Is there any manufacturing in Des Moines? (middle-class, employment)

[pepe1]

I shouldn't dignify your absurd comment with a response, but I'll bite...

Lets look at Des Moines 10 largest employers, only 2 are insurance companies (Principal and Allied). Two are healthcare providers (Mercy and Iowa Health), one is financial services (Wells Fargo), one is corporate retail (Hy-Vee), one is state government, one retail (Wal Mart), one package courier (UPS), and one plant science (Pioneer).

That is only the top ten, and that is pretty diverse.

I already stated that the earlier mention of Des Moines having more manufacturing jobs was of my opinion. But I'd be very surprised if I'm incorrect. Prove me wrong.

[zz4guy]

Originally Posted by pepe1

I shouldn't dignify your absurd comment with a response, but I'll bite...

Lets look at Des Moines 10 largest employers, only 2 are insurance companies (Principal and Allied). Two are healthcare providers (Mercy and Iowa Health), one is financial services (Wells Fargo), one is corporate retail (Hy-Vee), one is state government, one retail (Wal Mart), one package courier (UPS), and one plant science (Pioneer).

That is only the top ten, and that is pretty diverse.

I already stated that the earlier mention of Des Moines having more manufacturing jobs was of my opinion. But I'd be very surprised if I'm incorrect. Prove me wrong.

I hate to break it to you, but the resume of a person working at Allied is about the same as the person's at Wells Fargo or Hy-Vee or Wal-mart (corporate retail). That's not diverse at all. It's all the same Finance bs.

And I would hope a city the size of DSM has more manufacturing than Cedar Rapids. They have 2-3 times the population.

[capitalcityguy]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

I hate to break it to you, but the resume of a person working at Allied is about the same as the person's at Wells Fargo or Hy-Vee or Wal-mart (corporate retail). That's not diverse at all. It's all the same Finance bs.

Wow...that couldn't be more incorrect (speaking as someone who was formerly a hiring manager for a Fortune 500 company).

The reason Des Moines has such incredible growth compared to many of its peers, is that it fortunately doesn't rely heavily on manufacturing jobs. Look at this unbais third party projection of population growth of midwest cities by 2020. The main driver of increased population? Availablity of good paying jobs that people desire.

Metropolitan Area Population Trends Ranking Table

Here's a ranking of midwest cities:
Sioux Falls 43.95%
Lawrence 39.84%
Des Moines 35.80%
Springfield MO 34,64%
Rochester MN 30.99%
Indy 28.99%
Rockford 28.89%
St. Cloud 27.75%
Madison 25.81%
Fargo 24.42%
Appleton 23.58%
Bismarck 23.46%
Elkhart 26.92%
Holland 24.21%
Joplin 24.11%
Omaha 23.93%
Columbia 23.21%
Bloomington IL 22.81%
Kansas City 22.21%
Columbus 21.40%
Lincoln 20.82%
Twin Cities 20.51%
Ann Arbor 19.99%
Monroe 19.45%
Green Bay 18.75%
Iowa City 17.68%
Kankakee 16.65%
Rapid City 16.38%
Cedar Rapids 15.70%
Eau Claire 14.73%
Cincy 14.51%
Janesville 14.39%
Fort Wayne 14.19%
Racine 13.51%
Chicago 13.37%
Lafayette 13.36%
Dubuque 13.27%
Grand Rapids 13.25%
Columbus In 12.61%
Wichita 11.61%
St. Louis 11.37%
Wausau 11.20%
Jefferson City 11.06%
Jackson MI 10.45%
Champaign 9.79%
Muskegon 9.34%
Evansville 7.84%
Osh Kosh 6.85%
Bloomington IN 6.62%
Springfield 6.60%
Topeka 6.38%
Sheboygan 6.05%
Fond Du Lac 5.98%
La Crosse 5.60%
Kalamazoo 4.81%
Peoria 4.31%
Lansing 3.97%
Flint 3.51%
Canton 2.11%
Akron 1.84%
Ames 1.73%
Quad Cities 1.66%
Milwaukee 1.46%
Sioux City 0.88%
South Ben 0.85%
Michigan City 0.59%
Detroit 0.20%
Grand Forks -0.23%
Battle Creek-0.49%
Niles MI -1.00%
Kokomo -2.13%
Duluth -2.64%
Waterloo -2.81%
Dayton -3.14%
Toledo -3.21%
Mansfield -3.26%
Terre Haute -4.54%
Bay City -4.70%
Cleveland -5.43%
Saginaw -5.74%
Sandusky -6.31%
Anderson -6.32%
Springfield OH -6.42%
Danville -7.79%
Youngstown -8.04%
Lima -8.9%
Muncie -13.97%
Decatur -15.00%
Weirton -16.14%

[Steve_W]

Wow, Ohio not looking so good.

[mfrerkes]

The upside to manufacturing jobs is that (on average) the payscale is higher for entry-level positions compared to those in the white-collar sector. Industrial jobs also tend to be more accessible for people with lower levels of education, which bolsters the middle class in America. The downside, obviously, is that the blue-collar job market has been unstable for quite sometime.

The biggest reason for America's declining middle class over the last 20 years is tied directly to manufacturing's continued slump.

[zz4guy]

Originally Posted by mfrerkes

The upside to manufacturing jobs is that (on average) the payscale is higher for entry-level positions compared to those in the white-collar sector. Industrial jobs also tend to be more accessible for people with lower levels of education, which bolsters the middle class in America. The downside, obviously, is that the blue-collar job market has been unstable for quite sometime.

I'm not sure what you mean by entry level blue collar jobs pay more vs a 4 year degreed business major. I thought they would be about equal, if not better pay to the business major.

But I agree otherwise. If the majority of jobs in an economy require a 4 year degree that is bad news for a lot of lower to lower-middle class.

[El Rhino]

[quote=zz4guy;2544448]I'm not sure what you mean by entry level blue collar jobs pay more vs a 4 year degreed business major. I thought they would be about equal, if not better pay to the business major.

[quote]



From what I gather the earning potential of someone with a business degree is going to be higher than those in blue collar jobs. As far as entry level goes, blue collar jobs usually pay a lot better. If you climb the ladder in a white collar job you can typically earn more.

I work at the Firestone plant and I made more than virtually everyone I know around my age with a college degree. Hell, a lot of people I know with college degrees are doing something way outside the realm of what they went to school for, like working retail or an entry level position at Wells Fargo that you could've gotten with a high school diploma and/or an AA in Business. I know if I were to get a general business degree and get a job with it, odds are I would take a very sharp pay cut (anywhere from 20-50% based on what I've read), plus all the money spent on school and the pressures of living a white collar lifestyle as opposed to blue collar.

I'm not knocking education, I'm going to school part time myself.

[zz4guy]

Wow I did not know that. As an engineer I was paid above and beyond most blue collar guys when I started. But man if it wasn't for the money there's NO WAY IN HELL I'd put up with office life everyday. I'd take a CNC machining job way before life in the cube.

[El Rhino]

Being an engineer is probably a different case, I know those guys pull in some big bucks (usually). I know there's some other white collar professions that start off high paying, but not for your average kid fresh out of college with a general degree in the business realm. I've heard that a lot of jobs like this start off in the low 20's to MAYBE the 40's. A decent union labor job will put you ahead of that.

[Steve_W]

I don't mean to try to sum up an entire thread with one post but, why in the hell would manufacturing, in a decade of outsourcing be such a solid gauge of economic prominence? It's there one day and gone the next.

I would much rather be in finance, agriculture and most of all, insurance.