help my family find a town

[Floridahater]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

With the current economy, parts manager type jobs are rather few and far between. The entire state of Wyoming has fewer total new car dealerships than a metro area in the Eastern USA ... 15 GM line dealerships, 4 Honda, 4 Subaru ... for example. Most of the GM dealerships are multi-line ... in some locations, the entire GM line at one dealership. Some cover several lines, with imports and ATV's! There's a few multi-point dealerships, such as Fremont and Halladay ... with multiple franchises and outlets.

Keep in mind that the total population base here is only 500,000 people in the entire state. With a much larger population base in close by markets, such as SLC or Denver, many folks head out of Wyoming to buy their new cars in more competitive markets.

The "boom town" days of hiring on the spot in the extractive industries are rapidly coming to a close for right now. With the low price for oil, and with coal development slowing down due to lessening demand ... many outfits are just holding their crews for now. Development work has just about come to a standstill. There's been a lot of news lately about regional planned coal fired power plants being cancelled, and expansion of several plants (already approved) has been postponed, probably indefinitely ... given the current administration's "cap and trade" avowal to destroy the coal industry as well as the enviro approach to "green energy" sources. Affordable Rental/lease housing remains in tight supply in those areas, however. It's not uncommon to see space rental alone for a mobile home approach rates that are higher than you're used to seeing for rent in MI for a nice house.

There's not a lot of civilian employment at Warren AFB that isn't tied to retired military personnel, except for jobs such as a cook, server, bartender, or barber. Those are part-time jobs, and the pay scale is under $10/hr, with no benefits. With the large number of military retirees in the Cheyenne area seeking to supplement their retirement income ... or to simply keep busy ... the labor market is rather low priced. Jobs at the $12/hr price point are generally well filled, such as the labor pool for the two big regional warehouses (Lowes and Sam's Club), and that's a top wage for many retailers in the area.

"miles between towns, sometimes several miles to major shopping and healthcare" ... really, I'm shocked about this revelation. It's more like 60 to 100 miles between most major towns, and in the more remote areas of the state, can be even further. You may even measure your commute to major towns in hours, if the roads are clear. Of course, you won't be seeing car dealerships in those remote areas. Again, keep in mind that Wyoming's two biggest "cities" ... Casper and Cheyenne each only have a population of just around 50,000. Many towns on the map around here have a population of well under 5,000 people, and there's many incorporated towns with only a few blocks of residential development and a population of 100 or so. It's not uncommon to see towns of a few hundred people with no commercial activity at all, just a post office and maybe a gas station/c-store.

At this point, with the announced layoffs and closures of businesses in the area, I would be using the internet resources as much as possible to locate job interviews/potential employment in the area before moving to Wyoming at this time. With a job opportunity in hand, then you're still looking for affordable housing and that may make accepting a job offer somewhat difficult if you can't find a place to stay.

As mentioned, try the Wyoming at Work website, or the state and local gov't jobs ... including school transportation districts, which all have parts departments. You'll be far more likely to have paid family benefits with gov't jobs than private employers. In my experience, out-of-state job applicants have a fair shot at getting hired for many jobs except in rural towns/counties ... where there's a lot of "good old boy" networking going on among the locals who are trying to protect the folks already there. Unless you have an absolutely needed job skill which can't otherwise be filled locally, you will be at a disadvantage in getting hired ... or in staying employed.

Good luck in your relocation.

I am an out-of-state job hunter. I have an BA and two MA degrees, and I am exploring state employment. Should I not examine the possibility of working in a rural area for the State of WY? Moreover, what would constitute a rural area--Riverton, Evanston or smaller?? I would assume that the WY State government HR would control employment. I wouldn't want to go to a place where I would be resented or unwelcomed. Could you please clarify your statement concerning the "good old boy" network which would exist essentially in any small community. Again, I wouldn't want to be disliked because I am an out-of-state applicant! Thanks!!
David

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by Floridahater

I am an out-of-state job hunter. I have an BA and two MA degrees, and I am exploring state employment. Should I not examine the possibility of working in a rural area for the State of WY? Moreover, what would constitute a rural area--Riverton, Evanston or smaller?? I would assume that the WY State government HR would control employment. I wouldn't want to go to a place where I would be resented or unwelcomed. Could you please clarify your statement concerning the "good old boy" network which would exist essentially in any small community. Again, I wouldn't want to be disliked because I am an out-of-state applicant! Thanks!!
David

Firstly, do recognize that most of Wyoming ... with the exception of just a handful of "cities" (which wouldn't be a blip on the population of a suburb for large USA cities) ... is all "rural" by almost anybody's standards of population density. Even small "towns" with almost no commercial development (shopping, restaurants, etc) and a population measured in the 100-400 people may be separated by 60-100 miles apart ... with "nothing" in-between.

If you're used to freeway exits 15 miles apart with substantial population and commercial development in your "rural" areas, you'll be disappointed with Wyoming's barrenness, brownness, and treeless landscape for much of the state ... esp coming from an area with so much moisture as FL.

Your degrees are qualifiers for certain jobs. However, don't expect that they will automatically qualify you for high paying prestigious jobs out here. For the most part, the largest workforce is physical labor, or service sector jobs. There are management jobs, and "white-collar" jobs, and sales jobs that require a degree, perhaps even an advanced degree ... but typically at pay rates that are far less than you'd receive in more populated areas of the country. Hand in hand with this pay scale is that fact that the cost of housing and living here may be substantially higher than you are accustomed to "back home". You will spend more on transportation out here ... because of the vast distances you'll travel in your personal vehicle. Public transportation systems are few and far between, and they serve very limited geographic areas.

The "good old boy" network for hiring is pretty strong in many smaller communities. They seek to protect the folks who are already there and trying to survive. Should you get a job in these areas, you will be judged by how well you fit in and how productive you are with the skillset you bring to the community. And yes, if you buy somebody's old farm house ... you'll be the person living in that other person's place for many years, especially if it was a family farm or ranch for decades before you came along. Should your skills be an asset to the area, you will be welcomed and appreciated .... but you will have to work at it in some places. I've known folks who are native Wyoming farming/ranching families with long term experience move to a new area and still have to "prove" themselves to the locals; in one case, a very qualified, competent, and all around "nice" office worker (empty nester wife, with years of municipal office experience) was "rejected" by the locals in two jobs, the "city" offices, and the "county" office ... just over petty non-issues because she was the "outsider". I'm not saying that you can expect this treatment everywhere, but you should be prepared for the possibility of it happening. It can make life very unpleasant and it caused our friend and her husband to seek another farm/ranch management job in another location ... because they needed her income to live on (with two kids in college, state schools with partial scholarships), even though her husband was "managing" a 40,000 acre farm/ranch unit and they had housing, an annual beef allotment, company vehicles, ranch ATV's, and domestic utilities supplied as part of the job.

Keep in mind that the state already has a lot of qualified local applicants for the higher end jobs ... there's a lot of military retirees in the area with degrees, for example. To the extent that you'll find them competing for service jobs, state jobs, sales jobs, bank jobs, white-collar professional jobs .... With VA hospitals in the state, preference in hiring points, and lots of other advantages, they're a tough lot for you to go against with only a couple of degrees in your resume. I've seen them do a lot of state jobs which were fairly physical/menial, too ... just to keep busy in their retirement after putting in 20 with the service. Similarly, a fair number of already employed state/municipal job holders are always seeking to "move up" ... which may be a job improvement, salary range improvement, or simply a lateral move to a job which they'd prefer to do. They have a substantial advantage in the hiring process over you.

Another, not too uncommon example ... we have a friend who is a retired AF Colonel. He now works as a civilian at his old military support job, and also works part-time at a box store to supplement his income, and his wife works full time in the school district food service. They need all of this income to be able to survive ... and pay for their 10 acre parcel with a modest house. Got three kids heading for college within the next few years ....

[WyoNewk]

I don't think you'd have much of a (good-ol' boy) problem in Gillette, as the large majority here are transplants themselves. By the time I hit the 2-year mark here, I was considered a "native".

But you still have the problem of not too many jobs here requiring degrees, much less higher degrees. No doubt there are good-paying white collar jobs in Gillette, but many don't pay as well as the blue collar jobs.

[cactusjuice67]

for job postings:

www.wyomingatwork.com

[redzipper]

I have replyed to a few other posts concerning jobs and moving from MI to WY. To answer your question, the state does MOST of it's hiring out of state, so that's no an issue. There are also other jobs with in corrections that are not uniform staff. You could check into records, business office, or as an administrative secretary. I don't know what these positions pay, but it's worth a look at, possibly. I don't think there's anywhere in WY that isn't near fishing and hunting either!