Start with an entry-level job in an MCB lab (standard bench work: pipetting, plating, PCR/PAGE, wet chemistry, etc.), and build upon that experience to get opportunities to do more sophisticated techniques, eventually leading to genetic engineering work.

Essentially, the path I'm recommending is a career in microbiology. It's admittedly the long road, and not a well-paying one at that, but it's one way to do it!