How is the Jobs Market in Chicago [Summer 2016]? (Marshall, Bush: 2015, mortgage)

[JTE1969]

I am too busy too look for work, but how is everyone else's experience in looking for a job, in or out of your field / degree / or specialty?

[knitgirl]

This time of year, as usual, the mortgage industry is heavily recruiting. I'm not looking.

[Vlajos]

Anecdotally, it seems strong. We are hiring in our office. Two new positions. Seems hard to find people. Chicagoetro is at an all time high for jobs and still growing even with all our government made problems.

[NealIRC]

I apply to jobs in the food and chemistry industry, it's never going good for me. Maybe an interview once every couple of months. Many scientific recruiting companies never contact me. Jobs I apply to are lab technicians and Q.A. technicians.

B.S. chemistry, minor in computer science, and I have a HACCP certificate.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by NealIRC

I apply to jobs in the food and chemistry industry, it's never going good for me. Maybe an interview once every couple of months. Many scientific recruiting companies never contact me. Jobs I apply to are lab technicians and Q.A. technicians.

B.S. chemistry, minor in computer science, and I have a HACCP certificate.

With a minor in computer science you could probably get a job doing web QA work for tech companies. Basic entry level for that is probably in the $40k range, if you could spin any of your lab QA work into relevant experience you might be able to start in the $50k-upper-$60k range, and with a few years of actual experience, especially if you got into scripting automation, you may be able to command $80k. With 5+ years of hard scripting automation with Python or something similar you may be able to break into six figures, at least if you broke into the financial industry.

[chet everett]

There is little doubt that Chicago is lagging other metropolitan regions when it comes to job growth. Even the very "boosterish" Greg Hinz admits that -- Where The Jobs Are and Aren't |Crain Chicago Business

The fact is that Chicago remains the most unbalanced metro area when it comes to important categories like minority employment -- Illinois Has The Nation's Highest African-American Jobless Rate For Second Straight Quarter | Progress Illinois

Despite positive gains in healthcare, the data shows Chicago area manufacturing continuing to decline -- Chicago Area Employment - May 2016 : Midwest Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

A similarly woefully underreported issue is the constant shift of once high wage IT jobs to out sourcing -- Publisher of LA Times and Chicago Tribune sends IT jobs overseas | Computerworld

Similar trends are a continuing worry for core employment in what was a centerpiece of Chicago's economic strength, as "hog butcher to the world" sees more and more jobs in the important food sector shift overseas that paints a bleak picture that will send ripples through the region -- As Nabisco Ships 600 Jobs Out of Chicago to Mexico, Maybe It’s Time To Give Up Oreos

The most ominous development is that as increasingly sophisticated approaches to AI transform once staid sectors such as law and finance the true impact upon even the most highly paid workers in the region may be felt as an abrupt shock just as the gathering storms of governmental fiscal recklessness converge to lower wages and total employment -- the same sort of shifts tht have made so many factory workers obsolete could very well see legions of white collar end up with no hope of sustainting the earnings that have made possible their comfortable lives. The vast scale of Chicago's broad law / business services sector could be severely impacted Are we facing a future of stagnant income and worsening inequality? |MIT Technology Review

[PerseusVeil]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Despite positive gains in healthcare, the data shows Chicago area manufacturing continuing to decline -- Chicago Area Employment - May 2016 : Midwest Information Office : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Was anyone expecting the manufacturing sector to grow? Those jobs have been on the way out for decades nationwide, and there will be even less of them in the future.

Contrary to Trump's promises, they're not coming back.

The most ominous development is that as increasingly sophisticated approaches to AI transform once staid sectors such as law and finance the true impact upon even the most highly paid workers in the region may be felt as an abrupt shock just as the gathering storms of governmental fiscal recklessness converge to lower wages and total employment -- the same sort of shifts tht have made so many factory workers obsolete could very well see legions of white collar end up with no hope of sustainting the earnings that have made possible their comfortable lives. The vast scale of Chicago's broad law / business services sector could be severely impacted Are we facing a future of stagnant income and worsening inequality? |MIT Technology Review

The legal market nationwide has been in chaos since the recession. It has not recovered from the recession, although it has gotten better. It may never fully recover, tbh.

Hiring and salaries remain down, but law school has never been more expensive. If you want a shock, just go look at the Chicago area law school employment stats and salary stats at graduation. Northwestern and UChicago weathered the storm that was the recession as they are some of the nation's top law schools, but Loyola, Chicago-Kent, DePaul, and John Marshall all took a beating. Chicago is also the third largest legal market in the country, only behind NYC and DC to my knowledge.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by PerseusVeil

Was anyone expecting the manufacturing sector to grow? Those jobs have been on the way out for decades nationwide, and there will be even less of them in the future.

Contrary to Trump's promises, they're not coming back.

Trump is an idiot. Only the uneducated would consider voting for him. I can't find numbers earlier than 1996, but the US had 17.2 Million manufacturing jobs in June/96 vs. 12.2 Million June/2016. The jobs won't come back. The biggest loss of the 5 Million (about 4 million jobs) jobs was during the Bush II Presidency.

[beaniemac]

I work remotely for a company that makes hospital quality software. I am actively looking. I'd take another job with another software company or hospital or health system. I haven't had too much luck however so far.