I know that there are employer recruitment days for transgenders held in various cities.  Have you checked at least the names of the companies and maybe the recruiters at some of them? Looked at online editions of local gay newspapers for dates as well as job openings as well as companies who advertise in them?  That gives you a clue.   Have YOU advertised specifically stating your requirements for this?  Certainly while being cautious about your identity.  You might be surprised at the number of openly Gay/lesbian owners/senior managers at some of the more open minded  companies.  I believe that fate happens to those who put themselves into the path of it. Go underground, try gorilla marketing for you and your abilities.  Turn what YOU perceive as a negative into something positive.   Maybe it strikes a chord in someone in a position to help.  Who knows, maybe an older trans person who didn't transition, now can't, will take you on as a project.  I know that as an engineer, creativity is probably low priority in your tool box.  Now is the time to pull it out, or find someone who can help you with it. You have a BS in Engineering-you are obviously smart and able to learn.  Those are salable skills in many ancillary jobs and professions.  Keep open the idea that many people end up in a career different from what they first intended.  Life is funny that way.   The world is a thousand times more accessible, open, and accepting than when I was your age.  USE IT! Sorry, I've read the responses by the nattering nay bobs of negativism (to quote Spiro Agnew) and disagree.  There is the PERFECT job waiting for YOU.  Your job is to figure out what it is, how you fit into it, then find it.

Yes and the perfect job is what I choose, not something I'm forced to accept.  I decided I wanted a career in the automotive or aerospace industry.  Only then did I make the choice go to school for engineering.  I'm not going to compromise on this.

And as far as finding someone to help me with my transition I don't want any help.  Even if one of my old friends won the lottery and decided now that it is convenient that they wanted to help me out I would say no.  It was never convenient for me.

The perfect job may well be one you don't even know exists.  Do you know that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has several mechanical engineers on it's payroll?  One travels with each tour (I think there are two different tours).  The magic of theater that is Cirque du Solei, is more the magic of mechanical engineering than anything else.  Those extensive rigging operations, the dynamic rigging that has to be used to 'fly' people and all that takes people with top skills in mechanical engineering.  And both RRBBBC and CdS have to have people who are certified and have the legal authority of expertise to sign off on all of that.^*  Best of all, both those engineers get to mix the static desk work with the real word grease and nuts and bolts of physically doing it (and fixing it).

I have a friend who signed on to do one year with RBBBC because he was a certified electrician and the construction industry was in a bit of a lull at the time.  You might say he did it for the laughs.  But that was 25 years ago.  You could not use dynamite to get him out of there now.  He found a career, a family, a culture and way of life that is totally unique.  Where he might have been a 'bit weird' for construction, being a 'bit weird' is pretty much a prerequisite for finding acceptance in the circus world.  They don't trust anyone who's not a bit weird.

Have you looked into doing union work?  The International Union of Operating Engineers or The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees both have mechanical engineers on their rolls.  Stage rigging companies need mechanical engineers to design, build, test, and certify their equipment like the chain motors, the trusses, the safety devices, all that stuff has has to be certified once a year by non-destructive evaluation.  F/X companies like the old Industrial Light and Magic hire mechanical engineers. 

And, where a lot of people on these boards have lost jobs under questionable circumstances, anyone who has ever worked with them knows that firing a craft-union journeyman is the world of work equivalent to picking a fight with Chuck Norris.

Lots of big time sporting events hire mechanical engineers.  NASCAR and every other motor sport, The America's Cup, and others all need people with those skills.  Lot's of boats in the South Florida area need people who can work on them with no questions asked if you know what I mean.  You get paid cash and you get a bitchin' tan to boot.


* - The insurance carriers for the casinos and venues insist on it.

This might be worth checking out if you haven't already:

http://transworkplace.ning.com/

Working for the circus could be interesting work.  However I refuse to join a union.  I had to work alongside IAM when I was at Harley Davidson for my co-op and holy crap do unions get in the way of efficiency. 

About those boats, did you mean fishing boats and the like?

If they pay cash, they pay it for you not to care what they use it for.

And, I love my union, but all I will say is this.  The union (cause then need the % they make off my work to bribe politicians, live it up, whatever) is very, very interested in me working.  If I don't work they don't make their cut.  They are very interested in me working.  They keep me working in fact more than I really want to.  Say what you will, but it's a whole lot better than sitting at home making zip.

I gotcha.  I suppose I tend to be an idealist in that I'd rather have someone interested in having me working because I'm great at what I do and not because they're making money off of me.

Quote from: Maddie Secutura on December 05, 2010, 12:05:04 PM
So do any of you have anyone who has helped you reach your surgery goal or are you, like me, financially on your own?

Totally on my own.  Every penny that went into HRT through GRS was/is totally out of my own pocket (about $50K to date).  My insurance coverage specifically excludes "sex transferral". 

BTW, that coverage is through the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.  Since I transitioned they have been denying every blood test I've had, regardless of the real reason, saying they didn't cover that even though they now require the test being done every year.  And when the contractor who I was working for was blatantly discriminating against me post coming out, my union said there was nothing they could do.  When it came to me returning to the field, they said they could do nothing to protect me from other trades.  So much for unions.

I kinda like the idea that all I have to do is what I really like doing (shows) and don't have to do what I don't like doing, namely that constant hassle and flow to find work.  They are out there constantly securing work for me, and that kind of security in this biz is really worth the money.

As for being idealist:  Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality the cost becomes prohibitive  William F. Buckley said that by the way.

I understand your point.  So would I have to secure a position and then join the associated engineer's union or can I join their union and they'll secure it for me?

I suppose my grudge against unions is due to that in the manufacturing environment they added bureaucracy just gums up the works.

Sure, unions do all that and for 35 years I very much appreciated that.  I made money and so did they.  And since I was usually working in a supervisory capacity at a higher pay, and they get a % of everything I make, I made them even more money.  Hell, when I was working in the office as a project manager or construction manager or electrical designer (11 years total), they really made out.  They collected their % and me working didn't take away a job in the field.

But in the end, they just couldn't get past the trans thing.  "It's a man's world and we don't want your kind around."  Once you come out, you get to see how much they really support you.

I still have a lot to offer and I'd love to be back to work, but with no support, it's just too risky.

Really at the end of the day what this boils down to is that I need to make more money than I am now in order to pay for SRS. 

Quote from: Maddie Secutura on December 11, 2010, 11:15:12 PM
About those boats, did you mean fishing boats and the like?

I wouldn't look in the cargo holds if I were you, the less you know the better... 

Quote from: Maddie Secutura on December 12, 2010, 10:26:25 AM
I gotcha.  I suppose I tend to be an idealist in that I'd rather have someone interested in having me working because I'm great at what I do and not because they're making money off of me.

Wait, that's the basic premise of every employer/employee relationship.  You make money for them to be able to afford to pay your salary and benefits.

Quote from: regan on December 12, 2010, 08:17:57 PM
Wait, that's the basic premise of every employer/employee relationship.  You make money for them to be able to afford to pay your salary and benefits.

What I meant was that I'm an asset to the company in that I do my job and they make money because I'm delivering results.  I don't want someone to want me there just because I'm a warm body to from which to deduct union dues.

Quote from: Maddie Secutura on December 12, 2010, 10:14:26 PM
What I meant was that I'm an asset to the company in that I do my job and they make money because I'm delivering results.  I don't want someone to want me there just because I'm a warm body to from which to deduct union dues.

Try for a civil service job, same protections (mostly) and no dues.  Also look at major employers, there are many with trans friendly employment policies.  I think it was IBM that, if you transitioned on the job, moved you to another department so you were strictly known in your new gender.  Target, despite their boneheaded political contributions, is also supposed to be trans friendly.

This is a good starting point...

http://www.transgenderlaw.org/employer/index.htm

Quote from: Maddie Secutura on December 12, 2010, 10:14:26 PM
I don't want someone to want me there just because I'm a warm body to from which to deduct union dues.

Don't worry.  If they know you're trans most trade unions will find a reason not to hire you.  If you transition on the job, they will find a reason to get rid of you.

So if you ever got hired by them with their knowing you're trans or they keep you employed after coming out, you know they need you.   

I see.  Well right now I have an interview with Wells Fargo.  Hopefully everything I hear about their killer insurance plan is true.

Maddie, good luck with your interview.  I've recently been in the same place you are now, so I'll give you the advice I wish someone had given me.

One word: NETWORK.

You've gotten your degree and proven what you know.  Now it's who you know that matters.  And meeting people through networking is easy.  People who are successful in their careers network all the time and are always interested in meeting people who are fresh out of school and just getting started in the field.  Get yourself some business cards and go to a professional conference.  Introduce yourself to people, tell them you're a job seeker, tell them where you went to school and what your professional goals are, politely ask if they'd like to look at your resume, exchange cards.  As soon as you get home, go through all the cards you got and email everyone with your resume and a "pleased to meet you, thanks for your time" note.  You'll hear back from some, and may get a few responses along the lines of, "Pleased to meet you.  My colleague at ____ Company is looking to fill a position that would be a good match for your skills and interests.  I have sent her your resume and recommended that she call you to see if you'd like to interview."  That's a whole day of finding a good position to apply for and crafting the perfect cover letter replaced by a few minutes of meeting someone in person and emailing them your resume.  And you've been recommended by someone more established in the field, which puts you ahead of the other candidates.

Do a variety of networking activities.  Network with people more senior than you - they're well-connected and can give great advice.  Network with people your own age who are also just starting out - you'll learn from each other's successes and failures, and help each other out.  Pick a place where you'd really like to work and see if you can volunteer there.  It's a good way to show you can do what you say you can do and meet people in the field, and there's always a chance it'll lead to a job there.  Do some online networking too.  Get on Twitter and follow people in your field.  Start a blog where you write about something specific to your field.  Create a personal (professionally oriented) website.  Use your online networking to connect with people you hope to meet in person.

Seek out professional contacts who you have things in common with.  People who will appreciate your strengths, relate to you, and accept you for who you are.  These are the people who will be the most helpful.

Seriously, I sent out maybe 100 applications for jobs that were advertised online, didn't hear back from many, and was getting discouraged.  Then I went to a few networking events and suddenly was getting recommended for positions that were a much better fit than anything I had applied for and that I would not have even been aware of had I not networked.

There are plenty of jobs out there.  You just have to get out and meet the people who will help you find them.

I actually got my current position through pretty much this mechanism.  Sometimes all it takes is knowing someone who works there and having them put in a good word for you.