Job Market in Bloomington, IN (Indianapolis, Martinsville: health insurance, school, universities)

[SFGirl]

Hi there,
My husband is considering going to IU for his grad degree. I haven't been able to get a sense of the job market in Bloomington from Craigslist.
Does anyone know what the typical payrate is for an experienced worker with project coordination/admin-type skills? And do employers typically offer health insurance?
We've just had a baby and my husband would probably be working part-time, so I'm concerned about making ends meet and insuring the family.
Thoughts?

[rrah]

I'm sorry I cannot answer your questions about payrates specifically or even insurance. I'm just not familiar enough with that particular field. One thing I would suggest is to visit the Indiana University website. Somewhere on there is a section for employment. Because it's a public univeristy, they post pay rates. It should give you some idea.

[sswillyums]

I am 55 years old and completed my first BA at IU in 04. Great university (which employs about half of the town) and a great town. So great, in fact, that many grads stay on in town working at jobs that are way below their educational level. Many younger grads vie for restaurant, bar, and coffee shop jobs with the already burgeoning student body.

Since there are no rivers, major highways, or large airports in the Bloomington area, manufacturing is not enticed to locate there. Service industries, as elsewhere, employ a large number the locals. Look to the universities web site for info re employment. Best wishes for success in a beautiful and laid back part of Indiana.

[McKendan]

Frankly, the job market in Bloomington stinks. I have lived here most of my life and have been fortunate to find a good job recently. However, work in the admin field is probably easy to find and I would anticipate a pay range from $20-$30k per year for full time with benefits. If you go to the IU website, you can check job listings through the University. There are usually a ton of admin jobs there.
As a side note, IU is a great school and the town is awesome.

[GoingMobile]

I attended college there (3 degrees ) and then lived there afterwards in the 80s-90s. Part of that time I commuted to a job Indianapolis, as many people in Bloomington and Martinsville do.

The old adage was that you need a master's degree to wait tables in Bloomington. The quality of life there is so much greater than most of Indiana that people just don't want to leave. Hence, the job market is indeed tight.

The largest employer in Bloomington is the university.

Good luck. Its a really cool place to live.

[SFGirl]

Sounds like it may be a bit of a challenge to get a good job in Bloomington. Thanks for the info, it will help us decide what to do.