Today's New York Times reports on a new study by sociologists that seeks to determine the characteristics responsible for the preponderance of liberal bias in professors (via Robin Hanson). What caught my eye in the piece was the typecast behind specific careers - be it a gender bias or political bias:

Jobs can be typecast in different ways, said Neil Gross and Ethan Fosse, who undertook the study. For instance, less than 6 percent of nurses today are men. Discrimination against male candidates may be a factor, but the primary reason for the disparity is that most people consider nursing to be a woman’s career, Mr. Gross said. That means not many men aspire to become nurses in the first place — a point made in the recent Lee Daniels film “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” When John (Lenny Kravitz) asks the 16-year-old Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) and her friends whether they’ve ever seen a male nurse before, all answer no amid giddy laughter.

Nursing is what sociologists call “gender typed.” Mr. Gross said that “professors and a number of other fields are politically typed.” Journalism, art, fashion, social work and therapy are dominated by liberals; while law enforcement, farming, dentistry, medicine and the military attract more conservatives.

To me it seems pretty fascinating that your political leanings can effectively dictate the type of career you pursue. While the study focuses specifically on college professors and only touches on the bias in other careers peripherally I'd be interested to see what other fields are effected by bias. What about you? Do you feel your political orientation had an effect on your major, or the path you hope to pursue?