Professional life as a PWS
How has living with a stutter affected your professional life? If you did not have a stutter, would you be in the same profession? Thank you so much for any responses!
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Professional life as a PWS — 7 Comments
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Hi Chloe
As I was told in school there was no use for me to even study, as I wouldn’t succeed in life anyway, I believed them. My dreams of becoming a vet, a cruise hostess, an emergency nurse, or any social job (as I am an extrovert person, but stopped talking to not “bother” people) went down the drain. My father thought I would be great being a cop working with kids who need help, so I went to the police academy. I got through all the tests, while the group went smaller and smaller. At the end we had an interview with a psychologist, and he told me I could never be a cop, as who’d take a PWS seriously? So when I got a summer job at an office, and I got to stay, I was satisfied. When I was 30 and went back to school to face my fears of schools and teachers, and suddenly got all straight A’s, they asked me to become a teacher. What… me??? The stutterer? But they saw what I was good as: teaching. I even became a teacher to teachers. And loved it, as this was my calling.
If they would have taken a moment to find out what I liked and focused on what I was good at, instead of what THEY thought I was not good at, I might have had a happy life from the start. But on the other hand, I might have become an unhappy cop, so I’m happy where I am today, finding my calling.
So keep talking and keep listening.
Anita
Antia I hate hearing how people put you down. Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your experiences with me. I love that after all the negative things people had to say, you have found a career that makes you happy.
Hi Chloe! That’s a very good question. I can really relate to what Anita wrote, that finding what you’re good at is so important for you to be happy with what you do every day.
Actually, I think that being a woman and a mother affected my career way more than my stuttering. Luckily thanks to my stuttering I had the privilege to work for great people, so yes, I think I would still be in the same profession.
It took me some time to figure out that I would probably not be a CEO or a fierce project manager because I’m not so good at it or enjoying it, and not because of my stutter.
Hi Chloe,
Thank you for your question and it is one I have asked myself quite a lot. I think the answer to the first question, if my stutter has affected my professional life, is yes… and no! and the answer to the second question about whether I would be in the same profession is probably.
I lacked confidence going in to the workplace but even though I was full of self doubt I knew I had something valuable to contribute. I was largely covert for most of my life which meant I feared my work colleagues hearing my stutter. I did progress in my career, although more slowly than others, but this is common for women anyway. I ended up progressing through my organisation to senior executive level so in that way I was successful but it required a huge amount of effort to negotiate my stutter at work. I fell in to my profession as it involved research data analysis which I thought meant I would not have to do much speaking but I ended up presenting at all levels in the organisations, to external organisations and at international conferences, something I never thought would happen. Looking back I did well because I was good at a job I loved, my stutter made it more difficult but I think I got where I was meant to be just slower than I would have liked!
Take care
Veronica
Thank you for sharing, Veronica. I would also think a research analysis job wouldn’t require too much public speaking, but it’s funny how life works. I’m so proud of you for working your way up the chain and becoming successful in your field! It definitely takes hard work and dedication, and now you’re out here showing others that it can be done as a woman, and/or a PWS!
When I was younger I wanted to a career in law or architecture. I decided against both when I began stuttering in my teens, as at the time I thought it sounded like a silly idea as I could barely address my parents or life-long friends let alone a room of people and I thought architecture would be very male oriented and that it would be hard to assert myself. I decided to go into accounting eventually as I thought it would involve less speaking and it did, I quickly got bored and now my career involves more law more than it does math and lots of speaking. If I didn’t have a stutter I probably wouldn’t have chased after the career I have now, I think my stammer made me overcompensate and want a job that proves to myself that I am not missing out on a range of experiences due to my stammer, but I think I’d have made it much easier for myself if I was satisfied with a lesser challenge that was more comfortable.
I dreamed of being a journalist but spent my working life in the oil industry. I travelled the world, met a myriad of different people and cultures and got paid too. If I’d become a journalist I might have worked on a regional newspaper (Aberdeen) and not travelled the world on someone else’s dime.
As for your stutter affecting your professional life – yes it does, just like it affects your personal life. It’s down to the individual to decide whether they shy away from doing things because they’re embarrassed by their speech or instead say, you know what, this is who I am world and you either deal with it or you don’t. I think when you reach that stage all the fears we’ve built up begin to drop away and you find that those around you were never as bothered about your stutter as you thought.