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BREAKING THE MOLD
Men increasingly find nontraditional occupations rewarding
The world of work has been man's oyster since ... well, since Adam and Eve got kicked out of the garden and he had to tend the soil. Men explored new lands, built bridges, sailed the seas, ran governments, fought wars and did almost anything else they put their minds to - with a few exceptions. It was considered women's work to raise and teach young children, nurse the sick and offer hospitality.
Those stereotypes slowly are changing. According to U.S. Census figures, there are more than 2 million stay-at-home dads in American households, and more men are pursuing careers in the classroom, the hospital and other nontraditional fields in which more than 75 percent of the workers are women.
Sometimes, the road less traveled is just the right career path.
Richard Sowell, nurse and dean
A nurse for 30 years, Richard Sowell, Ph.D., dean of the WellStar College of Health and Human Services at Kennesaw State University, calls his nursing career a lucky fluke.
"Maybe there were some who didn't want men in nursing when I started, but I've been too busy and had too much fun to spend any time dwelling on it," Sowell said.
Sowell grew up in a small South Georgia town, where his father was a doctor. He remembers holding down patients on the dining room table so his father could work - and the family being paid in chickens and greens.
"Early on, I knew I didn't want to be a doctor, so I got my degree in journalism and public relations at UGA in 1969," he said.
He spent four years in the Air Force, serving in Guam and the United States.
"When I got out, I was a different person and it was a different world. The war was over. Lots of guys were back from Vietnam, and it was hard to find jobs," Sowell said.
He was delivering for a coffee service company when he met an old friend from high school who was a nurse. She asked him if he would be interested in the field.
"I told her I'd do anything that paid well," Sowell said.
The next week she brought him an application for Georgia State University's two-year nursing program.
"There were 10 guys out of 120 students in the class, and when I saw them, my apprehension just completely evaporated. We'd all done something before and were there to build a career," he said.
His career would take him through nursing practice and administrative roles to earning his master's degree and graduating from the first doctoral nurse-education program at the Medical College of Georgia. Along the way, he became a a pioneer in AIDS research and a nurse clinical specialist in the field, chaired the nursing department at the University of South Carolina and helped build the size, reputation and scope of the nursing program at Kennesaw State University.
The road started at Grady Hospital's pulmonary intensive care unit, where he practiced nursing and learned to navigate the system. When he was promoted, some staff complained that it was because he was a man. Others assumed he was a wannabe doctor who couldn't make it in medical school. But other nurses went to bat for him.
"The patients made it all worthwhile," Sowell said. "They appreciated me for my skills and told me every day that they wanted me there."
At the Medical College of Georgia, professors also saw his potential and encouraged him to publish and seek funding for his thesis on case management in AIDS care.
"I tell my nursing students now not to sell themselves short. I knew I was a damn good nurse but didn't consider myself doctoral material. I had good mentors who told me that I was bright and could make a difference as a nurse educator," he said.
After earning his doctorate in 1990, Sowell wrote grants for AIDS research and went back to nursing at Grady Hospital's unit for AIDS patients.
"I knew I couldn't write about them if I wasn't willing to care for them," he said.
"Working the night shift, you really got to know them. I held many while they died. Caring for them gave me some of the most rewarding moments in my life."
As dean, he's a role model for male nursing students and is seeing more of them enter the program. Although male nurses remain at about 5 percent of the nursing work force, it's not the stigma it once was.
"Society has changed and nursing salaries have increased, so a man can support a family on the pay," Sowell said.
James Bishop, elementary school teacher
When James Bishop entered the kindergarten classroom for the first time, his pupils were watching a video. One by one, they turned around and looked up ... and up ... and up. Bishop is 6-foot-3.
"The principal said 'good luck' and shut the door. That's culture shock," he said. Bishop had been a master ASE-certified automotive technician for 15 years when he decided to use his history degree and follow his desire to teach.
"I knew it would be a sacrifice in terms of salary and benefits, but my sister, who is an assistant high school principal, was a big influence. She said if I ever got the chance to teach, to go for it," he said.
Friends couldn't understand why he'd give up a good career, but his wife supported him all the way and picked up the slack on income.
"I'd had a good experience with public education in rural North Carolina, where I grew up, and I felt like I wanted to give something back," Bishop said. "There's a real need for positive male role models, and, too often, parents expect schools to teach kids discipline, life values and socialization. I figured I'd do my part in that venture."
Bishop thought he'd substitute while taking classes for his teaching certification, but a kindergarten paraprofessional position opened at Oakcliff Traditional Theme School in Doraville about two years ago. The teacher let him teach a lot, which was excellent preparation for this year's job of teaching special education classes.
"It still surprises me the amount of responsibility entrusted to teachers. Parents throw open the car door and give you their impressionable 5-year-old," he said. "It's never boring, and it's challenging. I've learned to tone everything down and get on their level.
My reviewers tell me that I have a calm, mellow demeanor with the kids."
The amount of behind-the-scenes preparation has been another surprise, as has working with mostly women.
"They're so helpful and supportive," Bishop said. "I spend a lot of time talking to veterans and gleaning all the knowledge I can from them."
Bishop plans to teach middle school social studies once he passes the hurdle of certification.
Dan Roberts, flight attendant
At parties, Dan Roberts first tells people that he works for Delta Air Lines, and they assume he's a pilot.
"When I tell them I'm a flight attendant, it usually gets a laugh," he said.
When he explains his job, some men are jealous that he gets to work with beautiful, smart women all the time and travel all over the world.
"For me, it's been a great career, because I love people and I love to travel," he said. "I grew up in a military family, and we moved five times before high school, so traveling is in our blood."
Roberts' first job in retail at age 15 taught him that he liked customer service and was good with people but wasn't cut out for a 9-to-5 desk job. He went to college and applied with Delta three times before being accepted into the program in 1990.
"The first time I was too young, the second time they weren't hiring, and they finally took me in my senior year," he said.
The six-week training includes computer, class and lab time in a plane, with a test every other day and a hands-on final. The passing grade is 90 percent.
"It's very intense. There were five guys in my class - all still flying - and we didn't know what we were getting into," Roberts said.
Immediately transferred from a small town in Alabama to Los Angeles, Roberts joined a softball team. The guys weren't too sure about his occupation - until he showed up at a party with nine female flight attendants.
"They changed their minds after that," he said.
Today, men account for 12 percent of Delta's flight attendants.
Because attendants bid on flights based on seniority, the first years are rough.
"You work every weekend and holidays. For the first seven years, my off days were
Tuesday and Wednesday. You do that year after a year, and it's a drain," he said.
Roberts now has a much better chance of getting the flights, times and destinations he wants. In December, he had a long layover in London and then took his parents with him on a flight to Santiago, Chile. He celebrated New Year's Eve in Ireland.
Roberts likes the flexibility of his schedule, although it can challenge personal relationships, especially when weather means he misses a date or an event. He still regrets missing a Frank Sinatra concert once.
"Half of the year now, I teach in our training center, which gives me a regular schedule, so I have the best of both worlds," he said.
