her choices. Many of us wish we had traveled more before settling down. Some of us know we should have established a solid career that we could later build on before having children. Many of us wish we had made our minds up about what really mattered to us before we selected our mates!
The more patient and careful a girl can be especially in making decisions that, to some extent, will affect the course of her life (e.g. mate, kids), the better. This is very easy advice to give, very hard to take. You need this advice most when you are young, and yet when you are young, you are least inclined to accept it.
Even if you didn’t get the timing quite right in the past, even if you now have four kids, are divorced and renting, it is not too late to use careful timing to your advantage. Intuitively, most of us know what we should take care of first in our lives. With maturity, we actually do begin to deny our impulses and do first things first more often.
I have known and admired women who knew that they needed to prioritize and dwell on their children during the young years, but who regretted not developing careers before families. A couple of them found time--- nap time, late night time, borrowed time, to prepare for careers that they could begin once the kids were school age. With determination, they were successful, and, with careful planning, their families wound up feeling proud, not shortchanged.
Have you ever noticed that for every old, insightful-seeming maxim in existence, we can come up with another that means just the opposite? For example; ‘Strike while the iron is hot’ versus ‘Haste makes waste’, or ‘He who hesitates is lost’ versus ‘Good things come to those who wait’? Well, the fact is, they’re all true, and what makes the difference is timing!
How do you time your life correctly? How do you make the right moves, focus on the right things, at the right times? I am a believer that you actually know, intuitively, based on living inside your own skin all of your life, what you should be focusing on at any given time. You can go to a counselor to dig out and help you face what you already actually know about yourself and your best course. Chances are, he will be facilitating the process of you being honest with yourself. With concentration, perhaps aided by reading and studying, you can learn to avoid procrastination, and you can learn to control your impulses, be more patient and stick to plans. You can ‘parent’ yourself, stop making excuses, quit wasting time, and admonish yourself to do what you know you should be doing at any given time in your life. For all that “women’s intuition” is famous, women often do not trust their intuition.
Research is beginning to substantiate our natural ability to turn the experiences and knowledge we have gained in our lifetimes into good decisions without deliberate exhaustive analysis or repetitive rethinking. Daniel Goleman, researcher and author of Emotional Intelligence, makes the case that our gut is "intelligent"; it knows things ahead of our rational mind. It certainly seems likely that there is an area of the brain that extrapolates information from all our previous inputs to enable us to make good decisions without all-new information. Dr. Antonio R. Dimasio and others at the University of Iowa College of Medicine have actually identified the part of the brain---the frontal lobe---which specializes in intuitive decision making. Their research shows that we intuitively know what isn’t working well for us.
Be sure that you listen to the voice inside you, not just the loud voices all around you. With fewer distractions, focus on your own inner gauges and steer yourself each day, as you know is truly best. There will be a right time, and time enough, for everything you want to do with your life.

ORGANIZATION IS KEY
It’s all about time management, time conservation. The more of the big, important things you want from life, the more efficiently you must learn to deal with the hundreds of small tasks that make up the mechanics of life. The more systems you can put into place so that these things occur automatically, the less you will have to focus on them and take attention away from your career (and children, and husband, etc.).
If your life is relatively simple, then you only need to organize your domestic and personal scene so that little time is wasted on unimportant but intrusive details of daily functioning.
Regardless how complicated your scene is, many things can be done with next to no thought. Bills can be automatically paid, irrigation timers can be installed, ovens and coffeemakers can be pre-programmed, chore routines can be set in stone, taxes can be deducted, palm pilots can jog your memory, personal trainers or math tutors can show up three times a week, gifts and flowers can be prearranged, and a kid can pop a chicken in the oven at 5 every Tuesday and Thursday! Housework shortcuts are an art in themselves. Many books have been written about the art of speed housekeeping. All of these devices help you to manage niggling details, avoid frustration and procrastination and get past the mundane, so that you can use time to create new successes.

FIND THE RIGHT PARTNER!
Notice the exclamation point on this subheading. Most of us would agree that its pretty ridiculous when a man and woman marry and then it turns out that one wants kids and the other doesn’t. This sort of issue should be resolved before people attempt to build a life together. Likewise, life partners need coordinating goals. Each needs to actually want the other partner to achieve his/her aims, and be willing to facilitate and exert personal energy to help make them happen. They should each own the other’s goals as surely as their own and participate in their execution by giving genuine and heartfelt support. That means actually adjusting one’s own goals and movements to the degree necessary to enable the goals and movements of the other. This artful designing of dual-career life to facilitate two sets of goals is not easy. As I recall, Lynn H. needed her husband, also an attorney, to have the flexibility to attend school ball games some weekday afternoons, and he arranged his life accordingly. Your husband may need to mind the kids every Saturday so that you can pursue your real estate career on that prime market day. You may need to be home every Wednesday evening while he’s out of town.
If it’s too late for you to find that ideal partner and you’re going to make the best of the one you have then you’ll just have to pay extra attention to this next section!

TRAIN YOUR PLAYERS
I’ve become convinced that almost all kids, many husbands, and some friends, will take from you all the services and goods you are willing to give, no limit. Nature wants children to have as many resources as possible to advance the species, so children are born with an almost unlimited appetite for attention. We, their mothers, create the limits in order to accustom children to the harsh realities of the world (not to mention, save our own sanity so that we will be around to make dinner tomorrow). Unfettered, kids can come up with more needs than you ever imagined.
It’s hard to get the family used to participating in its own care. Each new behavior is a hard battle won. For this reason, you want to make sure that each modified behavior is a lasting modification. Don’t battle to have the dishwasher unloaded each and every time. Establish a workable routine that will become second nature to your players.
Do not think of delegating chores, and sharing the duties of domestic life, as shifting the weight of your responsibility. Think of it as teaching self-reliance and training great new partners of the future. Your son might marry the first female President of the United States. Its time we had a First Gentleman!

STICK TO YOUR GUNS
Now I must tell you that I happen to know there were times when Lynn’s daughter, Sarah, wished that Lynn baked more chocolate chip cookies, especially in our community of stay-at-home moms and privileged children. I also happen to know that now, at 30, Sarah is an attorney herself, and credits her mom with inspiring her to be all that she could be.
The trick is to honestly internalize a good feeling about the choices you have made to improve the quality of life for yourself and your family. Don’t waste energy and arouse your own guilt by constant second-guessing and doubting of your decisions. If you’ve already thought your situation through, and acted in good faith when you started on the road to your training or career goal, then move forward with determination and complete all the steps of your plan.

“Well-behaved women seldom make history.”- Laurel Thatcher Ulirich

Expect there to be difficulties doing something new that seems alien to your family, friends, and yourself. Human beings are reluctant to change. Family members might actually fear changes that disrupt long-standing patterns, no matter what the eventual benefits. Children are especially inclined to express embarrassment if a parent is unconventional. Remember that, even if your kids come first, you are a person, not just a parent, and you have a right to choose the work in life that you want. Stay strong and remain sure of yourself when kids or others make you feel beaten down, as they might. Keep telling yourself that change and adaptation can be good for everyone. You cannot please all of the people all of the time. Cast yourself as an example of a person who does not give up. As Marilyn Vos Savant (apparently, the person with the world’s highest I.Q.) said, “It has been my observation that being beaten is often a temporary condition; giving up is what makes it permanent.” A non-traditional goal might be harder to achieve, require more adjustment by those around you, and therefore arouse more complaint. You have the opportunity to rise to the challenge and teach your family a valuable lesson in perseverance by your success.

We’ve taken a look at a myriad of factors that might, to some degree or another, explain the status of women in the work world. In the long run, women will collectively benefit from changing their employment profile. Today, each woman can take more control of her future by considering hundreds of jobs she never before thought of doing.
Whoever you are, whatever you are now doing, you have choices. As you read about these non-traditional jobs, be open-minded. Be particular. Be fearless. Get what you want.

VIII. ARE YOU READY TO FIND MEN'S WORK?

Once you’ve decided you’re interested in the possiblity of non-traditional employment, how will you go about finding out exactly what these jobs consist of, and what it takes to get them?
Take a look at the format below, used to describe two interesting non-traditional jobs, with very different requirements. We will give you some resources that will help you investigate many more non-traditional occupations, so that you leave no stone unturned in your search for your highest and best use in the job market. You can use the same format to analyze each job that stimulates your interest.

As An
AUTOMOBILE MECHANIC
What Do You Do?
These days, Automotive Servicing requires a combination of mechanical skills, using hand tools and power tools, and high-tech skills, involving computerized shop equipment and electronic components.
Many Automotive Technicians consider the diagnostic process to be the most challenging, and rewarding, part of the job. Today’s cars have many sophisticated systems which interact. Skill, knowledge, and finesse are necessary to isolate a problem as simple as a low coolant level or as complicated as a bad drive train connection that has shorted out an air conditioner. It’s more and more like being a doctor, and, for many, cars are their lifeblood, or their babies!
What Are The Working Conditions?
For the most part, Automotive Technicians work indoors in well-ventilated and well-lighted repair shops. Some are drafty and noisy. There is some heavy lifting. Cuts, and minor burns and bruises are common, but, as long as safety practices are observed, serious accidents are avoided.
What Are The Hours?
About half of Service Technicians in this field work a standard 40-hour week, but nearly 30% work more, because of demand, especially if they are self-employed (so they are making more money). Some shops offer night and weekend hours.
What Is the Job Outlook?
Opportunities are excellent for properly trained technicians. Salary range is great, with good opportunity for increase in earnings, depending on the skills acquired, and the work situation; whether a government employee, independent mechanic, or commissioned mechanic working at a dealership. New jobs are being created in the ‘simple service’ sector, where oil changes, brake repair, air-conditioner service and other minor repairs generally take less than four hours to complete.
What Training Is Required?
Formal training is the standard for today’s technicians. Many high schools offer training programs, which vary in quality. Automotive Youth Education Service (AYES) is a good one. Public and private vocational schools also offer training, typically taking about 6 months. Community colleges will often stretch the training into a more all-encompassing two-year program ending in an associate degree or certificate. Automobile manufacturers also sponsor two-year associate degree programs (ACCSCT) at trade schools across the nation. Typically, in these programs, the student alternates periods of classes, with full-time work in the service department of the sponsoring dealership.
Who Is Suited To The Job?
Employers look for people with strong communication and analytical skills. Good reading, math, and computer skills are increasing needed to keep up with new technology. You also need mechanical aptitude and an interest in how cars work.
How Many Women Are Currently Doing This Job?
Only 1.4% of Automotive Service Technicians are women.

As An
AEROSPACE ENGINEER
What Do You Do?
The most amazing machines being devised by man today are the territory of the Aerospace Engineer. The goals are generally advancement in the areas of space exploration, defense and aviation. You might be involved in the development not only of aircraft and spacecraft, but also of incredible instruments that go with them. Perhaps you will specialize in projects involving robotics, lasers, software, or optics.
As specialists within Aerospace Engineering, Aeronautical Engineers work with aircraft, like commercial planes and helicopters, designing, developing and testing. Astronautical Engineers do the same for spacecraft. In both fields, there are many areas of emphasis. You might be most involved with design, guidance, navigation, control, instrumentation and communication, or production methods.
Many of the technologies developed in this field are being applied to other industries. For instance, in the automotive industry, Aerospace Engineers have helped invent cars with less wind resistance and more fuel efficiency.
What Are The Working Conditions?
An Aerospace Engineer would spend much of her time in an office building, communicating with others by phone and computer, analyzing data and doing calculations. Some time might be spent in a laboratory setting or production site. Some engineers travel to meet with clients and colleagues and visit coordinating facilities.
What Are The Hours?
While a 40-hour workweek is standard, deadlines, extra demand due to exacting design standards, and special projects can require an Aerospace Engineer to work extra hours. An engineer can also take on business development and management roles, adding to her responsibility and time commitment.
What Is The Job Outlook?
The projections for employment of Aerospace Engineers show that a decline is expected in the industry overall, due to a slowdown in air travel and to foreign competition. This should not stop any woman interested in the field, for two reasons. There has been a real drop off in the number of engineers coming out of college, so much so that there might not be enough new engineers to replace those retiring. Furthermore, women are such a rarity in the field that their value is great in this diversity-favoring industry.
What training is required?
A bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement for all entry-level jobs in engineering. Preparation for study includes a solid background in mathematics (through trigonometry and calculus), biology, chemistry, physics, computer technology, humanities, english and social studies. Earning of basic four-year degree in this field can take closer to five years. Typically, the last two years will focus exclusively on engineering, with the aerospace specialty. She would take classes in subjects like applied aerodynamics, aerospace propulsion systems, heat transfer, flight vehicle design, and fluid mechanics. In order to practice privately, she would need to earn her degree from an accredited engineering program, get four years of work experience, and pass a state examination.
Who Is Suited To The Job?
Engineering involves a lot of math and science, but if you think it’s for bookish eggheads, think again. An analytical mind and attention to detail are important, but the best engineers are creative and inquisitive. They work well in teams and they are effective communicators, in writing and in person. Engineers interface with specialists in many other professions, so communicative abilities are important.
How Many Women Are Currently Doing This Job?
11% of Aerospace Engineers are women.
A PLAN FOR LOOKING AT ALL YOUR CAREER OPTIONS
Want to consider every opportunity before settling on your Life’s Work?
1. Open your mind!
2. Go to;
http://www.bls.gov/search/ooh.asp?ct=OOH
You will be taken to the U.S.Government’s Dept of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook, a directory. Start by clicking on the A’s, scan the list and click on every job that seems remotely intriguing.
3. Applying the format we used above to describe the jobs of Automobile Mechanic and Aerospace Engineer, ask the same questions for each career you’ve listed. Many of these questions are answered right in the Handbook.
4. Now, write down the ways you might make the career your own, personalize it, customize it.
5. Ask yourself whether your particular traits and talents would add to your effectiveness on that job; whether you might contribute significantly to the field. If so, place a check on that occupation.
6. Ask yourself whether the compensation would be adequate for the rest of the life you want for yourself. If so, place a check on that occupation.
7. Ask yourself whether the opportunities for advancement and pay increases seem unlimited enough to warrant your passion, and considerable time and effort.
8. Imagine yourself in a gathering of friends, family and associates. Would you be proud to declare this occupation as yours? Could you imagine it as your life’s work. Could it lead to your life’s work?