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with all your education have you been discriminated by your weight when applying for potential jobs?

I am changing careers in a huge way and still an undergraduate...one year to go after Christmas *phew* (why didn't I pick a 3 year degree???) Anyway, I will admit that I saw this as my chance to lose weight prior to meeting with employers. I don't know if I don't trust them to see past my weight, or I will present more confidently, but I know the weight had to go!

Good luck on the thesis...I considered honors but with two young children my husband started frothing at the mouth when I mentioned it lmao

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I had done some research as to who they had hired and the person did not have near the experience or qualifications as I had, was a younger and slimmer person. It could be though, that perhaps it was someone who worked on the job that wanted to push their kid through...don't know. I have applied a different positions besides this one, one was very entry level with no experience necessary...yet, it was given to someone with no experience whatsoever...whereas I had the BA and experience working in this particular area. I've heard different things from people that work there, if you have weight problems they are more inlikely not to hire you...it's all about an image. So, I was able to work it to the fact that I am significantly overweight, which I was told by a professor that it will be a problem. She being an outstanding professor, makes lots of $$$ had done the RNY surgery because she knew it was a constant problem in her line of work.

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Yea, I agree with you on losing the weight before putting yourself out there with prospective employers. I know my confidence will go up with the weight off. I've always done well in the interviews, nailing each question without a problem but I have a feeling it's the image deal. It's been proven through research that those that are significantly overweight have difficult times getting into the job market even with excellent skills. I've had friends apply for a job being overweight being denied, then after losing the weight their hired for the same job they applied for. It would be nice to nail these people for discrimination but it is hard to do so in the case of weight. Discrimination exists whether by skin color or weight, it's a sad world we live in.

I am changing careers in a huge way and still an undergraduate...one year to go after Christmas *phew* (why didn't I pick a 3 year degree???) Anyway, I will admit that I saw this as my chance to lose weight prior to meeting with employers. I don't know if I don't trust them to see past my weight, or I will present more confidently, but I know the weight had to go!

Good luck on the thesis...I considered honors but with two young children my husband started frothing at the mouth when I mentioned it lmao

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I was banded mid semester--while taking A and P2! Nightmarish! My teacher was very nice--I didn't tell her until the day I returned to class and had an exam--I handed it in and said "well that's probably not my best work, since I just had surgery" and she said "oh! YOu should have told me, I would have given you more time!" Never occured to me to ask! Oh well. She is a peach and and excellent teacher and I tested right out of Pathophysiology because of her!

I am doing online classes now and my biggest problem is snacking throughout the day, since I am just sitting here most of the day, studying and my kitchen calls to me all day long......:)

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I don't believe I've been discriminated because of my size, but yes to my gender.

I can't honestly say that my weight has ever been a problem, other than for me health wise, but I don't believe that it's ever been a problem for me.

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I could have been banded already, but had to time it for after 2nd semester finished, I had exams last week. This last semester has been a disaster anyway, I've been so distracted by my eye problems - I've got some weirdo condition called map dot fingerprint dystrophy that hit me this year, its genetic and causes constant tearing of the corneas when you open your eyes after sleeping, I've had a few major attacks which have put both eyes out of action for several days at a time - I cant really use the good eye when one is bad, because it makes both eyes move and it hurts. And of course, the reason I'm getting the band is mainly my bad ankle - which is a chronic fallen arch/achilles tendonitis/bursitis problem and that's taken loads and loads of time for physio/sportsmedicine/podiatry.

And I have 3 kids - the two boys are older and fine but Eliza is typical 2 year old feral at the moment and study has been very very difficult. So I didnt need abdominal surgery on top of that.

But anyway, four glorious months off over the Australian summer, plenty of time to get banded, recover, and lose a ton of weight. I'm doing a Bachelor of Primary education - grade school teacher to you I think. Long slog, I'm part time at the moment because with a young family I cant cope with anymore. I wanted to go full time from next year, but my youngest is just too demanding still.

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I haven't seen gender discrimination (most of my bosses have been female - my only male boss ended up one of my best friends to date), but I have seen age discrimination. I'm in a field full of older people and I'm automatically discredited because I'm usually 20 years younger than most of my department, but I've never not gotten the job because of it. It's just that once I'm in the job, I have to really fight to establish myself. I love it when I end up teaching them new things. :)

I've also seen discrimination based on citizienship status. DH is not a citizen, but he's a permanent resident alien. He cannot vote but he pays taxes, has a driver's license, SSN - the whole nine yards. He fits the American majority demographic and lost his accent shortly after moving here so people don't know he's foreign unless they ask or see paperwork. He was offered a job once and was fortunately in the process of declining the offer when he received a rescindment with no reason other than "We've decided to continue to look." Shortly after he learned from someone he knew who worked at the same place that they had run his background and saw that he wasn't a citizen, and didn't want to have to worry about incurring any visa fees. Dumb butts didn't even know that residents don't need visas.

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Last year was physically very difficult for me. I was having serious health issues, which included a lot of trips to the ER for asthma and breathing related problems. I missed one of my finals, which meant that I had to take an incomplete for the course. When I went back to make up the incomplete, the instructor, who is rather old, called me a lier and said I was never in his class. I had an "A" in the class, but I have to take it again this spring.

I too thought that I would have lost a huge amount of weight by now. I'm days from being 9 months out and have only lost 27 pounds. Not even close to the amount we are told, the amount most people lose. That sent me into a spiraling depression, but I'm better now.

Now, if I can only get through calculus!

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I am a student at UNT, I go part-time while I work, It is very hectic especially since the college is 50 miles from my house and my job is 3o, I do a lot of driving and juggling schedules with my 50 hour work week. I think going to the school has inspired me since I run around campus with all of the perky 18 year old girls who drive their mama's mercedes and type in thoer laptops during class. It has been interesting, I have been going part-time off and on since I graduated highschool in 96 and don't think I will ever finish. I 'll be at Senior staus next year, so hopefully I will push through and finally finish my English degree, only to go on to start the graduate program for school counseling. Whew, I'm just tired thinking of all of the crap I have left to do. Good luck everyone.

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Hola, Finishing dissertation for my PhD in Nursing. I have a real hard time on my writing and data entry days. I also teach and the end of the semester is always hard alot of paper grading and .... It makes me crazy. I have to very carefully.

Elda

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Im a Senior in Highschool (Go '06 JHS Posse)! Anyways....I am also a freshman at Angelina College, and the band hasnt gotten in the way THAT MUCH. The biggest prob is that I have to go to a sit down and eat place at lunch and I have a class at 12:50 everyday but Friday, and I get out for lunch at like 12 so thats a little hard, but I also have problems with these stupid ignorant immature ppl I goto school with because they will be like "When is going to start working?" Im like you idiots! Ive lost like 35 pound and 3 sizes and u wanna know when it starts working?

But I guess it all goes back to the basics, "A dog is a dog, a log is a log, and a frog is a frog." (The Magic Well) and I guess fat is fat??? So I dont hold too much against them! Well there are other issues but the GREAT out weighs the bad so I always tell ppl if the dr called me tonight at midnight and told me something was horribly wrong with my surgery and he needed me to come in and have it redone I would do it every single day if I had to! I LOVE MY BAND!!!!

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Gradaute school starts back up January 10, which is also the end of the waiting period to hear back from my surgeon's office re: insurance process, paperwork, etc. So it looks like there's a good chance I could be banded mid-semester. The good part is that my program has an online option, for people who can't make it in to class, so I'll be able to lay in bed with my laptop & wireless and "go to class".

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I do know that I have to explain the basic function of my surgery almost EVERY SINGLE DAY to the same ppl over and over again. Granted I am in highschool and college at the same time right now, but I had more intelectual faith in my peers then they seem to exalt???? I dont know, maybe Ill write a research paper on it lol! I am constantly discriminated against as an overweight student. I can honestly say that I am in the 2% of my peers at my highschool that has never been invited to a highschool party! Its so sad when I think about it, but I gotta harden my heart and get over it I suppose. I just dont get these small hicktown ppl!? Im so sick of it! Maybe when I get skinny they will want me to be around them, pretty sad huh? All my other friends get invited, even my geeky possibly gay mult-lingual friend gets to go, but I dont because Im fat I guess?????

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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