How difficult is it to get a job in Casper, Wyoming now? (Gillette: job market, school districts)

[shinysign]

Hello, I am considering moving to Casper Wyoming, I was wondering how the economy is there right now and how hard it is to get a job. I am willing to work any job temporarily as long as it is not a physical labor job (I am not good at heavy lifting), but can do retail etc.

Right now I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, it is a much bigger city but the job market is still really, really bad right now, so just wondering.

Thanks!

Sean

[shadowwalker]

When I got here in August there were 4 to 5 pages of job openings in the sunday paper. Now there is 1 to 2 pages maybe. And the temporary help places lists have shortened ALOT!

[BennyPhoenix]

In December job listings all over are generally fewer than the rest of the year. I wouldn't look at the number of listings in general; I would look at the number of listings in the specific job that you want to work in.

[Salt & Light]

shinysign,

Is there a specific occupation you are interested in? What experience and skills do you have?

The Casper Star Tribune is the local paper which is available on the web at www.trib.com. Click on “Employment” under the “Classifieds” tab along the header at the top of the page.

[shinysign]

Hello, thanks everyone for the information. I am considering becoming a teacher - I know there are teaching jobs in every state but in some states there are a lot of teachers and therefore it is more difficult to get a job and in some places it is easier.

[Salt & Light]

Originally Posted by shinysign

Hello, thanks everyone for the information. I am considering becoming a teacher - I know there are teaching jobs in every state but in some states there are a lot of teachers and therefore it is more difficult to get a job and in some places it is easier.

I can’t say for sure about teaching positions in Casper but I can cite a few things that would indicate the employment opportunities would be good.

• The school district, Natrona County School District #1 (NCSD), recently adopted policy to establish student to teacher ratios of 17 to 1 in grades K – 4. The old staffing ratio was 23 or 24 to 1 I believe.
• NCSD is in the process of building a middle school to replace on of the old ones.
• There are plans for a new (additional) elementary school to open in 2010.
• There will be a new (additional) high school probably by 2012?
• Student enrollment is up due to growth in the area and birth rate.
• Wages were raised recently making Wyoming very competitive with surrounding states.

Are you considering primary, secondary, music, PE or other specialty?

[shinysign]

Hello, thanks this is good information, sounds like they may have some openings but in a smaller town like Casper, it may take me a while to get in, I can imagine it may take me up to a year to get a teaching job, and I will have to take some other job in between time. It is just that there may be times where there are simply enough teachers with few openings.

But that does sound good, like they are making progress. 17-1 is a great ratio and smaller class sizes is one of the reasons that I want to move to a smaller town. Also, do you know how many years it is for retirement for the Casper schools? It's usually 25-30.

I am considering teaching either grade school, like general grade school all subject classes, or middle school English. My degree is in English but I like grade school as well. In middle school, they usually call it 'language and literature' but it's basically the same thing.

[Salt & Light]

Originally Posted by shinysign

Hello, thanks this is good information, sounds like they may have some openings but in a smaller town like Casper, it may take me a while to get in, I can imagine it may take me up to a year to get a teaching job, and I will have to take some other job in between time. It is just that there may be times where there are simply enough teachers with few openings.

You might consider substitute teaching in the interim. I hear a lot of comments that good substitutes are in demand.

Originally Posted by shinysign

Also, do you know how many years it is for retirement for the Casper schools? It's usually 25-30.

I don’t know but you can check the district web site. Click on “Jobs” along the top of the page for current openings and I'm sure that HR can answer you questions.

[georgiainwyo]

I wouldn't think it would be a very long wait to obtain a teaching position in Casper. I applied there last year for this school year and there were lots of openings. It didn't seem hard to get an interview. I chose Gillette over Casper for many reasons, but I think Casper would be a good district to work in. If the need for teachers is anything like it is here in Gillette (we had 85 new teachers in the district this year) and Casper is a bigger town, then there should be lots of openings! Best Wishes!

[sunsprit]

Wyoming teaching ... the state recently published their school enrollment numbers for this school year. While students are up approx 10% from last year, it's still down significantly from a decade ago.

From my perspective, teaching jobs are available because of a very few factors:

1) teachers are leaving Wyoming for "greener" pastures (and jobs) somewhere else, so there's a significant turnover

2) school districts are changing student-teacher ratios

3) or locally, "boom town" economies are having to respond to localized population growth, which may or may not be sustainable. Casper and Gillette certainly qualify as "boom town" areas due to extractive industries.

Casper also recently had new medical facilities open, which pirated a fair number of nursing staff from the prior facilities. I understand that the old hospital is going on a hiring job fair to MN right now to try to fill about 70 positions. While not in your main field, there may be some hospital jobs available there, too, right now.