Do more attractive women go into "less difficult" careers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP mentioned pharmaceutical sales rep. I have a relative and a good friend from college who do that. It is damn hard. You have to be put together and "on" all day - and now that my relative is 40 she is doing all kinds of shit to stay attractive.

I know what you mean - it's based on looks and it's not like it's a hard science or anything - but it is hard work. It's not an easy life and neither have kids - it's not a family friendly job.

I'm in Medical Device sales and I will totally echo the above poster - it is DAMN hard. Not only do I need to have extensive clinical knowledge about my product(s) but the hours are brutal and I'm never allowed to have a bad day or month.
The PP is correct - it's not an easy life and it's become exponentially more difficult since having my child and hitting 35.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But you don't get it.

Would a MAN post this?

But you don't get it men have different experiences.

Men have different experiences . . . uh yeah - I get that.

But that's societal. An intelligent man who's not the best looking guy around will climb easily. That's b/c we don't put that much emphasis on male looks. So the good old boy gang wins out each time.

Put a group of women together and see what you get - cliques. That's b/c we've become accustomed to the divide and conquer tactics practiced in the workforce. Men don't necessarily play those games. Think of sports. Men work together on football teams. Women play tennis. Men are on soccer teams. Women play golf. And while there are team sports for women, they never get as much press as male-dominated sports do.

So who's to blame? Of course it's societal, but women are just as much to blame. We are trained to turn on each other. And using looks to climb is one such example.

Make all the excuses in the world; it's still wrong. And while I may not be in the "hot" category, my daughter certainly is. I HOPE that I can guide her in the right direction by having her put intelligence first.

Tennis?

Girls play soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and truthfully if you have ever seen a fly girl in soccer - that is teamwork.

Press? Yea - US Men's soccer vs. US Womens - women far exceed.

You missed the point - you actually are hindered because the assumption is that you used your looks - even if you didn't.

Wow - put women together and you get a clique. You are part of the problem. Hopefully your wife can guide you daughter through this because clearly you are clueless.

I have a husband, not a wife.

FWIW, how much coverage does the media give to women's sports? YOU don't get it. Men get all of the attention for just being men. Women get attention for being sexy, not smart.

[Anonymous]

I am a scientist. MS in biochem/genetics. When I meet people they are surprised to hear what I do. I have even gotten the --"pretty girls don't usually go into this field" type of remarks. I do get a lot of compliments and it was a bit weird in my early twenties to get so much unwanted attention at work.

Frankly- this old thread disgusts me. It is as if it is a bunch of loser bimbo women putting down successful women. Ladies- your looks are going to fade, but 'dumb' is forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a scientist. MS in biochem/genetics. When I meet people they are surprised to hear what I do. I have even gotten the --"pretty girls don't usually go into this field" type of remarks. I do get a lot of compliments and it was a bit weird in my early twenties to get so much unwanted attention at work.

Frankly- this old thread disgusts me. It is as if it is a bunch of loser bimbo women putting down successful women. Ladies- your looks are going to fade, but 'dumb' is forever.

A lot of iPad problems... Oh well..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is an element of truth to it. Women who grow up "pretty" generally are socialized not to try as hard because their good looks directly and many times, in subtle ways opens doors for them.

In your "hard field", how many drop dead gorgeous women do you know or have you seen? I don't come across a lot in the legal field, and I work in BigLaw.

This is patently untrue. My sister and I were/are beauty queen level beautiful and our parents raised and treated us no differently than our brother. We all had to mow the lawn, etc. We were taught that we should never rely on a man to support us. Education and brains were valued. We also were all serious athletes as well. If you raise your girls right- you won't let "pretty" get in the way. The best compliment I've received is "she has no idea how beautiful she is".

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thanks, pretty scientist PP. I also think this whole thread (that I started) is stupid, this idea that pretty girls don't go into hard fields. I'm glad to see that a handful of others agree. People are complicated creatures, and we shouldn't be reducing women down to their looks alone on some simplistic biological determinism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an element of truth to it. Women who grow up "pretty" generally are socialized not to try as hard because their good looks directly and many times, in subtle ways opens doors for them.

In your "hard field", how many drop dead gorgeous women do you know or have you seen? I don't come across a lot in the legal field, and I work in BigLaw.

This is patently untrue. My sister and I were/are beauty queen level beautiful and our parents raised and treated us no differently than our brother. We all had to mow the lawn, etc. We were taught that we should never rely on a man to support us. Education and brains were valued. We also were all serious athletes as well. If you raise your girls right- you won't let "pretty" get in the way. The best compliment I've received is "she has no idea how beautiful she is".

And she's modest too, folks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an element of truth to it. Women who grow up "pretty" generally are socialized not to try as hard because their good looks directly and many times, in subtle ways opens doors for them.

In your "hard field", how many drop dead gorgeous women do you know or have you seen? I don't come across a lot in the legal field, and I work in BigLaw.

This is patently untrue. My sister and I were/are beauty queen level beautiful and our parents raised and treated us no differently than our brother. We all had to mow the lawn, etc. We were taught that we should never rely on a man to support us. Education and brains were valued. We also were all serious athletes as well. If you raise your girls right- you won't let "pretty" get in the way. The best compliment I've received is "she has no idea how beautiful she is".

And she's modest too, folks!

It's an anon board, freak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an element of truth to it. Women who grow up "pretty" generally are socialized not to try as hard because their good looks directly and many times, in subtle ways opens doors for them.

In your "hard field", how many drop dead gorgeous women do you know or have you seen? I don't come across a lot in the legal field, and I work in BigLaw.

This is patently untrue. My sister and I were/are beauty queen level beautiful and our parents raised and treated us no differently than our brother. We all had to mow the lawn, etc. We were taught that we should never rely on a man to support us. Education and brains were valued. We also were all serious athletes as well. If you raise your girls right- you won't let "pretty" get in the way. The best compliment I've received is "she has no idea how beautiful she is".

And she's modest too, folks!

It's an anon board, freak.

She's also a really nice person who doesn't call people names.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the pharmaceutical companies actively recruit and hire pretty women.

There was an episode of 'How I Met Your Mother' about this...

[Anonymous]

Beauty fades. Dumb is forever.

[Anonymous]

Pharma reps, stewardesses, sales, and many many other professions hire pretty or at least "not ugly". But that is only true up until a certain age.

These are professions which, lets face it, do not require much for brains. After a certain age when many women gain weight (for example); or simply are not as cute as they used to be; or were not around a lot of women so the men had not much to compare them to; then it goes downhill. There are very few in those professions who are over say age 30.

That said, I know very few women engineers, so that when there is a pretty one, she is a novelty. Less so for attorneys and doctors; if those are the professions you are concentrating on, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the pharmaceutical companies actively recruit and hire pretty women.

There was an episode of 'How I Met Your Mother' about this...

Thought most companies try to recruit attractive young women for sales. Don't law firms also shlep these types to trials to persuade the jury to be on their side? Products plus attractive women equal lots of sales.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pharma reps, stewardesses, sales, and many many other professions hire pretty or at least "not ugly". But that is only true up until a certain age.

These are professions which, lets face it, do not require much for brains. After a certain age when many women gain weight (for example); or simply are not as cute as they used to be; or were not around a lot of women so the men had not much to compare them to; then it goes downhill. There are very few in those professions who are over say age 30.

That said, I know very few women engineers, so that when there is a pretty one, she is a novelty. Less so for attorneys and doctors; if those are the professions you are concentrating on, OP.

Normal or average looking and acting women, and men, in many STEM fields are often thought to be recipients of affirmative action. We are seeing more of these these days. The really smart ones usually look and act weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a scientist. MS in biochem/genetics. When I meet people they are surprised to hear what I do. I have even gotten the --"pretty girls don't usually go into this field" type of remarks. I do get a lot of compliments and it was a bit weird in my early twenties to get so much unwanted attention at work.

Frankly- this old thread disgusts me. It is as if it is a bunch of loser bimbo women putting down successful women. Ladies- your looks are going to fade, but 'dumb' is forever.

But the real scientists have Ph.D. Time to go back to school pretty girl.