A person in the dark can become their own light

A PERSON IN THE DARK CAN BECOME THEIR OWN LIGHT

BY SCOTT CARSO

In this interview, I spoke with Rae, a territory manager for Engineered Sealing Solutions. Rae was raised in Long Beach by a single mother, struggled to start her own career path after graduating highschool pregnant, did not complete a university degree, and happened to find work in the field of mechanical seals for pumps over 15 years ago. Rae’s words highlight the adversity she has faced in a male-dominated field.

Scott Carso: What are some of the challenges you have faced working in an industrial, male-dominated field?

Rae: I never fit the part; I used to be cute and blonde and was commonly being invalidated because of that. I also did not have a degree; some people would use that as a reason to not interact with me or give me the respect I deserved. I had specialized technical knowledge and experience from working in the industry for so long. I was either viewed as dumb and not qualified, or I was sexualized and would have customers buy everything I was selling not because they wanted the product but because they wanted me. This led me to develop thick skin, so I can hang with the rest of them. Being constantly overlooked and invalidated made me become unsure of myself.

But one thing that I never lost confidence in was my work. I didn’t have the educational background to assert myself so I made sure to learn through experience. I earned confidence through experience because I worked so hard just to maintain my role. I think today there are more women of inspiration in technical male-dominated fields; I didn’t really have that when I was younger. My mother raised me, and she always worked really hard. That’s one inspiration for my work ethic and drive, I overcame hurdles and life’s challenges just as she did.

SC: You mentioned your mother raised you. It sounds like she was a real inspiration, did you have any siblings?

R: There were four of us.

SC: Did your mom work? How was she able to support all of you?

R: She did work; she always made sure us kids were taken care of. We relied on government assistance; we were in poverty, in the projects, but they were really nice projects though. In her late 20s, my mom decided to make it happen, to grow for herself and for her family. She enrolled at Long Beach Community College to pursue nursing while working two jobs and being a single parent of four children. After that, life wasn’t easy but at least she had money in her pocket and didn’t have to depend on anyone to take care of us. Her first job as a nurse was at Long Beach Memorial. I still remember when she found out she got the job she went out and bought a 55-inch box TV and a brand new car, which turned out to be a total lemon but then she got a different new car.

SC: You touched on how you felt you didn’t have many celebrity role models to look up to, were there any people who you knew personally that professionally inspired you besides your mom?

R: Yes, I had a mentor, about 15 years ago, who was my boss at the time. She was a people-person, very appeasing, smart, put-together, lit up the room and commanded attention. I also had an additional supervisor, about 10 years ago, who was in the seal industry; she was driven, very business-oriented, but still cared. If she didn’t know something she would say that but she would also find out.

SC: Were there any role models that you had early in your career or growing up that you didn’t personally know?

R: Not really, I never idealized or romanticized celebrities. My role models were people I had an interpersonal relationship with. I never thought I’d be doing this for a living; this isn’t a young girl’s dream. But, my passion for helping others has allowed me to become successful professionally.