Fort Collins, No Decent Paying Jobs??? (Boulder, Longmont: real estate market, rent, day care)

[nevada1427]

My Bf and I will be moving to Fort Collins eventually...but I am concerned about the Lack of Decent paying jobs. I have searched endlessly but keep finding that the jobs being posted seem to be very low paying. IE, pre-school teachers are wanted to have a degree but the starting pay only $9...and for Vocational Nurses $10-11 for large hospitals!?!?!?! Are my findings correct? I know the cost of living will be Lower than our current residence (Long Beach, Ca) But when I calculate everything.....it really isn't that much cheaper! Like I said before, we WILL be moving there in the future...so I would appreciate any information you can provide. Can anyone recommend where I can look for decent paying jobs? DO i need to look outside Fort Collins? Thank you

[sunsprit]

What job skills do you bring to the marketplace? What type of work are you willing/able to do?

What type of housing are you seeking? Price Point?

[nevada1427]

I have numerous skills....I am licensed to work as a preschool teacher, Vocational Nurse, Receptionist, Customer Service....I have Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel. The list goes on...I also have a BS degree in health science. As far as housing goes...we don't mind living in a cheap apt....500-700.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by nevada1427

My Bf and I will be moving to Fort Collins eventually...but I am concerned about the Lack of Decent paying jobs. I have searched endlessly but keep finding that the jobs being posted seem to be very low paying. IE, pre-school teachers are wanted to have a degree but the starting pay only $9...and for Vocational Nurses $10-11 for large hospitals!?!?!?! Are my findings correct? I know the cost of living will be Lower than our current residence (Long Beach, Ca) But when I calculate everything.....it really isn't that much cheaper! Like I said before, we WILL be moving there in the future...so I would appreciate any information you can provide. Can anyone recommend where I can look for decent paying jobs? DO i need to look outside Fort Collins? Thank you

Am surprised a bit by the low rates of pay you list. My DD worked at a day care center in Broomfield, earned $9.50/hr last summer with one year of college as a biology major. I think the LVN/LPNs in Boulder Co. earn more than $10-11/hr. I don't know about $500-$700 for an apt. The going rate in Boulder is certainly higher.

[Market Mama]

Originally Posted by nevada1427

I have numerous skills....I am licensed to work as a preschool teacher, Vocational Nurse, Receptionist, Customer Service....I have Intermediate knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel. The list goes on...I also have a BS degree in health science. As far as housing goes...we don't mind living in a cheap apt....500-700.

Unfortunately, there's an oversupply of all those kinds of skills, so the pay is, indeed, very low. I run a Call Center in Boulder (not that far from Fort Collins) and I've got temporary employees grateful for $11/hour with no benefits, and almost all of them have an excellent work history plus a college degree (including one lawyer, LOL!) who just can't find a decent paying job and are making business-to-business telemarketing calls for me so they can pay the rent while they hunt for a "good" permanent job.

Lots and lots of very talented and intelligent folks want to live on the Front Range, and employers take advantage of a seriously over-qualified labor pool to keep wages uncomfortably low. It's a bummer, but it's also a reality. It costs, in many hidden ways, to live in Colorado.

But it is beautiful here.

[aharris]

Market Mama, everything you said is true.

My BF and I just moved to CO in July (but had been job hunting across the US from Pennsylvania months prior to the move) and found little that we were perfectly qualified for. It seemed as if we were always over-qualified for the jobs we could get, but under-qualified for the jobs we wanted.

We've noticed thus far that employers DO want to take advantage of degree holding individuals who NEED a job. (Therefore, pay them less than they deserve.) Of course it isn't all employers, but generally that's what it felt like.

The situation you described above is exactly my situation. I am grate for a part-time 11/hr job, because I need the money, while I am looking for The Job that will Pay Well. :/ It's a sticky situation.

But you're right...it is incredibly beautiful.

[Katiana]

Do you need to look outside Ft. Collins? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. Many factors depress wages there: an abundance of college students, people who won't leave after graduating, etc. I think even Boulder Co. pays better. Try Longmont if you really want to live in Ft. Collins.

[sosobroke]

Forget a good paying job in Fort Collins....if you have a job you can be thankfull. I'm a professional with a great employment history and I'm now happy just to make $38,000 a year. I look for a better job everyday and all I find is that hundreds, if not thousands, apply for the same jobs.

I may also add that I'm required to work 11 hour days to make a salary of $38,000.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by sosobroke

Forget a good paying job in Fort Collins....if you have a job you can be thankfull. I'm a professional with a great employment history and I'm now happy just to make $38,000 a year. I look for a better job everyday and all I find is that hundreds, if not thousands, apply for the same jobs.

I may also add that I'm required to work 11 hour days to make a salary of $38,000.

You, too, need to go look outside of Ft. Collins. The extra time you spend driving and the extra money you spend on gas could probably be recouped and then some.

[jazzlover]

There are too many places to list in Colorado that have this "affordability" problem. I've harped about this incessantly on this forum, and have been rebuked for it. That doesn't change the facts--much of Colorado has a very high cost of living when compared to local salaries and income. Colorado's over-inflated real estate market of the last few years has only made the situation worse. Prospective new residents of the state need to know that. The old saying still holds true, "You pay to live in Colorado, one way or another." All of this in an economy considered "good." Just wait until it's not so good.