Portland job market? (blue collar) (Hope: school, community college, living in)

[Jerseyan]

Hello folks.

Brief summary...I am 25 yrs old, have lived in NJ my whole life and I am ready for a change. Sick of the traffic, congestion, high cost of living, etc.

Have a friend living in portland whom I visit on occasion. I like the "small city" feel of portland, the charm of the old port area, and the fact that you can hop on the maine turnpike and be in pristine wilderness in no time.

However I am worried about the availability of blue collar jobs in the portland area. My area of work is electronics/computer repair, etc. No college degree, just a trade school diploma. Im afraid of the possibility of finding only white collar corporate jobs or low-paying warehouse type work with nothing in between.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated. Do I have a chance in portland or should I look elsewhere?

[rfield01]

These are based on impressions from talks from family & friends. Hope it helps.
I am "white collar" myself and similar questions.

Maine in many ways is a blue collar state. It might be a stretch in some areas to find your type of work. However, you have skills which people always need. You might find things easier if you switched focus to So. Portland or in the surrounding inland areas, if only for more affordable housing. Maine has a good vo-tech and community college situation. You could try making inroads there to see if you make some contacts to get word of jobs. Volunteering your skills also is a good start as you can build a portfolio of clients and demonstrate that you are serious about the communities in which you live -- obviously do not volunteer for a company! There are Mainers, lots of them, who strike out their own. But, success rates have always struck me as low.

[Maineah]

If you're willing to do work unrelated to your field for a while you can certainly get a job in a restaurant, bar or retail while you pursue developing the job you really want. There is work here if you're willing to do it. You may have to live frugally but it can be done.