Male Audiologist Worries?

[Integralpix]

Any males concerned about their job prospects after graduation because of your gender? Since many jobs tend to be in ENT offices (which, I infer, are primarily under male ownership/management), do any males worry about the "dental hygienist effect"--that is, doctors preferring to work with attractive women rather than men?

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[Cochlear]

I wouldn't worry about this too much. While it's true that women audiologists now outnumber men, I do believe there's a trend towards independent practice and the field is continually evolving. Just look at the scope of practice now vs 25 years ago--couldn't even dispense hearing aids or perform cerumen management in most cases. And more and more audiologists are now following the lucrative, independent practice model. For example, in a 2008 survey conducted by ASHA of 5,684 audiologists nearly 45% of respondents either worked in a private practice setting owned by audiologists or were self-employed in their own private practice. Remember, audiologists are NOT assistants or technicians who serve at the whim of ENT's but specialists in hearing science with doctoral degrees and the ability to operate independently. Don't sell yourself or the field short; what we need are audiologists who won't spend their entire careers working in ENT offices or for hearing aid manufacturers.

 

[Cochlear]

Don't sell yourself or the field short; what we need are audiologists who won't spend their entire careers working in ENT offices or for hearing aid manufacturers.

Just to clarify I don't mean to say that all brand new graduates should immediately go and open their own practices (that wouldn't be a fair statement or expectation), but over time I think this is something many of us should strive for ultimately.

But back to the original point, at the risk of getting into a whole sexist debate I wonder if the declining numbers of male audiologists may actually work to our advantage. Male audiologists are not quite a rarity at this point but are definitely becoming a minority and so maybe stand out more in the field and may sometimes (unfairly) be regarded as having more knowledge. Ultimately, like I mentioned previously, I really doubt there's any cause for concern at this point. We just haven't reached the same sort of male to female ratio as dentistry and it's hard to compare especially since most dental hygienists don't hold doctoral degrees.

 

[cidanu]

I worked in international education for 3 years, which was a similarly female-dominated field.

In my experience being male was an advantage, because it got you noticed. I can't tell you the proportion of female vs. male applicants that got interviews or hired, but whenever there was a male applicant, everybody in the office was curious because it was so unusual.

Again, I can't say if that really affected who we hired, or if it just gave an office of 25 women and 2 men something to gossip about.

 

[Audie2014]

Although it's despicable, I think the reason some dentists feel they can objectify attractive female hygienists is that there is already an inherent power imbalance favoring the dentists. Since audiologists, like ENT's, hold doctoral degrees, that power imbalance is much lower. I don't think you'll have a problem.

 

[Dustbug10]

We rule this profession. :flex:

 

[psusarahkate]

If anything, being a male in a female dominated field will help you.

For example, elementary education is dominantly female. My mom teaches el ed majors and says that the few boys who go through ALWAYS get a job, by default, because they're male.

Diversity is highly valued in any field. That's why colleges strive to take people from minority populations.

Also, you have way more options as an Audiologist than being an assistant. Don't work for an ENT then! I know I'm not going to - I want to be my own boss.

 

[cmc271]

I'd like to echo what psusarahkate said. In one of my interviews, I had a professor tell me she was fighting for myself and the other guys interviewing just like she was fighting for the females who had hearing loss that were interviewing also. We are definitely minorities in the field, not quite as high a minority as in speech but still a significant one. I think the last numbers I saw were that 28% of ASHA audiologists are males and the percentage of male SLP's was half that at most. It may have been under 10%.