Not saying that I want to go full-corpo, but the idea of getting ahead in a career is really appealing to me. I feel stuck in my job I have now because there’s not much chance of advancement and the hours are really inconsistent. I’ve been considering going back to college to pursue something that would allow me to have a stable income. To tell you the truth, I’m jealous of the memes about trans girls being software engineers. I want to be one too. I would definitely make a lot more than I’m making right now. It’s also the job my dad has, and I was curious about what it would be like as a career when I was younger. All the layoffs were really what scared me away from it, but I’m not in a much better situation right now. I just don’t really know of any trans guys that are in professional positions like that. I don’t know if there’s a reason for it, or if the guys that do get ahead like that just go stealth.
I changed my name legally while I was at uni, so yeah, it was my first proper job. I started HRT a couple of years into the job without anyone knowing; I was just the friendly neighbourhood young looking lad at that point.
Re the interview question, do you mean when they ask you for references? Otherwise, I don’t see why your dead name would be relevant at all. (Unless there’s some country/region-specific paperwork you have to deal with that I’m not aware of.)
If you’re worried about your references outing you, is there any chance you could reach out to your previous employer(s) and let them know about your name/gender correction so that if a new employer calls, they’re all clued up? Is that safe for you to do?