How is the restaurant/bar job scene in Portland? (how much, find a job)

[southernanthem4]

Hello all,

Thinking of relocating to Portland in May for school, and have some questions about the restaurant scene in town.

1) What are the seasons like there? Obviously, every town has its high and low seasons, so I'm wondering when those are in Portland and just how high and how low they go

2) How hard is it to find a job in general? I have excellent experience both bartending and serving, including a lot of time in NYC and the Hamptons, working for Michelin-star and 3-star NY Times restaurants. Would I be likely to find a job relatively fast in May?

3) How much money is there to be made? Of course, that can vary by restaurant as we all know. My goal is always to make enough to pay for a nice place (preferably living alone) in a desirable urban neighborhood with one weeks earnings. Is that generally doable in Portland?

Thanks for any info!

[hamellr]

Seasons? Do you mean weather, tourist, or popularity?

Jobs are here. But you need to know someone to get the job as you're going to be competing with hundreds of applications per a job. You're more likely to get a serving job after you've been here a while. The weather drives a lot of newcomers away, and most employers don't want to risk that.