OKC is doing OK! (Oklahoma City, Tulsa: real estate, 2009, how much)

[sparkman75229]

Hey guys, just wanted to make sure you saw this:

Local unemployment up in 98% of cities - Feb. 4, 2009

OKC has the lowest unemployment of any metro over 1 million. I think every bit of good news should be shouted from the roof top or the fatalists will do us in.

[colleeng47]

Thanks for posting that. I hope we keep doing well.

[Synopsis]

That's great news, but my one big gripe about Oklahoma jobs in general (not just OkC) is the pittance of a salary that they offer (see the horrendously low rate below for a CONTRACT position with ZERO benefits). Yes, I know that the cost of living in Oklahoma is less than most states, but not 1/3 the cost. Case in point; the job description and salary below. These type of jobs pay at least 3 times as much in the DFW area as they do in OkC. In addition, almost every single full-time job in Oklahoma City for Tech Writers requires a minimum of a Bachelor's degree (although in the case below, it doesn't and for good reason; a person could not survive on the Burger King money they are offering). There are many top-notch writers out there who don't have college degrees (I do, but that's beside the point).

Down here, job requirements always say "4 year degree in _______ or equivalent experience." In Oklahoma, employers are way, way behind the times in demanding 4 year degrees and don't equate experience into the situation. They are tossing aside a huge pool of talent for a piece of paper that has likely been totally useless for the past 15 years and in most cases, not even applicable to the job at hand.

I don't know one writer that draws off their Bachelor's degree to do their job.

Whenever I am in the position to hire, I look at EXPERIENCE and not some outdated notion that people need college degrees to be adept at their positions. I wish Oklahoma would get with the times in both requirements for a position and pay. It is kind of ironic that Oklahoma, which is not exactly a leader in the education department nationwide, has such stringent requirements regarding education.

This bothers me because I have worked with so many writers and editors over the years, and true to fact, the higher education attained usually equates to an inability to think outside the box and absolutely ZERO creativity.

THE JOB BELOW WANTS THE CANDIDATE TO PASS A GOVERNMENT SECURITY CLEARANCE! WHAT A FREAKING JOKE!

I'll get off my soap box now...

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______________________
A leading (leading yes, in the bottom of the salary department) defense contractor in the Oklahoma City area seeks a Technical Writer with SGML experience on a contract-to-hire basis.

Qualified candidate will be involved in the editing, formatting, and clean-up of military manuals. Candidate will need to be highly proficient in SGML. Will be conducting data table conversions and working with existing documents for format, manipulate, and move data.

Qualifications:
--Previous experience with SGML
--Excellent proof reading skills and attention to details
--MS Office experience
--Previous experience working with military documents preferred.
--Ability to pass background to attain security clearance.

Position is available on a contract-to-hire basis.


Company: Aerotek CE
Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Category: Information Technology Jobs Rate: $10 to $12 per Hour Job Type: Contract-to-Hire Posting ID: 1874851 Posting Date: 2/2/2009

[sparkman75229]

Ouch, do you think it is the "contract-for-hire" part that makes the salary so low?

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by sparkman75229

Ouch, do you think it is the "contract-for-hire" part that makes the salary so low?

No, in fact, contractors are generally paid HIGHER hourly rates because the position provides no benefits.

I applied for, and hopefully will get the position, in Arlington, TX that is contract. The pay is $43/hour, and that is the NORM down here (for contract, not salary), which is even slightly lower than the national average because the cost of living here is relatively comparable to OkC.

[Synopsis]

Technical Writer Salaries nationwide. Oklahoma is not even on the list probably because they are ashamed to publish their rates. And I can attest that these salaries are indeed accurate.


Northern California $86,000- $95,000
Massachusetts $74,000 - $83,000
New York $64,000 - $80,000
Southern California $67,000 - $76,000
Illinois $60,000 - $73,000
Colorado $64,000 - $72,000
Virginia, DC $65,000 - $72,000
Maryland $62,000 - $72,000
Washington $65,000 - $71,000
Georgia $63,000 - $70,000
New Jersey $67,000 - $69,000
Connecticut $69,000 - $69,000
Texas $64,000 - $69,000 (this is dead-on the money, btw)
New Hampshire $68,000 - $67,000
Oregon $65,000 - $67,000
Arizona $60,000 - $66,000
North Carolina $53,000 - $65,000
Michigan $52,000 - $65,000
Pennsylvania $58,000 - $64,000
Arizona $53,000 - $63,000
Ohio $54,000 - $62,000
Florida $62,000 - $61,000
Minnesota $52,000 - $61,000
Missouri $52,000 - $56,000
Indiana $54,000 - $55,000
Wisconsin $48,000 - $52,000
South Carolina $63,000 - $45,500
Utah $47,000 - $44,000

I moved out of Oklahaoma 18 years ago because I was never able to earn a decent living and I've never been able to return. I now see nothing has changed.

[okcpulse]

I would have to disagree with you, Synopsis, from a per capita personal income standpoint. In 1998, Oklahoma ranked 44th in the nation in per capita personal income. In 2007, Oklahoma ranked 30th. That's on of the biggest leaps in the nation. Granted, that is still eight slots behind Texas.

Nonetheless, there are companies in Oklahoma City that pay higher than Houston for some positions. I do agree that many companies in Oklahoma City don't pay what they should, but the gap is closing. I would imagine the big leap came from better salaries in the energy sector and real estate, followed by self-employed Oklahoma Citians that make a damn good living doing whatever it is they do.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

I would have to disagree with you, Synopsis, from a per capita personal income standpoint. In 1998, Oklahoma ranked 44th in the nation in per capita personal income. In 2007, Oklahoma ranked 30th. That's on of the biggest leaps in the nation. Granted, that is still eight slots behind Texas.

Nonetheless, there are companies in Oklahoma City that pay higher than Houston for some positions. I do agree that many companies in Oklahoma City don't pay what they should, but the gap is closing. I would imagine the big leap came from better salaries in the energy sector and real estate, followed by self-employed Oklahoma Citians that make a damn good living doing whatever it is they do.

Maybe in the energy sector, but that doesn't justify a "leading defense contractor" paying a full 1/3 to 1/4 pay for a position that demands much higher.

I love Oklahoma, and have been trying to move back for YEARS, but I can't. They simply don't pay what it takes to live there for the most part.

Below is a link to a cost of living calculator from bankrate.com.

I plugged in a salary of 60K for the Fort Worth/Arlington metro to see how much it would cost to live the same type of lifestyle in OkC.

The verdict? To live in OkC with the same lifestyle I do here I would need to make only $59,477.32. A whopping .87% decrease and approx. $500 dollars a year less to live in OkC and maintain my standard of living. Not the 20/25% less that one would think. And certainly not the 75% less that is indicated by the salary in that "leading defense contractor" position as referenced above.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp?a=0&d1=60000&d2=87.1653426459762&d3=8 6.4060199276713

I'm as big an Oklahoma homer as anyone that you'll find on these boards. But the numbers don't lie. The fact that I am in a profession that is pretty much needed all over the country in any industry, yet I have never been able to return to Oklahoma because of the low salaries is indicative that Oklahoma needs to wake up and enter the 21st century when it comes to the salaries they pay outside of the energy sector.

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by okcpulse

I would imagine the big leap came from better salaries in the energy sector and real estate, followed by self-employed Oklahoma Citians that make a damn good living doing whatever it is they do.

Exactly. The energy sector has offset the numbers. OkCpulse, I WANT to move back to Oklahoma, but cannot. And as I have said, salaries in the Tech. Writing profession have pretty much solidified all over the US to a median. However, OkC doesn't seem to recognize that. And Tech Writing isn't the only profession.

Heck, I've applied for lower paying jobs in OkC or Tulsa and never got a response because they knew what I was making in this market. They simply refused to pay a living wage.

I apologize if I sound like I am ranting, but this is a sensitive subject to me because I've wanted to move back to my home state for almost two decades but can't because of some very backward thinking in terms of salary.

[sparkman75229]

You are allowed to rant every now and then. You should have seen me yelling at my Road Runner Internet connection earlier this morning.

I wish you all the best luck!