Women, would you have felt comfortable taking an almost all male college degree?

1. 93

   peeplesposted 9 years ago

   Women, would you have felt comfortable taking an almost all male college degree?
   
   I go back to college next month and am stuck between 2 different degrees. One of them is Welding Technology. Out of the 141 students so far that will be taking that one, less than 1 percent of the students will be female (I live in a southern USA state where gender roles are very old fashion still in my area). If I choose this course direction it will be more profitable later. I have worked in "male" jobs before and been fine, but nervous about this for some reason. How would you ladies feel?

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2. 92

   LongTimeMotherposted 9 years ago

   Hi peeples. I don't see a problem with working in a male domain, but I'd be a bit concerned about the long-term health implications of welding.
   
   http://www.asse.org/practicespecialties … gfumes.php
   
   What's your other option?

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   1. 93

      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Ugh.. That isn't good. Social Psychology. However there is a low demand for any psychologists right now because the market is saturated with psychology graduates.

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   2. 92

      LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You wouldn't be happy in a workplace where the fumes risked your health, but there's no point training for a profession that's overpopulated. Gee, that puts you between a rock and a hard place.
      
      Is there something else that interests you?

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   3. 93

      peeplesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Not really. I already have an associates in business and horticulture which I am doing little to nothing with.  I was trying to find something  I would actually use.

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3. 87

   MizBejabbersposted 9 years ago

   My high school friend got her degree in social work about the same time that I got mine in journalism (a very low-paying degree). When I talked to her about 10 years later, she said she was very sorry that she chose that field because of the stress and long hours. I have another social psychologist friend who also has the same complaint. Not trying to discourage you, just telling you how they feel
   I wouldn’t let the fact that the welding is 99% male bother me. I’m a Southerner, but I have broken a few “good ole boy” rules and lived over it. You don’t have to work in a body shop or a welding shop. I see some really impressive art work coming from female welders.
   I’m not saying “do” or “don’t do”. All I’m saying is that you should follow your dream regardless of where it takes you. You won’t be happy if you don’t. I broke the “wax ceiling” in radio many years ago, and because I had the talent and professionalism, I won the respect of my male coworkers. You can, too, if that is what you really want to do.

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4. 60

   BumblelyBeeposted 9 years ago

   Part of the degree that I am studying in the UK involved Geography and so in those lectures there were quite a few males in my classes for a mostly female dominated University. I didn't choose the University because it consisted of mostly females, I didnt know that statistic until I started the course. I chose my course because I loved the subject, I chose the University because I loved the city, how small it was and the history to it. If you love the subject, your good at it and passionate about it then what does it matter about the amount of males on the course? Have you tried welding before, done a trial day to see if it is for you?
   
   Personally I like male and female company however if you feel you need more female company than what your class consists of then remember that you can make friends outside of your classes too. Anyway don't let old fashioned values get in the way of what you want to do or who you want to be, if you can't physically do something then you will probably need to think twice before doing it but if it is just people telling you that you can't do something you want to do because you would be within a minority within a class then just tell them this is what I want to do so this is what I am going to do, deal with it.
   
   Also here there are possibilities to change courses early on if you find its not right for you if you are unsure maybe you could ask if your college lets you change courses in the first few weeks or so. Make sure you get online and go research all your options, what careers could the degree get you, would you want to do that career, what salary would you get, how many jobs are avaliable, are their any health risks to the career? Read around the topic then when you are aware of what the degree would mean for you make an informed decision as to if you want to do it. What you want matters in your career choice, not what people want you to want.

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