Teacher & Machinist looking to relocate.

[blsdwmn72]

I am an educator also and have been applying to positions. There are many on the site that are applicable to your licenses. Check it out today! I wish you all the best and hopefully we meet at the forum get together.

[LostNJax]

Originally Posted by blsdwmn72

I am an educator also and have been applying to positions. There are many on the site that are applicable to your licenses. Check it out today! I wish you all the best and hopefully we meet at the forum get together.

I have played around on the district website. I like to watch the job postings to see which what area I should concentrate my efforts on. LOL The down side is that see several opportunities that I would love to apply for, however, we can't move until next year.

My husband is in the same boat. After our trip he started looking for jobs and found many opening for his field of work.... all hiring now.

Hopefully, if we keep up the job hunt and I get all my Certs transferred, we will be able to tie down jobs before we move.

[maryelam]

Originally Posted by LostNJax

Hello,

My husband and I are looking to move to Chattanooga at the end of our lease (June 2010). I am a teacher and he is a Machinist. We were looking for any advice on employment opportunities in the area.

I have two certifications and currently I am working on a third. I have taught two years in second and fourth grade.

My husband has worked for the past 6 years machining and automating valves. He is highly talented and willing to learn.

We welcome any and all advise.

Thanks, Lost

A new billion dollar Volkswagen plant that will be hiring 2000 employees is under construction east of Chattanooga. They will not be in full operation until 2011 but are already hiring some personnel, so that might be a good choice for your husband.

You will need to get a teaching certificate in either Tennessee or Georgia, wherever you decide to teach. Ask if these states have certification reciprocity with Florida. We keep hearing that teachers will be laid off in our county and then we hear that it won't happen just now because of Hamilton County's share of stimulus money. In the past there seemed to be more teaching jobs at a higher salary available in Georgia (the Georgia line is three miles from my home, which is only about six miles from the VW plant.) I don't know whether that is still true, however, because Dalton, Georgia, has a 25% unemployment rate. Their main employers are carpet mills and, with less new home construction, there are economic problems. Very few teachers commute from Tennessee to Dalton anyway but many of them teach in the north Georgia counties adjacent to Hamilton County, Tennessee.

I think you will want to live in Tennessee because even though our sales tax rate is higher than Georgia, we have no state income tax.

The Ooltewah/Collegedale area is the best to live in if your husband finds work at VW. You might also check out Cleveland (Bradley County) where you are less likely to find yourself in an inner city school than in Chattanooga city schools. You will find the Chattanooga area of Tennessee a wonderful and friendly place!

[LostNJax]

Maryelam - Thanks for your input. I know that Georgia has reciprocity with Florida, but I'm not sure about Tennessee. I have emailed to Tennessee Department of Education and I am waiting to here back from the Head of the Licensing Department. Hopefully, I can just transfer everything over. If not I have about a year to get all the requirements taken care of.

I have mentioned the VW plant to my husband and he is not looking to be a factory worker, so I'm not sure what else they would have for him to do. There is a posting here that has a link to their website for employment, so I will look into it. When we were visiting Chattanooga, we drove by several industrial parks and found many businesses that my husband would like to work at. When we got home he looked them up and found a few job postings. He was really excited about them, however, they were looking to hire at the present moment and we can't move until the end of our lease (end of May 2010). We are keeping our fingers crossed that there will be more opportunities available closer to our time of moving. If we are lucky we can have jobs already set before we move...

As far as future location my husband and I really liked the area East of 75... East Brenaird, Collegedale, Ooltewah, Apsen, etc. We even visited up by Cleveland and liked it there, but depending on where he finds a job the drive might be a bit much. The other areas that we liked were Soddy Daisy and Hixon, but they were a distance from any industrail parks that we saw. Overall I think we are going to focus our attention to the area East of 75, maybe on the outside edges of Collegedale. Still doing research... I'll keep you updated.

Are you a teacher in that area???

[blsdwmn72]

Originally Posted by LostNJax

Maryelam - Thanks for your input. I know that Georgia has reciprocity with Florida, but I'm not sure about Tennessee. I have emailed to Tennessee Department of Education and I am waiting to here back from the Head of the Licensing Department. Hopefully, I can just transfer everything over. If not I have about a year to get all the requirements taken care of.



Are you a teacher in that area???

Hi Lostnjax,
Even when states have reciprocity, you still have to go through application process. I suggest that you start the process in the fall (filling out application, getting transcripts, etc) and send in paperwork. NY is a reciprocal state but I still had to do paperwork...but, it do happen fast. I applied in May and my licenses are approved. In NY, I would have still been waiting! Once I move, I hope I can be of more help to you.

[LostNJax]

Blsdwmn- I am waiting for the response from the TN Department of Education and then I'll start the transferring. I'm just hoping that I don't have to take any classes to get everything switched. However, if I do... I still have a year to get them out of the way. I also have some credits from Phoenix University that I would like to apply towards a new Certification. In Florida they accept them as regular college courses and they count towards the Certification, I'm not so sure about TN. If they are not accepted in TN, I will finish the Certification process here in Florida and then transfer it.

Do you have a job already lined up or are you moving then searching? I had a friend who went to school in Florida with me and then moved to GA when she graduated. Before she moved she applied to job openings and did on the phone interviews. She was hired a month before she moved. If it is possible I would like to do something similar, it's always nice knowing that you have a job when you get there... a little less stress on the moving process.

[blsdwmn72]

Hey Lostnjax,

I have been down for interviews at the end of June. I just got a call for another and hoping that I can do it over the phone. It would be ideal to have a job before we go b/c we have 2 school age kids. I'm believing that it will all work out. I'm looking for an admin job, but will go back in classroom for a couple of years if needed. I'll keep you posted on our adventure!

[LostNJax]

Originally Posted by blsdwmn72

Hey Lostnjax,

I have been down for interviews at the end of June. I just got a call for another and hoping that I can do it over the phone. It would be ideal to have a job before we go b/c we have 2 school age kids. I'm believing that it will all work out. I'm looking for an admin job, but will go back in classroom for a couple of years if needed. I'll keep you posted on our adventure!

I am very excited to hear that you have had interviews already. I have been trying to find a teaching job here (just for the year) and there's no positions open at all. So, needless to say there's no interviewing happening on my end.

Sending positive thoughts you way ~~~~ Good luck!!

[jbailey245]

Tell your husband to call ACME Metal Works, LLC (423) 867-0400 and talk to Danny
AMW is a job shop fabricator with limited machine capabilities. But, their sister company is a piping contractor. He may find a fit.