I work in a male dominated industry. A few months after starting at a new shop I was having a discussion with the shop owner about my future in the shop and my performance up to that point. We were discussing pay raises, promotions, and the ways of the industry. Despite having gone to trade school, buying all of my own tools, receiving additional industry certifications, and being told that I have a talent for this work the shop owner then told me he thinks I would be better off in an office job! Ironically, I am not a people person, have NEVER done clerical work, and refuse to dress up. If I were younger and impressionable that might have been the end of a career that I love, and that’s a scary thought.
