I'm actually pondering going back into industry for the money and to see how I woudl be accepted in amostly male environment...I presently work in hospital office but there are lots of good jobs for skilled machinists and multitalented engineers that look very tempting and pay good money.  but do I want to come home and be all smelly from a factory?

Quote from: lilacwoman on August 04, 2010, 02:35:45 PM
I'm actually pondering going back into industry for the money and to see how I woudl be accepted in amostly male environment...I presently work in hospital office but there are lots of good jobs for skilled machinists and multitalented engineers that look very tempting and pay good money.  but do I want to come home and be all smelly from a factory?

I work in the IT industry where i am both feared and hailed as a godess. LOL.  Typically IT people are like ~ i wish their were more women who did IT... then they see you, omg its a woman that does IT~ RUN! 

BTW men dont like it when you beat them in anything.... makes them sad and not want to play with you anymore... ~_~

I hire and do hr as part of my job.  I am not "out".  I have hired "butch" lesbians and would have no problem hiring a FTM as long as they could do the job.  We do high rise concrete construction.  IF you get the guy thing down about keeping mouth shut, putting up with pranks,BS,general farting, urinating with bathroom door open etc.etc. they will eventually accept you. Some of the women I've hired have gone on to start their own businesses.  MTFs have a much more difficult time of it in most occupations.  I am pretty fem, and been on hormones for quite a while.  I refuse to visit sites (too hot), cannot use those port-o-johns, etc. I am sure that I am considered a "Wuss".  Everyone knows that I have done the work in the past and have taken extensive educational work to get higher in the food chain.  I have a wife, who works here, so no ones sexuality is threatened by me. In male dominated industries that is the problem.
Good luck, FIND A MENTOR in your field for support.  You are lucky in that there are many "out" lesbians that support each other.  I am not suggesting that you are, just that you will probably find a much larger successful support group than most MTFs who want to truely help you get ahead.  I wish we had more on our side. 

do I want to come home and be all smelly from a factory?

Is it somehow rewarding to come home smelling great but with a hella lot less money?

In the end, the works hours are the same, but the off hours wind up being way different.

Quote from: tekla on August 04, 2010, 01:06:29 AM
I think transition will affect it to this end: if you wind up feeling better about yourself, that translates into being more confident, and confident persons give better interviews.  That's a pretty awesome power to be bringing, for sure on that.

But, nothing beats having been successful doing it.  It says (in crayon cause they won't give us anything sharper) at the Fillmore 'you don't get trained here, you get here trained.'  And in my office the sign reads, "in theory there is no difference between theory and practice, in practice, there is."  (Which I think is Yogi Berra, or it should be.)

But confidence is very sexy, and very persuasive.

And desire and ambition. Interviewed two weeks ago for a technical officer in a hospital lab. Ninety percent of the resumes and letters were rubbish. "Deer sir I wont to have the gob advertised in ...... I can start soon" . I got text messages as applications, in text . Applications sent to the wrong address. If someone doesn't have the ability to read the instructions they will never get a job (or even a gob).

People I interviewed were great. And the thing that ended up separating them was their enthusiasm and ambition.  I didn't need experience, they needed an  appropriate degree, but we would train them. But the person bursting out of their skin to do stuff is the one I want.

I know are economies are in different stages but I hope you guys over the pond get the act together again soon and people can get jobs again.

Cindy

Quote from: rejennyrated on August 02, 2010, 01:59:26 PM
Not true.

I've had many high profile and professional jobs.

I have now fallen off the gravy-train, but it had nothing to do with my history, and everything to do with my own attitudes to work and aspirations to become a writer.

Hey, I don't mean to go against the tide here, but Jenny's got a good point.  My doctor who oversees my HRT is a transwoman who transitioned in her early-40s.  She OWNS the practice ... with about 32 doctors in it.  Having a transdoctor is the bomb!  Last time I saw her about 3 weeks ago, the first thing she said to me was, "Are we a happy girl?"  Gotta LOVE that!

May I refer you to 2 websites that prove that transpeople CAN and DO succeed out in the marketplace?  Here you go:

(1)   Lynn Conway's Website:

http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/

Lynn is one of the best-known and professionally-successful transsexual women around.  On about the middle-third of the first page on her website, you'll see categories labeled "Transsexual Women's Successes" and "Successful TransMen."  Take the time to really read these stories and to deeply think about them.  You'll be glad you did.

(2)   Karen Serenity's Website:

http://www.karenserenity.com/OldSerenity/links.htm

Karen was/is very professionally successful herself.  Best of all, she's all about "positive thinking" transsexuality.  That's the winning attitude we all need.  There are scads of inspiring stories there.  By all means, take your time and absorb the ones you like the best.  You'll like them, I'm sure.  

There are other well-known transsexuals past (Renee Richards) and present (Andrea James) who are well-educated, well-accomplished people who did/do well considering their circumstances.  Many transsexuals have done well without higher education.  These are the ones I personally admire the most.  Both Lynn and Karen's websites highlight several of them.  Check them out!

Last, but by no means least, there are several people HERE who are doing quite well. 

Finally, the worldwide economy is way down.  No surprise.  It's nonsustainable by its very design.  It's based upon one very false premise:  Infinity.  We live in a finite world.  We're running up against the logical limits of "economic growth."  Sorry, Harvard Business School, Wharton Business School, Chicago Booth School of Business, Kellogg Northwestern School of Management (I think that's what it's called), London School of Economics, etc., etc., etc., but you've ALL overlooked this most fundamental tenet of economics.  This tenet is to economics what relativity is to physics:  A look at the boundry value conditions underlying the entire discipline.  Gotta add quantum theory into the physics lexicon to get a more complete picture, but you get the point.  I digress.  I'll stop now.  I'm opened to discussion about this, by the way.  Private message me, and I'll be glad to politely talk it over with anyone, the aforesaid business schools included.  Anyway, ...

You can make your own "breaks" (good luck) if you have to.  It may not be easy, but it'll be worth it.  Women, minorities and foreigners are making tremendous headway toward accomplishing the duly-deserved success that was denied them for eons.  You can too.  Be determined to make your way, and you will.

Good luck!   

Apple hired me when I was 18, My birth name was Rebecca (omg...) but as soon as interview #1 started, I told them I preferred to be called Reece. No problem with that. About 3 months in, I was feeling more comfortable and I told my managers that I was trans, and that I'd prefer male pronouns but wouldn't be mad if they slipped. Instantly, all 150 of the employees started using male pronouns and had absolutely no problem. When my mom finally picked my new name, I told my managers again, and they even offered to get my corporate email address changed so it started with a 'J'.
SO IN MY OPINION, it really depends who you work for. I know what you mean though because as soon as I hit 17 I started looking for jobs. GameStop sucked. Zumiez was fine. Idk, I'd look around and see the people they hire. Diversity of any kind.

Who knows about Microsoft...

I'm very much full time (over a year, legal name change + T for quite a while) and I have a kick ass job.

Great people, enjoyable job, very stable and it pays pretty damn well too.

It can happen. You've just got to not make a big deal about the trans thing. Don't fall into the trap of using it as an excuse for failure. Self pity makes people hate you. Just stand up, be confident, and kick ass - and other people will be confident in you.

Oh yeah - and there is nothing wrong with "blue collar cultured" work. Some of it is highly skilled and pays very nicely . Just because you don't wear a suit and sit in a cubicle doesn't mean your job is unprofessional, menial or brainless. Some of those jobs can also be downright fun! I love getting paid bucketloads for doing something I'd probably do for free if they asked nicely enough .

I graduated from uni this summer and I'm very lucky in that I walked into a job someone I knew had just left, and recommended me for.  I'm working in a bookshop and it's not amazingly well paid, but will pay the bills and get me independence and look good on my CV.  I would like to become a teacher but I'm waiting to start a PGCE course till I get T on the NHS/ can afford it privately - I would like to have been on T before starting any sort of work really, but I'm still waiting for it! I just couldn't face going home and sitting around on the dole, particularly as my parents are only just accepting that I'm now their son. 

I'm not sure if my boss knows I'm trans - I haven't told him, but he may have guessed or my friend who had the job before me may have told him.  Everyone in work knows me as male, but unfortunately I don't pass with all the customers, and some keep saying "I'll pay the lady" etc in front of my co-workers - argh! So they may have guessed! Still, I think it's less hassle than if I'd gone straight to a teacher training course and had to teach a class of 11 yr olds who would have been asking me what I was all the time, as kids tend to do! And hey - it's a job, and Britain's a hard place for new grads to find jobs at the moment, so I'm a lucky boy really. 

Good luck everyone finding jobs  Just be confident in interviews, be positive on your CV's, and think about how you'll deal with the trans question before u go to interview or your 1st day.

jamesdc

That is really great. It just shows that companies that think about productivity and success function so much better.

It's such a no-brainer really, happy employees are better employees. They turn up for work, they produce more and they take care of the comapny.