Just want to get this straight about jobs in Maine. (Biddeford: sale, cheap apartment)
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Just want to get this straight about jobs in Maine.
I just want to know if it is imperative that my wife and I need to be in the state of Maine to even be considered for jobs. We have have applied for numerous positions with little to no response. Although it is discouraging we will not give up our dream to move to the great state of Maine.
Also I would like any reviews from the experts of Maine for the towns of Biddeford and Saco for these are two of the towns we are looking at right now.
That's pretty much true. I can give you several stories to illustrate the point. Unless you are standing in front of the employer with resume and or certificates in hand, they won't even try to contact you. But this is pretty much everywhere not just Maine. We are in a employer's market for jobs; there are enough people standing in line out front without having to look at people who live 5 states away.
I'm retiring to Bar Harbor some time in 2011(I hope). I AM retiring for sure in June 2011, but my house where I live must sell for a price that allows me to pay off the mortgage of the house that is rented out in Bar harbor, move there, and have some cushion for renovations and emergencies.
I am currently finishing a 40 year career in school based mental health services(been doing this stuff since fall of 1971). However, there is an open job as an elementary school counselor on the outer islands(Swan & the Cranberries) that is part time maybe 2 days a week. They stopped advertising for it since nobody wants to work part time who actually has all the credentials to work full time. And they won't even reply to my resumes. But since the state of Maine funds these positions, I know that they may decide to actually hire a credentialed elementary school counselor rather than let their school social worker stop out one a month....BUT I HAVE TO ACTUALLY SHOW I LIVE ON MDI AND AM INTERESTED IN THE PART TIME JOB.
So do you think that if we were to have enough money to get set up in an apartment and survive for a few months in the town we want to settle in we would have a better chance then?
Best of luck to you on your retirement and the sale of your home. Take care and thank you .Sean
What did you do for those two years you were looking for work? Do you have family with you? Where did you end up living? Seems a long time to wait for a job opportunity.......
There are other jobs available, The question is... What are you WILLING to do? I do find it questionable that it would take someone over 2 years to find ANY work. I look through the ads daily. I look at job websites, I see ads for jobs daily for many blue collar work.
If you moved here into a very cheap apartment with the $ to live for a certain amount of months as looking for work. Say your a white collar worker trained for so and so job making whatever comfortable income. Well.. That person may keep saying "there is no work in Maine"... What they mean is "There is no work in Maine for MY profession that will hire me full time and pay me (so much $)" There IS work, there ARE companies looking for people. Granted you may only make $10.00-12.00/hour BUT if you work full time making 10.00-12.00/hour as living in that cheap apartment UNTIL you find YOUR type of work making your comfortable income. You COULD make it work. The question is... Are you willing to?
So do you think that if we were to have enough money to get set up in an apartment and survive for a few months in the town we want to settle in we would have a better chance then?
Best of luck to you on your retirement and the sale of your home. Take care and thank you .Sean
There are dozens of people applying for every job in Maine now. I know people with excellent IT backgrounds who have been out of work for two years or more. Every time a job gets posted in that field there are literally dozens of applicants ahead of them. It's like being in a lottery to even get considered. One man I know was hired with a firm only to be laid off six months later when the company downsized for a second time. It's not just that field, it runs the entire spectrum from ad agencies to carpenters and everything in between. You can move here and do face to face interviews but that is NOT going to guarantee you will find a job in Maine. Maine has the lowest rating for business potential in the nation, follow that with the lowest family income in New England and the highest tax rates per capita in the country and I can't for the life of me see why anyone would want to move to Maine now. That is unless you are retiring and have a good secure pension plan. There is no security in a state job in Maine now either. Governor elect LePage has promised to trim the fat out of the government which means a number of hack jobs in the state government are sure to go.
Welfare is slated for a reform too so when your two months of rent runs out there will be no help forthcoming from the state. I would not move anywhere now unless I had a job commitment from an employer and a signed contract in hand. Sure the scenery is nice but it makes for a long cold winter when you're broke and stuck here with no money to move anywhere else and no welfare handouts to feed yourselves.
NJ2ME, I am willing to do that for sure!!!!! and so is my wife. With both of us making that amount of money we could definitely make it living in a cheaper place and living modestly. I am sensing what you are as well with the white collar jobbers out there. Cannot be too picky when you are working towards your goal or your goal will keep drifting farther and farther away. Thanks for the info.
NJ2ME is dead on. There is a actually a glut of $10-$12/ hour jobs in this state. Unfortunately, that's where most people have to start in Maine depending on your background and education. Doctors, dentists, accountants, lawyers, and engineers will have no problem ever finding work in this state at good pay, but jobs in many other fields are hard to come buy. There aren't many high tech companies with a presence in this state, which is a major source of employment in most places where the economy is considered strong. That said, half the battle is knowing where to look and being very persistent in your search. You may see no available jobs at a company one day, but the next day there could be 10 job postings. I moved back to Maine from across the country earlier this year and it took me 4 months to find a decent paying, non dead end job. Fortunately for me I had the savings (despite my young age) to be a little picky before I started even considering grabbing one of the many available low paying retail/ social work jobs. It also helps to educate yourself on the companies that are located in this state and looking directly on their websites for available jobs rather than limiting your search to monster, jobsinme.com or local newspapers. Also don't be scared away by low pay. Companies in Maine can get away with paying much less for the same job that would pay way more in other states, but that doesn't mean they won't bump up your pay quickly if you prove yourself a competent employee with a desire to grow with the company. Anything is possible if you put enough effort and perseverance into it, even in Maine as I have proved that myself.
imjustthere - It does make sense I guess to actually go to the employers sites themselves.
Maineah it seems to me that there are people telling me don't move there and then there are those that say ..........oh its great move here you will be fine. Who do you think I should really listen to in that situation?????? I most definitely want to be prepared to have a job first before showing up with out a clue. Times are tough all over and where I am in Ohio well it sucks to be bluntly honest. I guess I would rather be in a beautiful place and be miserable than in a dull lifeless state such as Ohio and be miserable...... Do not get me wrong I am not discounting what you are saying in the least and am not up for any kind of war of words with you. I respect your opinions on here.....We just have it in our hearts to move to Maine some way some how.....
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