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One of the more frequent questions I receive
from potential, new, and long term vegans
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alike, is what to do about employment.
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How do you find a vegan job?
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What if your current place of employment conflicts
with your values?
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Well today I’ll give you some basic pointers
and a boatload of additional resources on
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the blog post, so you can stop working for
The Man and start working for The...
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Vegan…Man…
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Hi it's Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome
to another vegan nugget.
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Going vegan usually sparks a growing awareness
of the rather astounding number of ways in
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which our species exploits other beings and
our planet.
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As the vast majority of the world is not vegan,
it stands to reason that the vast majority
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of employment options involve not-so-vegan-friendly
elements.
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From the blatantly obvious, like being a server
at a steak house, or vivisector in a research
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lab, to the more subtle, like a sales rep
for products tested on animals, or barista
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at a coffee shop.
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For most people, immediately quitting their
job upon going vegan without any alternative
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in place is not feasible, nor prudent.
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However, the idea of continuing on in an exploitative
vocation is unthinkable.
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Before we jump in, let me just say preemptively:
to any concerns or questions about whether
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any job or human activity can be 100% vegan
or totally free of any form of exploitation,
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please see the videos linked in the description,
which delve into that issue.
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When looking for a vegan job, there are an
infinite number of possibilities, though it
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may not seem that way initially.
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One of the first things to determine is your
area of interest.
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What is it you want to do?
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Of course if you’re looking to get out of
your current job as fast as possible, apply
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for every vegan option you can find and take
whatever comes first.
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Then you can start fleshing out your long-term
goals.
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Do you want to be your own boss?
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Are you interested in nonprofit work?
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Do you want to work directly with animals?
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With people?
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Do you have a location requirement or are
you willing to move?
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Do you want to work remotely online?
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What is your skill set?
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As a side note, the availability of location-dependent
jobs will of course vary greatly depending
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on your location and ability to commute.
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You can always look up employment assistance
centers and organizations specific to your
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area and country.
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Writing down your goals ideals can be helpful
in narrowing your search and knowing where
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to start.
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One of the most basic jumping off points are
job search websites.
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You can even search mainstream job posting
websites with “vegan” as a keyword.
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I have included a list of these on the blog
post.
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Additionally, there’s a fantastic website
by Vegan Mainstream called the Vegan Job Board.
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Another approach is to check out the websites
of existing vegan companies, organizations
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and nonprofits.
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Most will have a section for employment opportunities.
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Some common examples are: vegan publications,
restaurants and cafes, retail companies, farm
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sanctuaries, activist organizations, educational
nonprofits, and more.
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One important thing to remember is that vegans
are needed in all areas of employment—just
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like vegans come from all walks of life and
have wide variation in their diets, vegan
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jobs are also infinitely broad.
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Maybe you are a web designer and decide to
work with an activist organization on their
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website.
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Perhaps you’re in the financial sector and
decide to help other vegans find investments
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that align with their values.
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Maybe you’re in law school or already a
lawyer and decide to transition to animal
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law.
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Or want to work in another capacity in the
animal law sector.
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Additionally, while many vocations, as within
medicine and nutrition, have an existing anti-vegan
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bias or may be rife with misinformation, that’s
all the more reason for more vegans to enter
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those fields!
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So don’t limit yourself with any preconceptions
of what a vegan job is supposed to be.
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Finally, there’s always the option to set
out on your own path.
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Maybe what you want to do doesn’t exist
anywhere.
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Maybe you want to start your own business,
found a nonprofit, work as a freelancer in
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any number of fields.
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This can be an incredibly rewarding path to
take, though it does require with a great
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deal of commitment, persistence, and risk.
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I personally quit medical school to go full
time with Bite Size Vegan.
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It was an incredibly uncharacteristic move
on my part, and was simultaneously the best
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and most terrifying decision I’ve ever made.
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And thanks to my Nugget Army of patrons who
support my work, I’ve been able to continue
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and grow Bite Size Vegan to the point where
I’m now working on building my own team.
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If you do want to set out on your own but
aren’t able or don’t want to just take
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a flying leap, you can always use the time
you have off from your current job to start
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pursuing and building what it is you really
want to do.
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I hope that this has been helpful.
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Please refer to the blog post linked below
for links to job postings and search engines
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as well as other helpful guides from Vegan
Mainstream, The Vegan Woman, Our Hen House
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and more.
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Be sure to subscribe to the channel and enable
notifications for more fresh vegan content
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every week.
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If you liked this video, do give it thumbs
up and share it around to help others find
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their calling.
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To help support the work of Bite Size Vegan,
please see the support links below or click
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on the Nugget Army icon or the link in the
sidebar.
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Now go live vegan, get a job, and I’ll see
you soon.
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And now I prepare myself for the onslaught
of “YouTube is not a real job” comments.
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I get it.