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Old 03-13-2010, 11:55 PM
 
2,093 posts, read 4,672,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E_Gitz View Post
I just moved to Bakersfield, CA all the way from a small town in Wisconsin. My husband and I are having trouble getting jobs, but he has been getting twice the amount of call-backs that I have been getting. Also, we have both noticed that people we have contacted are likely to deny us for the position that we are applying for but then suggest something stereotypically gender specific that neither one of us qualifies for.

So, I was wondering what people here have noticed and what they think about Bakersfield as far as gender stereotyping and sexism in general, and/or stereotyping and sexism regarding job hiring.
Unemployment in Bakersfield has just hit 15.9 percent, according to my local sources. While Bakersfield's city workers has been avoiding layoffs since the recession, it is finally catching up to them so you're and your husband are going to have a tough time finding a job.

The oil/gas and agriculture industry is slowly picking up in Bakersfield, but unemployment is still high because no one here is hiring. Teachers and professors of elementary to higher institutions are being laid off and these institutions are facing even more budget cuts. The residential development that relies on construction jobs is stagnant in the midst of a foreclosure, and we expect another wave coming later this year.

I don't think there is any sort of discrimination going on *if* no one is hiring but I wouldn't rule anything out.

Sorry to break it to you, but I don't think you and husband could've picked a worser time to relocate to Bakersfield.
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Old 03-13-2010, 11:56 PM
 
2,093 posts, read 4,672,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
It has to be sexism. There is no other possible explanation.
I don't see how it is sexism. Do you live in Bakersfield?
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Old 03-13-2010, 11:58 PM
 
Location: Bakersfield
22 posts, read 38,518 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Uptown Oakland View Post
You would have had a better chance of obtaining a job moving to a larger city rather than a smaller one like Bakersfield. That's usually not a place people move to by choice.
Uptown Oakland-

That's funny. The town that I just moved from has a population of 11,000. Also, since it's the largest area in its county, it's actually a "city" of 11,000 people. Bakersfield is actually larger than the capitol of Wisconsin. It may be small for California, but it's like a giant Wisconsin town to us. It's our Cali starter place, because it's actually very similar to the culture experienced in rural Wisconsin.
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Old 03-14-2010, 12:01 AM
 
2,093 posts, read 4,672,269 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by E_Gitz View Post
Well, finding a job is difficult right now for anywhere in the country. The unemployment rate for Bakersfield is only 1% higher than the unemployment rate for the county that I moved here from, but the type of jobs available in Bakersfield are much more professional and have more advancement opportunities than the town that I came from. The housing market here is actually much more affordable, and this is a city that we can afford right now that will provide us with resources in the future. Bakersfield is very affordable when you compare it to Madison, WI, and in the future we can buy a house, go back to school while raising a family, and we can get better jobs here.

If we were to stay in our small hometown in Wisconsin and work minimum wage at fast food joints with no benefits and no 401k until this recession is over, then we would have absolutely nothing to show for it. We would try to move to a bigger city with no professional working experience, no money saved up, and my currently worthless degree would be very, very old. On top of that, the price of houses would go up into the unaffordable range for us again. We really have nothing to lose right now, and it's best to start from scratch today rather than 5 years from now (or however long this recession will be). Plus, a lot of people have been fleeing California, which makes things easier for us to get in right now. The state is really trying to bring people in right now for tourism or whatever, as long as money is getting spent here. It was a lot easier to get an apartment here with no jobs, than it was for us to get an apartment in Madison with 2 jobs and not being 2,000 miles away. In so many ways, this is just a perfect opportunity for us to get out of Wisconsin. But, that's just our own personal situation. I guess, without putting too much personal info out there, let me just say that it's like this: We're going to a casino with $50 and hoping that we can at least triple it; and if not, we lose $50. Now if it were $100,000 and we had a chance to triple or double it, we would never risk that in a time like this. Also, taking $50 to the casino 5 years from now kinda seems pointless. Why would I wanna wait 5 years to either lose my $50 or win up to $150? That would be a waste of time.
OK. You provided a little more info than your original post. As one of the employers in Bakersfield, I often get referrals from the Career Services Center here in Bakersfield.

I would suggest contacting them.

2001 28th Street
Bakersfield, CA 93301
661-336-6600
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Old 03-14-2010, 12:06 AM
 
2,093 posts, read 4,672,269 times
Reputation: 1121
Quote:
Originally Posted by E_Gitz View Post
Uptown Oakland-

That's funny. The town that I just moved from has a population of 11,000. Also, since it's the largest area in its county, it's actually a "city" of 11,000 people. Bakersfield is actually larger than the capitol of Wisconsin. It may be small for California, but it's like a giant Wisconsin town to us. It's our Cali starter place, because it's actually very similar to the culture experienced in rural Wisconsin.
You make some good points. However, there a wider variety of specialized jobs available in other "big" cities on the coast. Santa Clarita, which has a lower population than Bakersfield is part of the larger county that encompasses Los Angeles, Irvine, Long Beach, etc.

Bakersfield is just a city in itself, with a population of nearly 300,000 the last time I checked.
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Old 03-14-2010, 12:08 AM
 
Location: Bakersfield
22 posts, read 38,518 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FresnoFacts View Post
You are asking for opinions but unfortunately I do not see enough info to respond.

What types of training and experience do you have? What types of jobs are you each applying for? etc.

Making a blanket statement about all employers in Bakersfield would be way too broad and prejudiced.

The city of Bakersfield has a lower unemployment rate than the state as a whole. Bakersfield was at 12.1% in January vs. California's 12.5%.

But I do not know if I would have moved there (or anywhere in California right now) without at least one of you having a job lined up first.

I'm not going to be giving out too much information about myself on the internet, sorry. But, what I was hoping for was people who actually live in, or have lived in Bakersfield to let me know what they think. I'm still very new here and was hoping that I could get some insight into the area esp. when it comes to jobs. I have made an observation, but since I haven't been here long, I'm asking others to let me know what their experiences have been.
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Old 03-14-2010, 12:23 AM
 
Location: Bakersfield
22 posts, read 38,518 times
Reputation: 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by jdavid93225 View Post
Actually, if you lived there, you would know that it was invented in Oildale, a small community just north of Bakersfield...
<kidding!>

LOL, you guys are funny. Like I told "Uptown Oakland", Bakersfield is our Cali starter place from Wisconsin. It's affordable, and we've lived around people like that our entire lives. I hope it's not offensive here, but in Wisconsin we would call them "Honky Tonks".
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Old 03-14-2010, 12:44 AM
 
Location: Bakersfield
22 posts, read 38,518 times
Reputation: 28
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimC2462 View Post
You make some good points. However, there a wider variety of specialized jobs available in other "big" cities on the coast. Santa Clarita, which has a lower population than Bakersfield is part of the larger county that encompasses Los Angeles, Irvine, Long Beach, etc.

Bakersfield is just a city in itself, with a population of nearly 300,000 the last time I checked.

Thank you Tim. Actually, Santa Clarita was the first place that we seriously looked into and visited when we began this whole thing. We only came to Bakersfield for 3 days, but we went to L.A. and all of the surrounding areas for more than a week. We spent an entire day in Santa Clarita because that was originally our focus area to live in. Unfortunately, we hated!!! it!! The places that we could afford were terrible!!! It was the only day that we experienced road rage with people. We visited a few places in our desired fields and they looked at us like we had 3 heads. I just can't even go there, or I'll be here all night typing...but I was typing and saying this out loud in the beginning, and my husband on the couch watching tv overheard and said "Ugh, Santa Clarita, I hated Santa Clarita." It just wasn't for us.

On a slightly unrelated note, we liked San Bernardino, but then we started to notice that it's on "Cops" like every Saturday night.
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Old 03-14-2010, 12:51 AM
 
Location: Bakersfield
22 posts, read 38,518 times
Reputation: 28
Thank you everyone for giving me input. We are really trying to get this figured out.

Just a note: we don't want to give too much information because being raised in a small town I've learned that you have to be very careful who you give information to. Bakersfield may be a lot bigger, but it still seems to have that same small town mentality that I've always known and I just don't know if I can trust that yet. Sorry.
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Old 03-14-2010, 01:54 PM
 
1,687 posts, read 6,048,666 times
Reputation: 830
Quote:
Originally Posted by TimC2462 View Post
Unemployment in Bakersfield has just hit 15.9 percent, according to my local sources.
TimC, with seasonal layoffs the rate for all of Kern County aka Bakersfield MSA was 17.1% in January. That includes Arvin's 41.1%, Delano's 39.8%, Wasco's 30.1%, Shafter's 29.1%, etc.

For Bakersfield proper and the immediate surrounding area, the January rate was:
Bakersfield 12.1%
Rosedale 6.2%
Oildale 18.0%

That 12.1% when compared to much of California right now might be considered almost good, San Jose is now over 13%.

Most recent unemployment numbers for any California city or town:
http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/lfmonth/allsubs.xls
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