“I only wanted one thing and that was to be who I am now”: Being a trans young adult and (re)negotiating vocational identity

Developing vocational identity as a young adult is a complex feat and may be even more so for transgender people, who have to navigate their professional selves in a largely cisgender and heteronormative world that minoritizes them. In this qualitative study, we explore how transgender youth develop a vocational identity. Through 10 in-depth interviews in the Netherlands and Belgium, we found that participants had to negotiate favouring education (at the expense of gender transition) or sensemaking their gender identity (at the expense of schooling), while seeking to avoid discrimination. In addition, we observed that transitioning was also an enabling process, facilitating the development of trans young adults’ vocational identity. We also found that trans young adults see the (un)attainability of career-paths related to anticipated stigmatization and other expectations related to their trans identities. In particular, they mentioned occupations where hegemonic masculinity and gender binarism is praised and those in which minors are involved as not attainable. Organizations celebrating their trans identity and career paths in which the living conditions of other minoritized people are improved were perceived as attainable and desirable. The insights presented here show that even in countries that are considered ‘progressive’ in terms of LGBTQ+ rights, the vocational identity of trans youth is nevertheless influenced by (and at times constrained by) their gender identity. We thus discuss the need for career counsellors, educational institutions, and organizations to work on facilitating the future career development of trans individuals and their access to inclusive spaces.