Sam Orchard is a comic artist, former Youthline counselor and law school grad. He’s also transgendered — and unemployed.

A few weeks ago, I asked Sam to help me compile a list of obstacles that trans people face when re-entering the workforce. His response was so insightful and honest, I had to share it with my readers.

Chances are, you’ll work with a transguy or transgal at some point in your career. That person could be your next intern, consultant or boss! So get real, get raw and get ready. Sam is about to school you solid.

So. Getting a job. I’m terrified. I leapt from university straight into an awesome job at Youthline doing community education, and finished that up early this year. I wanted to take some time out, and it felt like being a queer transman going into high schools talking about self care would not be taking my own advice. It felt too exposing to me, and I didn’t want to put myself at risk of bigotry. So I thought, “Sam, take some time out, chill out, draw comics and figure out what you want to do with your life.”

So I did.

And it was awesome.

But I miss working. And my course is finishing. And I gotta start applying for jobs soon.

Alex, being the extraordinary resume writer that she is [Editor's Note: I did NOT bribe Sam to say this! Scout's honor!] was asking me about barriers for transpeople entering / re-entering the workforce. So I wrote her a list of what I’ve been thinking about lately — as someone who’s been hiding away from having to get a job for fear of discrimination. So, from the perspective of a scaredy-cat:

Official Name Changes: Going through the process of changing names legally can be a huge hassle and somewhat expensive (in New Zealand at least) — as you have to have your birth certificate, then passport and THEN change everything else (bank account, drivers license, library card, etc). Plus you’ll probably want the passport, drivers license and bank account all to match up by the time you’re applying for a job — otherwise, you have to “out” yourself and trust employers to deal with any confusion it may bring up.

Unofficial name changes: If you’re not up to the point where you’ve changed your name legally, then asking your employee to call you by another name / pronoun can be pretty daunting. Imagine an interview with a prospective employer where you’re really keen to impress, but are worried about asking them to use a different name and pronoun than what’s on your official documents.

References: If this is the first job that you’re applying for under a new gender identity, you’ll probably be required to disclose to at least one former employer or your current employer as a reference. So I’d have to let anyone I put down as a reference know that I am trans and ask them very very kindly to use male pronouns and Sam, not Sarah, if they’re contacted about me. That can be a huge task, and requires a lot of energy explaining to people, as well as excellent relationships with the former employers, and a lot of trust in the person you’re telling to use the new name / pronouns when it comes down to it.

Qualifications: Again, there could be name / sex discrepancies that come up — most large academic institutions have protocols to deal with reissuing certificates and qualifications under new names (less so with sex, but that comes up less anyway). But some are pretty arduous processes. Plus the energy it takes to explain to people why you need your name / sex changed on the records can be draining.

Sex: It’s darn near impossible to get your sex changed on your birth certificate here without having gone through a couple of major surgeries (cost! time! inclination!) — so it’s unlikely that your official sex on your passport / birth certificate (which are usually needed) will match up with the gender your presenting with. Again, another inconsistency.

Lack of Confidence: All these attempts to create congruence between name / sex / gender / etc, combined with a social climate of ignorance or bigotry towards trans people (not just in the workforce, but within personal relationships, too) can deteriorate an individual’s self confidence. Many trans people are hugely lacking in confidence when stepping into the workforce under their new gender identity.

Passing: If I’ve just begun medical changes (taking hormones) and not many physical changes have kicked into gear yet, or if I don’t want to go down the hormone / surgery route, I may be worried that my inability to ‘pass’ as my preferred gender will leave me open to discrimination — not getting the job, being harassed, not being referred to with my preferred pronoun.

Disclosure: When do I disclose? How do I disclose? Who am I supposed to disclose to? Will this be kept in confidence to only one, or a small group of people, if I don’t want people to know? Will this leave me open to discrimination? Do I have to leave my job if I want to transition? ARRRRRGH.

Gaps in employment: Trans people may have to take time out of the workforce to transition as it’s a pretty emotionally, physically and spiritually demanding process. Therefore, there might be gaps in employment history.

In conclusion, I’ve been fretting a lot about some of this stuff. But, I’ve also heard some awesome employment stories from trans people. Plus, when I came out as trans at my last job my boss was super awesome at using my preferred name / pronoun, and understanding that it was also kind of tricky cos not everybody knew.

Trans people can and do go into the workforce and can be incredibly successful at whatever they want to do, because trans people are super rad.

For a terrific list of trans / queer resources, check out the “Links” page on Sam’s comic site. Also! Here’s the Human Rights Campaign’s 2010 round-up of the Best Places To Work, based on equitable treatment of LGBT employees