Any advice on getting back to Pittsburgh? (York, Washington: appointed, health insurance)

[burghgirl]

Hi everyone. This is my first post to this site but I've read several posts over the past few weeks. It is great to be able to connect with people from Pittsburgh and find out different viewpoints about the city. My husband and I moved away from Pittsburgh 13 years ago so he could attend grad school in Columbus, OH. We were only supposed to be here for two years but somehow that has stretched to 13, much to my dismay. We are both professionals with master's degrees but we have been unable to secure employment in Pittsburgh. I only lived in the Burgh for five years originally but I fell in love with the city, the people, the surroundings, topography, unique ethnic neighborhoods. Everything I love about Pittsburgh is what Columbus does not have. Columbus is a fine city and a lot of people love it and think it's a great place to raise a family, but for me it can't beat Pittsburgh. I'd rather take the Pittsburgh neighborhoods with character and beautiful hills and rivers anyday to the flat landscape of Columbus, and the strip malls and new McMansions everywhere. There are parts of Columbus that do have some character and history, but in my mind it still doesn't compare to the Burgh.

I have lived in other places too, including overseas, New York City, and various towns/cities in Ohio. In my opinion, Pittsburgh beats them all as far as natural beauty and character go, and cost of living. The few times my husband has gotten a job lead in Pittsburgh, we were disappointed by the attitude of the recruiters, which were invariably, "Why would you want to move to Pittsburgh of all places?"

Anyway, we do hope to eventually move back to the Burgh, hopefully before our kids are still fairly young. With the current national housing market, however, it may be a while before we are able to do that. Anyway we wouldn't move until my husband had a job set up.

Does anybody have any advice or encouragement about getting back to the Burgh? My husband is a SAS programmer and is interested in working in banking or health care. If you know any company or recruiter that works with SAS, please let me know. As a lot of you have said, it is really hard to figure this all when you're not there. At least we are only about 3-4 hours drive away, which helps. But every time I go back to visit, it makes me nostalgic to move back. I realize Pittsburgh does have its challenges, including a sluggish economy, slower job growth than a lot of cities, etc. but to me it beats Columbus anyday.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[MaryS80]

Your husband might want to apply at Highmark in downtown. My dad works there as programmer. Being a health insurance company they offer great benefits. They have been pretty generous with the office space they give to programmers as well. Many have real offices with window, rather then being stuck in the cube all day.

[burghgirl]

Thanks for the quick response. Does your dad do SAS programming at Highmark? It's nice the programmers have more than a cubicle!

[hinsey86]

We just relocated to Pittsburgh a few months ago. My husband had not lived here since joining the military 26 years ago and I had only visited maybe 10 times. We considered various spots of the country to move to after his retirement. He really let me take the lead in choosing. About 6 months from his retirement date and while he was deployed overseas, I decided I really wanted to live in Pittsburgh. I sent him an email and I think I heard him scream with joy from the other side of the world!

We took a leap of faith and headed here in February from the west coast without jobs. Of course we had his military pension to fall back on. I also knew that I had a killer resume and most likely would get a job with ease, which is what happened. He started looking while we were still in Washington State and had no luck. He had heard that most firms in Pittsburgh do not utilize Monster and Career Builder. I know he only got one hit from either of these sites despite his incredible experience and credentials. After about 2 months of being here and 6 months of looking overall, he began a course with others who were "middle age" and were at a crossroads in their careers. From there he made the contacts that eventually landed him a position that was perfect for him. From what we have been told the old adage "It’s who you know" is even more evident in Pittsburgh. Good luck to you. We are loving it here.

[JoeP]

Google's Pittsburgh office is hiring... (no it's not banking or healthcare, but worth checking out nonetheless)

Google Pittsburgh is looking for engineers with great aspirations.

try the Pittsburgh Technology Council site

Find a Job in Pittsburgh


As mentioned try Highmark, UPMC of course would be worth checking...

[MaryS80]

www.highmarkbcbs.com

Highmark has all their job posting online. My dad isn't sure if they use SAS, but it's worth a look. To find the job postings click on About Highmark at the bottom of the page, then Careers in the Menu bar on the left side of the page.

The Pittsburgh Technology Council site comes highly recommended.

[burghgirl]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I sometimes wish we could do what you did, Hinsey, and move to Pittsburgh first and then get jobs. However, with two children and the uncertainty of financial security, we really cannot do it that way. It is frustrating to be in this situation, and I have also got the impression that (as you stated) you do have to know someone to get a job. "It's not what you know, it's who you know" seems to be true even more so in Pittsburgh, unfortunately. I guess we will keep trying until something works out. Although, sometimes I think we'll just stay here 10 more years (until our kids have graduated from high school) and then just retire to Pittsburgh. That seems like a long time away, however, and I also really wanted my kids to have roots in Pittsburgh and consider it their home.

[schrismer]

I just moved from Pittsburgh after 13 years in IT Sales. Here is a great site for tech jobs in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Technology Council: Career Center

It is the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Good luck with the move,

[Mill-Hunky]

Wow, "Burghgirl" did we follow the same path. I also moved to Columbus, OH from Pittsburgh, but 15 years ago for grad school and just go stuck. And now with a wife and 3 kids, I desperately have been trying to move back to Pittsburgh. It makes it all the more difficult with all my family having migrated to Columbus. I was just back in the 'burgh last week for my neices graduation and thought about just getting a hotel and staying ;-)

I can't offer much in the way of help getting back, but I can encourage you to keep trying. I am working at it every day, we look at houses online and I keep applying for jobs. I am a Web Developer and I almost got my break with American Eagle but sadly it did not work out. SO KEEP TRYING! And BTW Columbus Sucks!

-Jason
smith.coloreddust.com
coloreddust.com
mill-hunky.com

[NewBurg]

I also ended up in Columbus, but fortunately for only 2 years. I also missed Pittsburgh's character and urban fabric, and couldn't wait to come back. I moved back five years ago and have never regretted it. Good luck to you.