West Central Ohio blows as far as good jobs... (Columbus: lease, insurance) - Dayton - (OH) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

wrightflyer · 08-31-2011, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ram2

I only know of 1 civilian engineer working at Wright-Pat - a Ph.D. in fluid dynamics from UC.

Trust me, with AFRL's HQ based at Wright-Patt, there is more than just 1 civilian engineer.

Oh, and I forgot University of Dayton Research Institute, which is all civilian based. They also do a lot of government contract work, as well as research for the university. Of course, getting jobs at either of these isn't easy. Usually, as with the UC person, a Ph.D. is required, basically meaning it is a highly specialized line of work. Most people don't qualify for those types of positions. There are jobs out there, but people are either underqualified, or they don't want to transfer to Dayton (or can't with the current state of the economy).

ram2 · 08-31-2011, 10:08 AM

Trust me, with AFRL's HQ based at Wright-Patt, there is more than just 1 civilian engineer.

I agree. But with all the engineers I know in SW Ohio, only 1 has been able to land a job at Wright-Pat.

ryanek9freak · 08-31-2011, 10:30 AM

I think there's something in the water around here lol. I get a huge laugh when people around here boast about making $14 an hour, like they've just achieved some monumental life goal.

wrightflyer · 08-31-2011, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ram2

I agree. But with all the engineers I know in SW Ohio, only 1 has been able to land a job at Wright-Pat.

I agree with what you are saying. Many of the engineers are not local ones. It seems 99% of civilian, military, and defense contractor engineers are brought in from somewhere else. By the way, I made the statistic up, but it should be close to reality. The biggest problem is Security Clearnences. They have positions, but it isn't easy (or cheap from my understanding) to accomplish getting a clearance.

As for the blue collar job market, yes it sucks. I'll admit it. It's why people are being foreclosed on in metro. GM/Delphi is the main reason for this. For those that couldn't leave, it is even harder because the jobs here are slim pickin's. It really is a sad time in Dayton's history. But it could be worse, we could be Poughkeepsie.

Ohioan58 · 09-01-2011, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ram2

I only know of 1 civilian engineer working at Wright-Pat - a Ph.D. in fluid dynamics from UC.

This matches my observations. I get really tired of WPAFB being pointed to as a source of jobs. DoD is a closed system with "kept" employees who have no clue what it takes to get a job in an unprotected marketplace. DoD contractors with clearances circulate through the base contracting companies. Those companies all just want to poach each other's cleared employees because there is such a glut of engineering talent around Dayton that nobody will pay for new clearance work.

I used to work in DoD in the 80s and at that time DoD companies would frequently underwrite clearances. That all changed by the 90s. I found a few years ago I couldn't possibly break back in.

DoD contractors are one of the few entitled holders of jobs left in this economy. With federal budget cutbacks their gravy train will draw to a close. And as I found out few hiring parties on the outside of the DoD respects military work, and everyone will lampoon the laid off engineer from a DoD background about designing $5000 hammers.

If y'all remember the Michael Douglas character from the movie "Falling Down", that's the quintessential DoD type confronted with the commercial economy. Too bad for those guys, but they have had it soft for a long time and I have my own problems.

WolfJames · 09-14-2011, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearkatjen

$11 is a livable wage in Ohio though, as long as there are benefits tied to it.

What a joke!

Are you people nuts?!

Natural510 · 09-15-2011, 12:28 AM

It's livable if you don't have children, debt or travel plans LOL That kind of belief is why labor has degraded so rapidly in this country...no longer having the expectation of middle-class wages for skilled positions.

I agree with the earlier points regarding "culture of contempt" for workers and being made to feel lucky to have the job you do. Workers are made to feel much more appreciated out West (I'm from California) and I had a hard time dealing with the exploitation I dealt with upon first moving here awhile back.