I'm really glad you said this. There's a large amount of the general population who think trans and drag are the same, even people who are allies. I respect those who do drag and I can understand why they do it, but as someone who is trying to present as myself authentically instead of performatively it's almost detrimental to the cause when those who are outside looking in automatically equate the two.
When I came out to my family as trans, my dad's first thought was I was going to be "parading myself around like a drag queen" (his words). He voiced his concern about it, because he had no understanding that they are not the same thing. Typically when I come out to people as trans one of the first things they talk about is how I must love Ru Paul's and assume that I watch it. I've never watched a full episode in my life, and truthfully it's kind of difficult for me to watch it knowing mentally that's how people would perceive me if I come out to them.
And while I acknowledge that there can be overlap in the community it's not who I am, nor is it how I want to be perceived. I don't have the luxury of "taking off" who I am, nor am I trying to be a caricature of a woman. I'm just trying to be myself and I wish more people understood that.
As someone who has previously worked in the wireless industry for nearly a decade this is unsurprising. I worked for one of the Big 3 at a third party retailer and saw all kinds of shady things. From aggressive sales tactics to hostile management and straight up fraud. I was constantly getting in trouble with upper management because I refused to "live in the shade," a term they used for committing knowingly unethical acts. The only reason I didn't get fired (despite numerous threats) was because my sales numbers were always up to par. Turns out treating people with respect and keeping to your ethics was an equally effective way of hitting consistent numbers.