Is the Economy Really that Bad in ATL?

[R.J. Kencade]

Have you ever heard of Megatrends: The Intuit Predictions?

Long story short, the predictions are, by 2020 that 40% of the American workforce will be freelance/contractors. Expect a huge downward pressure on wages/benefits as a result. Traditional full-time, full-benefit jobs will be harder to find and Self-employment, personal and micro business numbers will increase.

Sounds like this is apart of what your family(and everyone else across the country) is starting to experience.


If what you're saying, in your OP, is true, it's not exclusive to Atlanta.

Originally Posted by Rose454

My sister relocated to ATL two years ago, after getting married. Her husband has a degree in finance and was raised in the area. My sister however, has a masters degree in education.

I'm a bit perplexed that both of them have difficulties solidifying full-time jobs which offer a good salary, full health care benefits, and vacation/sick/holiday leave, etc. My sister currently works for a staffing education center. Although she works full time for the agency, she does not have any benefits, vacation leave or even a regular bona fide position. Also, I believe they are not paying her more than 27K per year (which is absolutely insane). Her husband hasn't been able to solidify solid employment. He is currently unemployed. Both are in their 30s and would like to start a family, but the job situation seems really unstable.

I have advised them to relocate, but he wants to stay so that he can be close to family.

I'm just curious if other people with college degrees have experienced the same job related problems in ATL? If so, did you ultimately relocate away from the area?

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by Rose454

My sister relocated to ATL two years ago, after getting married. Her husband has a degree in finance and was raised in the area. My sister however, has a masters degree in education.

I'm a bit perplexed that both of them have difficulties solidifying full-time jobs which offer a good salary, full health care benefits, and vacation/sick/holiday leave, etc. My sister currently works for a staffing education center. Although she works full time for the agency, she does not have any benefits, vacation leave or even a regular bona fide position. Also, I believe they are not paying her more than 27K per year (which is absolutely insane). Her husband hasn't been able to solidify solid employment. He is currently unemployed. Both are in their 30s and would like to start a family, but the job situation seems really unstable.

I have advised them to relocate, but he wants to stay so that he can be close to family.

I'm just curious if other people with college degrees have experienced the same job related problems in ATL? If so, did you ultimately relocate away from the area?

I agree with others that there is a national trend toward hiring contractors and not paying benefits in order for employers to save money. However Georgia is still lagging behind other states in terms of job recovery after the recession. The jobs are fewer and pay lower in the Atlanta. As another poster stated, you do have it where people or doing really well or really badly here with no middle ground.

I've known many people in the same situation as your family: educated or highly skilled and couldn't find work or decent paying work in Atlanta. I've also known others who are educated with jobs who weren't making decent salaries and left Atlanta for better opportunities.

Every single person that I know who has left Atlanta is doing MUCH, MUCH better financially where they moved to than how they were doing here. I've known many people who couldn't find jobs here and went to other states without jobs. ALL OF THEM found jobs that they love that pay well or more than what they made in Atlanta after only three weeks of being out of Georgia. And the employed ones who are highly educated and experienced who sought better opportunities elsewhere found job in other states and are now earning salaries that are much more commensurate with their education and experience than what they could find here.

I don't know anyone who left Atlanta for better opportunities who didn't find those opportunities or who isn't doing much better. They are all doing much better career-wise and when I speak to them they often breathe sighs of relief that they were able to leave and find jobs. When I asked if they want to come back here, none of them want to come back here and are glad they left. I agree with you that they should leave Atlanta for better opportunities. I've known so many people who have done it and they are much better off for it.

In my line of work I see that there is plenty of money and great companies and businesses here, without a doubt. But if you aren't connected in those circles, you ain't gettin' a piece of that pie. If your sister's husband wants to get into the finance industry here, he's going to have to start networking and pretty much become a "social climber" with people in that industry. He needs to join professional organizations. The rub with that is that many orgs won't let you join if you don't already have a job. Linked In is also a good source to start networking. I'm finding that more people are finding jobs that way these days. You really do have to know people in Atlanta to get the good jobs. Simply having education, skill and applying for jobs the traditional way isn't enough.

My last two jobs, including my current one, I got through networking. I am also a contractor with no benefits. Since the recession, applying for jobs the traditional way has resulted in three interviews in a four-year period, none of which I was hired for.

[Freeminds]

Originally Posted by Atlanta_BD

I agree with others that there is a national trend toward hiring contractors and not paying benefits in order for employers to save money. However Georgia is still lagging behind other states in terms of job recovery after the recession. The jobs are fewer and pay lower in the Atlanta. As another poster stated, you do have it where people or doing really well or really badly here with no middle ground.

I've known many people in the same situation as your family: educated or highly skilled and couldn't find work or decent paying work in Atlanta. I've also known others who are educated with jobs who weren't making decent salaries and left Atlanta for better opportunities.

Every single person that I know who has left Atlanta is doing MUCH, MUCH better financially where they moved to than how they were doing here. I've known many people who couldn't find jobs here and went to other states without jobs. ALL OF THEM found jobs that they love that pay well or more than what they made in Atlanta after only three weeks of being out of Georgia. And the employed ones who are highly educated and experienced who sought better opportunities elsewhere found job in other states and are now earning salaries that are much more commensurate with their education and experience than what they could find here.

I don't know anyone who left Atlanta for better opportunities who didn't find those opportunities or who isn't doing much better. They are all doing much better career-wise and when I speak to them they often breathe sighs of relief that they were able to leave and find jobs. When I asked if they want to come back here, none of them want to come back here and are glad they left. I agree with you that they should leave Atlanta for better opportunities. I've known so many people who have done it and they are much better off for it.

In my line of work I see that there is plenty of money and great companies and businesses here, without a doubt. But if you aren't connected in those circles, you ain't gettin' a piece of that pie. If your sister's husband wants to get into the finance industry here, he's going to have to start networking and pretty much become a "social climber" with people in that industry. He needs to join professional organizations. The rub with that is that many orgs won't let you join if you don't already have a job. Linked In is also a good source to start networking. I'm finding that more people are finding jobs that way these days. You really do have to know people in Atlanta to get the good jobs. Simply having education, skill and applying for jobs the traditional way isn't enough.

My last two jobs, including my current one, I got through networking. I am also a contractor with no benefits. Since the recession, applying for jobs the traditional way has resulted in three interviews in a four-year period, none of which I was hired for.

What cities and what professions?

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by Freeminds

What cities and what professions?

They moved to the following states:

Texas
Wisconsin
California
Colorado
Oklahoma
Illinois
DC

Varied professions:

Healthcare administration
Architecture/Planning
Accounting
Mechanical
IT
Project Management

Some degreed, some not. All were able to find work elsewhere when they couldn't here. A couple of them were homeless with degrees while here in Atlanta.

[Twenty Five]

Originally Posted by testa50

She's not certified in Georgia? And she's been here for two years? My understanding is that once you've got a degree all you really need to do is take the GACE...so take it!

Some teachers I know just randomly take a GACE exam or two every year so they're certified to teach whatever they possibly could get a future job offer for (schools want flexibility in new hires--a bio teacher can also teach a chem class if the district gets in a pinch, that sort of thing). The exams are easy. No reason not to take some.

I would definitely tweak the strategy being used to find a job in this case. Private schools are known for lower pay and worse benefits than public. Education centers...I don't really even know what the dynamics are there.

This. The GACE should have been the very first thing she did when she moved to Georgia to become certified. I work in Cobb County, and even most of the substitute teachers are certified. Even if she didn't want to work as a classroom teacher, having an actual certification would definitely look a lot better on a resume than having nothing.

[CCATL]

Originally Posted by Twenty Five

This. The GACE should have been the very first thing she did when she moved to Georgia to become certified. I work in Cobb County, and even most of the substitute teachers are certified. Even if she didn't want to work as a classroom teacher, having an actual certification would definitely look a lot better on a resume than having nothing.

Agreed. I know teachers from all over the country teaching in metro-ATL...I think saying that they don't hire NYer's is a weak excuse. If she is certified in Georgia, she will have a MUCH easier time finding a job. She either has to get certified for this state, or she needs to go through an alternative certification program, which would depend on what she wants to teach. Regardless of where she moves to, if she doesn't get certified for that state, she will have a difficult time finding a job. Finding any job is difficult, no matter where you are - but it is even more difficult if you don't take every step necessary to make you stand out among the many other applicants.