Thinking about packing up and moving to SLC. Should I?

[Ankhharu]

Originally Posted by markg91359

I think its a bad idea to move to any new place without a job lined up in this economy. You don't say so, but I assume you have no family or support network in Salt Lake City. What will you do if a job fails to materialize? I suppose you could work in a fast food restaurant because a fair number of jobs in these places are available at minimum wage.

Why don't you plan on spending several weeks here and interview or apply for as many jobs as you can?

The official unemployment rate is lower here than in many places in this country. However, in my experience, this is somewhat deceptive. Utah is a family oriented culture and when jobs become scarce, families send older children (or spouses) to college or trade school. Hence, they no longer show up in official unemployment statistics because they aren't "looking for a job". Also, one spouse will simply tell the other spouse to "stay home" until the economy gets better. Hence, that spouse disappears from the unemployment rolls and the numbers look better than they actually are. Utah has a host of low wage jobs and statistics count a part time fast food worker as employed, the same way they count a middle manager at a Fortune 500 company. I can promise you we have far more fast food workers and convenience store clerks than we do middle managers.

I don't want to seem unduly pessimistic. However, moving to an area without a job is never a good idea. The economy here maybe a bit better than some places in this country, but Utah is not Shangri La and no one better deceive themselves into thinking that it is.

Unless you have a unique skillset for a niche career, you're not going to secure employment prior to moving. Why would any perspective employer take a risk on someone that may never arrive? move, get homesick and move back? There are usually plenty of local candidates. I have moved 8 times, most recently to SLC from Dallas this past August. No job lined up for any of the moves. If you are willing to take any job to get some income and allow your savings to last longer, then you can be successful. If people followed your logic, very few people would ever move. We wouldn't even be in this country, if we all had that lack of courage.

OP, I found a job 3 weeks after I got here, took a better job a month later, and then finally got the position I wanted in December. There are a lot of jobs here, they just don't pay great. But it only took me 4 months to get back into my career field here. As long as you have a plan, some money put away and hit the pavement as soon as you arrive, you can do it. Don't wait on the economy to decide to live. Just make sure you have some plans for things if they go sour. Visit the general moving forum on this site. There is more information on how to pull the move off. Thing is, posts like these don't go well in the city forums because it's usually full of natives who are terrified of the though of moving to another city.

[cobaltking]

Originally Posted by mezman

Though Goldman Sach's has a presence in SLC and they might be interested in your analytical abilities as well.

I'm pretty sure Goldman only hires people from Ivy league schools, although I could try haha.

Originally Posted by momotoo

Many people will tell you, don't move anywhere without having a job waiting for you - are you people kidding me ? it's almost impossible securing a job in a different state before moving unless you have like 10 years of experience or you just graduated from a top University. A lot of people move to other cities without having a job waiting for them, it's totally fine.

Yeah, most of the actuarial jobs I've been applying for are in the midwest or northeast... Virtually nobody seems interested in importing someone from the west coast. Portland's impossible to find a job in, because it's way too trendy (and its economy sucks too of course).

Originally Posted by Ankhharu

OP, I found a job 3 weeks after I got here, took a better job a month later, and then finally got the position I wanted in December. There are a lot of jobs here, they just don't pay great. But it only took me 4 months to get back into my career field here. As long as you have a plan, some money put away and hit the pavement as soon as you arrive, you can do it. Don't wait on the economy to decide to live. Just make sure you have some plans for things if they go sour. Visit the general moving forum on this site. There is more information on how to pull the move off. Thing is, posts like these don't go well in the city forums because it's usually full of natives who are terrified of the though of moving to another city.

What kind of job did you find? Minimum wage or something better? I'm hoping to at least find a data entry gig when I arrive... Are temp agencies out there any good?

[mezman]

Originally Posted by cobaltking

I'm pretty sure Goldman only hires people from Ivy league schools, although I could try haha.

GS in NYC? Yes. GS regional office in Salt Lake city? Unlikely. The office was opened relatively recently and there are still job postings pretty frequently. Not saying your chances are great (I know nothing about your credentials) but it might be worth a shot. They seem to have quite a bit of entry-level positions as well. Again, good luck in whatever you decide.

[Ankhharu]

Originally Posted by cobaltking

I'm pretty sure Goldman only hires people from Ivy league schools, although I could try haha.


Yeah, most of the actuarial jobs I've been applying for are in the midwest or northeast... Virtually nobody seems interested in importing someone from the west coast. Portland's impossible to find a job in, because it's way too trendy (and its economy sucks too of course).



What kind of job did you find? Minimum wage or something better? I'm hoping to at least find a data entry gig when I arrive... Are temp agencies out there any good?

I signed up for 4 or 5 temp agencies, had a few interviews with 3 of them that I remember. I don't know if I would call them good. I only recall 2 decent jobs being dangled in front of me that seemed good, but when I didn't get one of those gigs, the one agency seemed to actually work pretty hard at trying to find me something as they seemed upset I didn't get it. The position I took 3 weeks after I got here only paid $10/hr. Crappy wage, but I knew it was simply something to get some income generating, so I took it. $10/hr is better than $0/hr right? It was a cake job and I only stayed there 3 weeks because I quickly moved to a position that paid more than that I found on my own. I'm in Real Estate, and I didn't see a lot of job opps for my field, unlike you, but I did eventually find one. If you are willing to take the crappy $10-13/hr wage gig while you look for a better position in your field, then you can find something quick.


As for Portland, that was actually where I wanted to go, but a month out from my move, I decided that my savings was not big enough to endure a city that had no jobs. So I landed in SLC site unseen. No regrets. I won't spend the rest of my life here, but I like it way more than Texas. Goodluck.