[Kat_Woman36]

I read an article in the newspaper that stated florida has the most college grads that live in poverty than any state in the nation!! I unwittingly move to FL (tampa)a yr ago w/degree in hand and the truth is FL doesnt have many high skilled jobs period, I got lucky if you wanna call it that and got a job paying $13/hr when i got here the worst job i ever had but the only job that wasnt a call center that paid more than $9/hr i have turn this city and state upside down and I cant find anyone who can honestly say they make more than $13. I've worked 4 different jobs for the short time i've been here, very reputatable companies and they just dont pay much no matter what, a degree dont matter much here. I'm looking forward to leaving the "sunshine state."

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by Kat_Woman36

I read an article in the newspaper that stated florida has the most college grads that live in poverty than any state in the nation!! I unwittingly move to FL (tampa)a yr ago w/degree in hand and the truth is FL doesnt have many high skilled jobs period, I got lucky if you wanna call it that and got a job paying $13/hr when i got here the worst job i ever had but the only job that wasnt a call center that paid more than $9/hr i have turn this city and state upside down and I cant find anyone who can honestly say they make more than $13. I've worked 4 different jobs for the short time i've been here, very reputatable companies and they just dont pay much no matter what, a degree dont matter much here. I'm looking forward to leaving the "sunshine state."

I do get many new employees that relocate from Oregon to land a job in Northwest Florida in the Aerospace industry. Many making way better than $20 an hour....If I can't find a job at a location I have two choices; take what is available or move to an area than can support my needs

[kort677]

Originally Posted by Kat_Woman36

I read an article in the newspaper that stated florida has the most college grads that live in poverty than any state in the nation!! I unwittingly move to FL (tampa)a yr ago w/degree in hand and the truth is FL doesnt have many high skilled jobs period, I got lucky if you wanna call it that and got a job paying $13/hr when i got here the worst job i ever had but the only job that wasnt a call center that paid more than $9/hr i have turn this city and state upside down and I cant find anyone who can honestly say they make more than $13. I've worked 4 different jobs for the short time i've been here, very reputatable companies and they just dont pay much no matter what, a degree dont matter much here. I'm looking forward to leaving the "sunshine state."

fla is not a place you go to to make your fortunes, the happiest transplants are the ones who come to fla after making their money elsewhere.
That's not to say you cannot make good money in FLA, but it isn't easy.

[kelabu]

Sunrico, we nare talking about south Florida right?
In my opinion, like a recent poster said, it is a very hard to get a job in the PRIVATE sector even with a college degree and experience if you do not know Spanish. My Spanish speaking friends have said this too, so I didn't even think this was debatable.
The cost of living is significantly higher, even in the burbs, and my salary was significantly less. In Miami proper, even most of the schoolteachers are speaking Spanish and don't even have to know fluent English, but it doesn't work the other way around. While I do appreciate that Americans should know a 2nd language, shouldn't they speak English too? I don't want them to not have African-AMERICAN role models of prosperity that got there from honest work. They shouldn't be the odd one out because they don't speak Creole either. We are still in America, but it doesn't feel like it sometimes. Only if you're already rich or been here a long time can you afford a single family home in a nice area with othe native English or dual language speakers.

[kelabu]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

I do get many new employees that relocate from Oregon to land a job in Northwest Florida in the Aerospace industry. Many making way better than $20 an hour....If I can't find a job at a location I have two choices; take what is available or move to an area than can support my needs

That's what everyone IS saying. Move

[INeedAChange]

What about for those of us who aren't quite fluent yet but on the way there?

Originally Posted by kelabu

Sunrico, we nare talking about south Florida right?
In my opinion, like a recent poster said, it is a very hard to get a job in the PRIVATE sector even with a college degree and experience if you do not know Spanish. My Spanish speaking friends have said this too, so I didn't even think this was debatable.
The cost of living is significantly higher, even in the burbs, and my salary was significantly less. In Miami proper, even most of the schoolteachers are speaking Spanish and don't even have to know fluent English, but it doesn't work the other way around. While I do appreciate that Americans should know a 2nd language, shouldn't they speak English too? I don't want them to not have African-AMERICAN role models of prosperity that got there from honest work. They shouldn't be the odd one out because they don't speak Creole either. We are still in America, but it doesn't feel like it sometimes. Only if you're already rich or been here a long time can you afford a single family home in a nice area with othe native English or dual language speakers.

[INeedAChange]

8.00/hr:

What about bartending? I remember someone else on this forum said they were making a lot of money (in Fla.) doing that. Also the catering business can pay well sometimes too.

Originally Posted by 8.00 per hour

What type of Jobs here in South Florida pay a decent amount of money and require little education? I seem to have a big problem making anything over $9.00 per hour and I'm getting a bit frustrated, I'm also a African American man. I know the wages here are pathetic but this is crazy....

I would like to know... I'm really on the verge of going crazy, I don't know what to do anymore and I don't want to go back to being a Security Guard making $8.50 per hour.

I have a two year degree in Networking and it's absolutely worthless, never did a damn for me at all.....

What else can I do?

[backtofla]

sure, you could be a paralegal in fla making 35k/yr., but what are you gonna do... move to southern cal where they make 50k or 60k and have a 1/1 condo in LA that costs about 3K in mortgage pymnts?

[sunrico90]

[SIZE=2] Do what you love and the money will follow is great in theory, but the truth of the matter is, certain jobs and fields simply pay more. The Bureau of Labor Statistics National Compensation Survey showed, for example, that white-collar earnings, which averaged $21.85 per hour, were the highest among occupational groups. Blue-collar pay averaged $15.03 per hour, while the hourly pay of service occupations averaged just $10.40.

The jobs that pay the most require at least a four-year college degree. According to the most recent data from the Employment Policy Foundation, the nation’s 12 top-paying jobs -- and the mean annual income reported in 2003 for each -- were:

Top Paying Jobs Overall

Physicians and surgeons -- $147,000
Aircraft pilots -- $133,500
Chief executives -- $116,000
Electrical and electronic engineers -- $112,000
Lawyers and judges -- $99,800
Dentists -- $90,000
Pharmacists -- $85,500
Management analysts -- $84,700
Computer and information system managers -- $83,000
Financial analysts, managers and advisors -- $84,000
Marketing and sales managers -- $80,000
Education administrators -- $80,000


Though many of these occupations require an advanced degree, there are jobs at every education level that pay more than other jobs for workers with similar levels of schooling. Here, courtesy of the Employment Policy Foundation, is a look at the best-paying occupations at varying education levels:

Top Paying Jobs That Do Not Require a High School Degree
These jobs tend to require substantial on-the-job training and work experience rather than formal education and schooling:

Industrial production managers -- $36,000
Bailiffs, correctional officers and jailers -- $36,400
Drafters -- $36,000
Construction manager -- $33,600
Electricians -- $31,900


Top Paying Jobs for High School Graduates
These occupations emphasize work experience and on-the-job training rather than formal education:

Computer software engineers -- $58,900
Computer/information systems managers -- $56,400
Computer programmers -- $55,000
Network systems and data communications analysts -- $49,000
General and operations managers -- $48,000
Database, network and computer systems administrators -- $48,000


Top Paying Jobs for a Two-Year College Degree
The following jobs tend to be technical in nature, emphasizing skills developed on the job as well as job-specific training and certifications:

Healthcare practitioners -- $66,000
Business analysts -- $58,000
Electrical and electronic engineers -- $57,000
Mechanical engineers -- $56,800
General and operations managers -- $54,000
Computer and information systems managers -- $50,400
[/SIZE]

[kelabu]

Originally Posted by INeedAChange

What about for those of us who aren't quite fluent yet but on the way there?

If you're patient go for it! I took a Spanish class before moving, but when I got to the grocery store in Doral and nobody could tell me why there was no meat from the sales paper I got frustrated. I'm not patient in that regard. Understand that if you move about the city it'll be harder to communicate. Most people are willing to help if you're trying to speak Spanish, sigh, others will be rude and cut you off and give you an answer before you finish the question. The wrong answer!