San Diego in this CHALLENGING economy? (San Francisco: house, job market, buyer)

[perseuspowers]

Hi folks,

I am hoping/planning on moving to CA at the end of October. I am really worried however, that I won't be able to find a job or that this may take a LONG time. Does anyone know about the situation in the San Diego versus San Francisco bay area as far as the biotech or science or research market - are there layoffs, is the market flooded with applicants, is the situation bad or good for someone with a MS degree and lots of experience? It seems that I hear so much about how bad the situation is in California right now, one of the hardest hit states in the country, and I wonder if a move is really the best thing or if I'll be making a disastrous mistake. As always, any suggestions or input is much appreciated.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[f_m]

Originally Posted by perseuspowers

Hi folks,

I am hoping/planning on moving to CA at the end of October. I am really worried however, that I won't be able to find a job or that this may take a LONG time. Does anyone know about the situation in the San Diego versus San Francisco bay area as far as the biotech or science or research market - are there layoffs, is the market flooded with applicants, is the situation bad or good for someone with a MS degree and lots of experience? It seems that I hear so much about how bad the situation is in California right now, one of the hardest hit states in the country, and I wonder if a move is really the best thing or if I'll be making a disastrous mistake. As always, any suggestions or input is much appreciated.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

Did you try to apply for any positions? I think positions for a MS degree would pay to relocate, or at least pay to bring you in for interviewing. If they don't respond, then you get an idea of the situation, or maybe they weren't interested in relocation.

[perseuspowers]

Well, my experience with this has been that when I submit my resume from Maryland, I usually get a response that either they are only looking at local candidates or to contact them when I actually am in California. I think that with the ease of submitting a resume now via the internet, most places that post an opening are likely swamped and so anything they can do to winnow out a few resumes helps their selection process. As far as paying to relocate, I would surely love to have a position that would "move" me but haven't been lucky enough to have any offers.

[Hobgoblin]

I'd put a lot more effort into finding the job first. It's not going to be easy, but I know it's possible since we just did it (Maryland to San Diego, in fact) within the last year.

You'll probably have better luck looking at companies who are national/international and already have a relocation program in place as they're the ones most likely to consider someone applying from out of state.

We were very lucky and things moved quickly for us, but it was just luck that the right company was hiring for the right position at that time. Sometimes that combo doesn't come up for months and months, and we'd looked into it before doing the exact same thing we did this last time and got absolutely nothing.

This time, it all came together in about two months, much more quickly than we had anticipated, in fact.

So yes it can be done, but I'd say that you have to be both lucky to find a job opening at a company that does relocations and also be a good enough candidate for that position to warrant it.

I almost forgot: The position my husband got was with a biotech company.

[mini_cute]

Here's a list of notable companies in San Diego you can try applying to, if interested. See under the biotechnology section and make sure to scroll all the way down because there are 2 biotech sections.

List of companies headquartered in San Diego, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Good luck!

[ubringliten]

Originally Posted by perseuspowers

Hi folks,

I am hoping/planning on moving to CA at the end of October. I am really worried however, that I won't be able to find a job or that this may take a LONG time. Does anyone know about the situation in the San Diego versus San Francisco bay area as far as the biotech or science or research market - are there layoffs, is the market flooded with applicants, is the situation bad or good for someone with a MS degree and lots of experience? It seems that I hear so much about how bad the situation is in California right now, one of the hardest hit states in the country, and I wonder if a move is really the best thing or if I'll be making a disastrous mistake. As always, any suggestions or input is much appreciated.
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

It's like a tradeoff for everything. California is hit hard with the housing slump which is an incentive to move here, but then it also affects the local economy. This just sucks. Well, I can tell you that my paharma is on a hiring freeze, but I don't think it reflects what's going on here locally. It has more to do with their biggest revenue drug that is coming off exclusivity in a coupe of years, so they are preparing for this. I have a colleague that left my company to work for a biotech. So, who knows.

[esmith143]

Can't speak for biotech, but software job market seems to be doing fine. I'm in software and I don't see this dreadful recession everyone is talking about. A few people left our company, the ones I know quickly found new jobs in other companies.

[perseuspowers]

Thanks all for your responses - I am really thinking that it's just a matter of doing my research and putting my resume out there with the caveat that I won't be there until the end of October and then doing the follow-up when I get there. As far as the housing, not possible without having a job but boy, I would love to be able to buy since the market is so buyer-friendly right now. Having just sold a house here in Maryland however, I know what it feels like to be so fearful of not being able to get a buyer that you feel compelled to say yes to an offer, even to losing money on the deal, just to get out of the mortgage. It is a really scary time in this country and unfortunately, there is no leadership in DC to help us or even to calm the atmosphere - the past 8 years have devastated our economy, our image in the world, and so much more. Thank the stars that this administration will soon be at an end and hopefully, we can begin to dig out.