Jobs/Pay in Orlando (Tampa, Lake Mary: environment, credit, health insurance)

[urban_hippie]

I think the key to finding a decent job, as I've experienced and seen through my friends' experiences, is networking. You've got to know someone, somehow, somewhere, to get in. You can't ever burn your bridges. You've got to reach out and make contacts. Ask questions. Take names and numbers, don't forget about them - and use them.

[JC1972]

[SIZE=2]My wife and I are moving from NY to FL soon, hopefully in May. I only make $20 an hour and have a Bachelor's Degree; she was making $15 an hour but will be laid off soon with a severance package & hopefully unemployment benefits too. We'd like to move to Lake Mary but have concerns about finding jobs down there. Both of us have been at our jobs for 10+ years so we have stability. Which area is the best to start out in? We don't speak spanish and don't want to live in ghettos.
[/SIZE]

[bdpop]

Originally Posted by JC1972

[SIZE=2]My wife and I are moving from NY to FL soon, hopefully in May. I only make $20 an hour and have a Bachelor's Degree; she was making $15 an hour but will be laid off soon with a severance package & hopefully unemployment benefits too. We'd like to move to Lake Mary but have concerns about finding jobs down there. Both of us have been at our jobs for 10+ years so we have stability. Which area is the best to start out in? We don't speak spanish and don't want to live in ghettos.
[/SIZE]

Don't expect $20 an hour down here. I was making $21/hr in NJ and the highest paying job I was able to get here paid less than half that. I would strongly suggest you find a job before moving down here.

[JC1972]

I wasn't expecting $20 an hour in FL. I know everyone says to find jobs before coming down but how could I do that? We want to move down in May; my wife will be losing her job in March and we can't stand living in my mother's basement anymore. Any advice you could give me? Will companies allow phone interviews? If so, that's great! If not, I don't have the funds just to fly down for job interviews. I wish.

[**NoodLes**]

Originally Posted by JC1972

I wasn't expecting $20 an hour in FL. I know everyone says to find jobs before coming down but how could I do that? We want to move down in May; my wife will be losing her job in March and we can't stand living in my mother's basement anymore. Any advice you could give me? Will companies allow phone interviews? If so, that's great! If not, I don't have the funds just to fly down for job interviews. I wish.

Believe everything you hear on this forum. The jobs here SUCK. We have gorgeous winters, thats it! The jobs pay nothing unless you are in sales, then you have to take a bunch of crap from cheap whiny tourists. I would strongly advise NOT moving here unless you like working 2 jobs, outrageous health insurance, and than still it will be hard to pay the bills.

[JC1972]

Thanks for the advice. Well, you can't believe everything since you don't know who's a whiny complainer and who has valid complaints. We know the jobs suck for the most part but my wife has been looking on careerbuilder and has seen lots of office manager positions which she'd get paid more than what she was making up here.

[bdpop]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Central Florida job market is very competitive. I would say much more so than the NYC job market. It is because of the types of jobs that are available here. the last job fair I went to a couple of weeks ago had over 5000 people attend.

[Fnix]

There are ways to advance but you gotta work your way up in companies. I have no college degree and dropped out of Highschool but got my GED. I started working at UPS when I was 17 and when I was 21 I started driving and after 5 years I make $70,000 a year and pay nothing for benefits. You gotta research and stick with the job.

- Only 25 years to go!

[LizS]

JC1972, please heed the advice of everyone on this board. We are not "whiny complainers" - we are giving you the information you need to know. Here is my story: I came to Orlando almost 2 years ago from NJ. Biggest mistake of my life. An apartment runs you MORE than I was paying in NJ for much less pay. I ended up staying with my sister for 5 months and now I am living in my uncle's trailer - I can't afford anything else on the salaries paid here. I have my bachelor's degree, enrolled agent license with the IRS and 15 years experience and they think $35K is a great salary. DO NOT RELY ON WHAT YOU READ ON CAREERBUILDER. The jobs are posted by recruiters to fill their databases and when you call all you will be offered are temp jobs. When asked about the posted positions they hem and haw and say "oh, I think that's been filled" but you'll see that same job posted for the next 3 weeks. Get it? It's to get you to call them. There are no decent paying jobs here. My first job through a recruiter I was told was temp to perm. The recruiter and the company lied - it was long term temp (and yes, I caught them in the lie). Second job through the newspaper. CPA firm lied about position, was working on a completely different system than advertised and were the meanest people on the face of the earth. 3 people were hired Dec 06 and the same 3 people (including myself) quit by April 07. Next job an employer contacted me, seemed to be an "ideal" job, decent pay, decent work environment. Guess what? The employer was a thief and was embezzling all the money. Company is now out of business. But wait, there's more. A recruiter (different one than the first) called with a fantastic job for me, quick commute, fantastic pay, fantastic career opportunity. Met with prospective employer at the recruiter's office along with 4 other candidates. Had a second interview. Was hired. I showed up for work only to be told by the person I interviewed with that there is no job. They all lied. Recruiter never worked with this company before and never checked it out to see if they were legit. Her reaction? Oh well. Yeah, oh my a***. No job has lasted more than 5 months down (the last one wasn't even 5 minutes). No health insurance all this time. Oh yeah, you can temp and get health insurance through the temp agency for like $500/month. Hmmm... do you think anyone can afford that when the temp job only pays like $12/hour? DO NOT MOVE HERE. I am in the process of moving and hope to be out of here within a month.

[CURT]

I dont know if I just missed it but what is it that you do? there are jobs that pay well. alot of people are just not qualified for them.