How hard is it get a FT job on Long Island? (Islip: health insurance, how much)

[Ulysses61]

I have a friend living in West Babylon. She's had years of experience working in the medical field, assisting doctors and patients. Front office type of work. She has been working in West Islip for over a year and just has found PT work. She has excellent references and a great work history but cannot get ANY FT job.

Since I live in California, I am unfamiliar with the NY job market, but is it as bleak as my friend says it is? I want to help her but it seems strange she can't find any FT work in over a year.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by Ulysses61

I have a friend living in West Babylon. She's had years of experience working in the medical field, assisting doctors and patients. Front office type of work. She has been working in West Islip for over a year and just has found PT work. She has excellent references and a great work history but cannot get ANY FT job.

Since I live in California, I am unfamiliar with the NY job market, but is it as bleak as my friend says it is? I want to help her but it seems strange she can't find any FT work in over a year.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

It is not NY, it's Long Island!!

LI employers (ESPECIALLY doctors) are cheap as can be.

Considering the cost of living on LI, the employers tend to pay office staff LESS than what they should if the cost of living was properly taken into account and prefer to have all employees be part-time because then they don't have to provide benefits. (Yes, there are many people on LI working in the MEDICAL field whose doctor employers don't/won't give them health insurance! How ironic is that?)

Employers on LI get away with it because there are legions of LI housewives whose husbands make the major money and whose husbands provide the benefits.

It also doesn't help that, for some reason, many LI'ers are "afraid" of going to NYC, so they will take part-time work and substandard wages in order to avoid that.

My advice for your friend is to look for full-time work in NYC. If she, too, is "NYC-averse" the only other thing I can think of is for her to try bigger employers than doctors' offices ... like hospitals. Perhaps she can get full-time work in a hospital.

[mitsguy2001]

The issue isn't that Long Islanders are "afraid" of NYC. It's just that given the commute time, you have basically no life if you have to commute to NYC from any of the semi-affordable areas on Long Island. Especially if if you have a job that requires significant overtime. If you are married, having almost no time together is a major strain on your relationship. Plus, if you have kids, they essentially grow up not knowing one of their parents.

[thezohan]

Originally Posted by Ulysses61

I have a friend living in West Babylon. She's had years of experience working in the medical field, assisting doctors and patients. Front office type of work. She has been working in West Islip for over a year and just has found PT work. She has excellent references and a great work history but cannot get ANY FT job.

Since I live in California, I am unfamiliar with the NY job market, but is it as bleak as my friend says it is? I want to help her but it seems strange she can't find any FT work in over a year.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

tell her to drive around and look for a pizza place that is looking for delivery people

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by mitsguy2001

The issue isn't that Long Islanders are "afraid" of NYC. It's just that given the commute time, you have basically no life if you have to commute to NYC from any of the semi-affordable areas on Long Island. Especially if if you have a job that requires significant overtime. If you are married, having almost no time together is a major strain on your relationship. Plus, if you have kids, they essentially grow up not knowing one of their parents.

That's a good point to consider, but there really ARE LI'ers who are afraid of NYC. I'm not kidding!

A "good commute" on LI is assuming you get to work near where you live. If you do, often the employer will try and extract a price for that. I had an experience (back before the "recession") where I was contacted by a NYC agency about a job on LI that was near where I lived. The agency stated the company couldn't find the right talent on LI and was willing to pay "NYC wages" to get the right fit. The agency submitted my resume and, lo and behold, the advertised offering wages were suddenly shrunk by the potential employer to fit my "tiny" convenient commute (and less costly commute than going to NYC). I am sure not ALL employers do this, but many will try.

What about the many LI'ers who spend HOURS sitting in traffic each day on LI for their commutes? Some LI commutes are worse than going to NYC. How about their "quality of life" and time spent with family?

What about the many LI'ers who voluntarily stay in the office each night until after a certain hour because they know that the roads home will be so packed they will just be sitting in traffic and wasting gas and still get home at the same time as if they didn't stay late at work? I know people who have done that. I would rather be on mass transit.

[mitsguy2001]

Originally Posted by I_Love_LI_but

What about the many LI'ers who spend HOURS sitting in traffic each day on LI for their commutes? Some LI commutes are worse than going to NYC. How about their "quality of life" and time spent with family?

What about the many LI'ers who voluntarily stay in the office each night until after a certain hour because they know that the roads home will be so packed they will just be sitting in traffic and wasting gas and still get home at the same time as if they didn't stay late at work? I know people who have done that. I would rather be on mass transit.

I guess it depends on each individual commute. My commute on Long Island is only about 30 minutes. On a REALLY bad day it can take up to an hour, but that is still far less than what my commute to the city would be. For my commute home, I take back roads for much of the trip that are more reliable than the LIE. Not an option when taking mass transit.

I agree that taking mass transit would be preferable to an equally long driving commute. But from where I live, just about any commute on Long Island is significantly shorter than a commute to the city. I don't care how much more an employer in the city may pay. No amount of money will ever give back time I could spend with my wife, time I could spend with my kids (in the future; I don't have kids yet), or even just time to relax or to do something fun. You can always find a way to save money, but you can never get back lost time. And, what is the purpose of making money if you can't ever enjoy it?

[Jetties]

Originally Posted by mitsguy2001

The issue isn't that Long Islanders are "afraid" of NYC. It's just that given the commute time, you have basically no life if you have to commute to NYC from any of the semi-affordable areas on Long Island. Especially if if you have a job that requires significant overtime. If you are married, having almost no time together is a major strain on your relationship. Plus, if you have kids, they essentially grow up not knowing one of their parents.

A little dramatic there, no? I work in the city 5 days a week and I am home no later than 6:15 every night, many times much earlier. My kids actually know me and I am not divorced yet.

[mitsguy2001]

Originally Posted by Jetties

A little dramatic there, no? I work in the city 5 days a week and I am home no later than 6:15 every night, many times much earlier. My kids actually know me and I am not divorced yet.

It really depends on how far you live and how long the hours are that you are expected to work. I obviously live further east than you and am in a field that requires longer hours than yours. There is no way that I would be home at 6:15 if I worked in the city. Working in the city is a better option if you live closer to the city or if you're in a field that doesn't require a lot of overtime.

[zulu400]

Originally Posted by Jetties

A little dramatic there, no? I work in the city 5 days a week and I am home no later than 6:15 every night, many times much earlier. My kids actually know me and I am not divorced yet.

You are in the minority (in a good way), thank your lucky stars....

Long Island = (nassau + suffolk)

Nassau --> NYC 5 days a week = Doable.

Suffolk --> NYC.... Hmmm.... will do if I got no other option.

Time is definitely an issue, there are other intangibles of living close to work like getting some errands done before/during/after work
OR getting home relatively "quickly" for any emergency (I know thats not an everyday event... but still you score brownie points for saying "Honey, I'm coming home rightaway" than asking.... "Are you sure I have to come ?")

Tell this to a NYC commuter.....
"There is so much free time on the weekends that I get bored !"


To the OP... yes I would look into the hospitals as the other person suggested. LIJ seems to be hiring (heard from the grapevine).

[I_Love_LI_but]

Originally Posted by zulu400

You are in the minority (in a good way), thank your lucky stars....

Long Island = (nassau + suffolk)

Nassau --> NYC 5 days a week = Doable.

Suffolk --> NYC.... Hmmm.... will do if I got no other option.

Time is definitely an issue, there are other intangibles of living close to work like getting some errands done before/during/after work
OR getting home relatively "quickly" for any emergency (I know thats not an everyday event... but still you score brownie points for saying "Honey, I'm coming home rightaway" than asking.... "Are you sure I have to come ?")

Tell this to a NYC commuter.....
"There is so much free time on the weekends that I get bored !"

That is why I don't live in Suffolk County. If I didn't have to work, maybe.