just how bad is the slo job market? (Diablo: county, jobs)

[ecto]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Santa Cruz has jobs?

You're gonna be commuting to San Jose every day....

give me a break i was being speculative...
i don't know because i have never been. i assumed since it was larger and closer to sv that it would be.

very pessimistic board here, geez.

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by ecto

give me a break i was being speculative...
i don't know because i have never been. i assumed since it was larger and closer to sv that it would be.

very pessimistic board here, geez.

Why would you assume something if you had no information to back it up?

Pessimistic? Not really... realistic is more like it.

[ecto]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Why would you assume something if you had no information to back it up?

Pessimistic? Not really... realistic is more like it.

i'll find out for myself. not getting many helpful responses here. everyone seems bitter for some reason. i guess many are still looking for a place they're happy to live and their frustration rubs off. i'm unsure.

but anyone can make it work anywhere if they really want it to...

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by ecto

i'll find out for myself. not getting many helpful responses here. everyone seems bitter for some reason. i guess they are still looking for a place their happy to live in and dispense their frustration to others. i'm unsure.

but anyone can make it work anywhere if they really want it to...

Dunno, figured you might want to hear from people who are not only in your profession but have already done the legwork. guess not.

[ecto]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Dunno, figured you might want to hear from people who are not only in your profession but have already done the legwork. guess not.

sarcasm is much appreciated. you seem to think i should know the places i ask about better... thats the whole point i ask though - because i don't know.
anyways, i'll be going there soon. just as i did slo and i ended up not wanting to live there anyhow. in my case there are more factors than employment in deciding to move to another city.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by ecto

but anyone can make it work anywhere if they really want it to...

I'd have to guess you haven't read many of the threads in the California forum if you really think that. There are many sad tales of dedicated talented people who sacrificed it all to chase their rainbow in the golden state utopia of their choice. They gave it their all -- often working two jobs -- but still couldn't get ahead. That famous line from Hamlet really applies to finding success in California: "There is a destiny which shapes our ends, rough hew them as we may."

Here's a little lesson on what comes when in Life. Life can be divided into four basic chapters:

CAREER FORMATION: Beginning with kindergarten and going to as high a level of education as your aspirations require, this is where you start to sort out your interests and abilities. You hear the beat of a certain drummer and gravitate toward certain fields of endeavor. This stage of life requires a significant level of delayed gratification. You're laying the foundations for what you'll do over the next half-century, so this isn't a time to take shortcuts.

CAREER BUILDING: Typically starting anywhere from age 21-30, this is where you start the grind. You generally have to start at the bottom, both in terms of job hierarchy and geographic preferences. You want to make some basic life investments that will get you to a higher economic rung such as buying a first home. Many people will also think about marriage or starting a family in this stage. This requires even greater sacrifices. The important consideration in career building is to live where there is a favorable cost-of-living to salary ratio. Otherwise you can end up treading water for years or even decades, living hand-to-mouth in paying your expenses and never really building any economic reserves.

CAREER PLATEAU: Typically starting around age 35-45, these two or three decades of your life are where you start to have more choices due to the years of experience and economic reserves you've built with your investments. You may decide to move up to a "dream home" or perhaps move away to a "dream city". This will result in some economic setback, but you'll have the financial reserves to absorb it. If you have kids, you'll have to start planning for their college years, so the sacrifices are not over by any means.

CAREER RETIREMENT: The freedom from having to work for a living will maximize your ability to go where you want. If you've planned well and made good investments, you'll be able to compete with the millions of other retirees who are also looking for Shangri-la. But many retirees find that the limitations of being on a fixed income force them to either stay where they are or move away to areas with a more favorable cost of living scenario. So, in fact, there is no stage of life that is free from having to make sacrifices.

Even if you buy into the disneyesque covenant that you can accomplish anything you set your sights on, that doesn't mean that you'll accomplish it in the near future, or without due sacrifice and careful long-range planning. At this stage of your life, one of those sacrifices may well be holding off on the utopia you're smitten with until you have more job experience and financial assets under your belt. I'd love to move to SLO or Santa Barbara county myself, but even with 30 years of job experience, two houses and a good stock portfolio, I couldn't swing it yet. Conservatively, I figure it would require a half million dollars in transferable assets. I'm just not there.

[CA central coast]

Santa Cruz and SLO are a lot alike.

[LivingLikeAGradStudent]

How is it pessimistic or bitter to describe, accurately, the limited job market for professionals along the Central Coast? I have relatives there, and the only way that can afford it is to have built their own house more than 20 years ago and have no mortgage as they try to cobble monthly income.

[Sorcerer68]

Major employers:
Diablo Canyon (nuclear power plant)
Atascadero State Hospital (mental hosp/criminally insane)
Cal Poly SLO (4-year University)
Cuesta College (Community College)
California Men's Colony (prison)

The job market is rough. Most kids who go to school there leave. SLO is gorgeous, walkable and has a fresh, breezy climate. The ones with specialized degrees do well getting jobs at the places above. There are worker bees as well but the pay isn't great.

I've seen many, many people move to SLO, starve and have to beg money to get home. The job market is brutal and there are lots of perky college students to soak up all the low-paying jobs.

I lived there for a while when I was younger and ate a lot of Top Ramen. I have family there and visit them infrequently. I always enjoy drinking coffee in front of the mission.

[Mesawoman]

Job market is tight. A lot of folks commute to Atascadero, Paso Robles area.