Boston job market too competitive? (Cambridge, Somerville: rental, houses, theatre)

[Shizim]

Originally Posted by notafan

Thanks, interesting and on topic. Does anyone else have any thoughts on Boston being too competitive in terms of the job market? I notice a lot of the replies are getting off topic.

i think its industry specific. if you get a STEM degree you should be fine. If obtaining a masters in something that isn't really applicable (History, English, etc) you are going to struggle.

I work in Banking and the job market is red hot.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by Prytania

I am particularly keen on working in New England (or a mid-Atlantic state). I am a bit different as I am working toward completing my MSc in the UK (I am a US Citizen) however I have been working in a different field for over 15 years (I have some 1-2 year work in my field).

Should I be looking in Boston or recommend somewhere else in the region (public relations, public affairs, communications....I already have 15 years in IT with some paid experience in political campaigns).

The MSc is in Political Communication

A lot of communications opportunities in Boston but also a lot of communications majors vying for those opportunities here as well. This just goes with a politically and economically dynamic city as Boston; everyone wants to stay and work here. I wouldn't rule out Boston at all as it is the capital of our state but I also would not overlook other cities like Hartford, Providence, New York, and especially Washington D.C.

[Prytania]

I will keep in mind most anywhere in New England (and NY).

I am only trying to stay away from DC, simply because I hear the summers are longer than further up north. (I am a native southerner...a bit worried about how my 'accent' will be received up north. The British seem to like it, however I am interested in NE for colder weather, history and better transit)

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by Prytania

I will keep in mind most anywhere in New England (and NY).

I am only trying to stay away from DC, simply because I hear the summers are longer than further up north. (I am a native southerner...a bit worried about how my 'accent' will be received up north. The British seem to like it, however I am interested in NE for colder weather, history and better transit)

Yes, DC's summers are longer than ours but they get springtime earlier too. For instance, I was in DC last April and while the trees were still bare up here, down there everything was already in full bloom. DC's transit system is excellent though; it is much newer than ours and is continuing to grow. Still, if you prefer longer, colder winters, cooler and shorter summers, and a huge dose of colonial era and after American history, then Boston or elsewhere in NE. may be a good fit for you. And no, your accent will not be a problem. There is the occasional transplant from the South up here nowadays. It's not strange.

[Prytania]

Yes I am an Atlanta native (and I hate the sprawl, the lack of history, the heat), lived in New Orleans for 8 years (history is great, the heat and hurricanes not so much).

Hopefully I can manage to start using LinkedIn and whatnot to make some connections in Mass. and see if I can land some interviews.

[redguard57]

Is there a place where finding a job is easy? I come from the jobs "paradise" of Texas and didn't find it easy there either. When I lived in Boston I used the same approach I've always used.

I'm not a very social person so have never been good at networking. My job search strategy was to apply for every job I felt I was qualified and could see myself doing. I would go the Chamber of Commerce - get one of their business directories, and go down the list of whatever companies looked interesting - going to their websites or calling them and see if they were hiring. The Boston Chamber directory is online so that was convenient.

If they had openings and I thought I was qualified I would apply for whatever it was if it paid a living wage - I agree that the ~40K range is good to start.

It's hard work doing that. I put in 8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. After several months of that and hundreds of apps (the most I ever did before accepting an offer was 212 over a period of 5 months), I'd always have at least a dozen interviews and 3-5 offers from that group to choose from. You can't always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need.

And I have bachelor and master's degrees in geography and history, respectively, that are supposedly "useless" to everyone on C-D. Truthfully after your first job no one cares what your degree was in - they care what your experience is.

[notafan]

Originally Posted by redguard57

Is there a place where finding a job is easy? I come from the jobs "paradise" of Texas and didn't find it easy there either. When I lived in Boston I used the same approach I've always used.

I'm not a very social person so have never been good at networking. My job search strategy was to apply for every job I felt I was qualified and could see myself doing. I would go the Chamber of Commerce - get one of their business directories, and go down the list of whatever companies looked interesting - going to their websites or calling them and see if they were hiring. The Boston Chamber directory is online so that was convenient.

If they had openings and I thought I was qualified I would apply for whatever it was if it paid a living wage - I agree that the ~40K range is good to start.

It's hard work doing that. I put in 8 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. After several months of that and hundreds of apps (the most I ever did before accepting an offer was 212 over a period of 5 months), I'd always have at least a dozen interviews and 3-5 offers from that group to choose from. You can't always get what you want but sometimes you get what you need.

And I have bachelor and master's degrees in geography and history, respectively, that are supposedly "useless" to everyone on C-D. Truthfully after your first job no one cares what your degree was in - they care what your experience is.

I admire your job search approach. I had the same militant approach when I was living abroad, and it helped me secure a decent position (combined with luck). I believe it's more challenging in your own home city/town as one can become slightly complacent; particularly if you're not thrilled with the area to begin with. I agree with the sentiment regarding "useless" BA and MA/MS majors. You could have a PhD and it seems it wouldn't qualify to perform data entry for just above the minimum wage, unless you have the requisite number of years experience and VERY specific skill set that employers are seeking.

Boston's job market appears ultra competitive, and very discriminatory in the sense that employers are seeking very highly experienced, highly skilled candidates that can make even the most competent and qualified candidates a bit wary. And as I mentioned before, I am a native.

[timberline742]

I've never lived anywhere where employers aren't seeking highly experienced, highly skilled candidates. Maybe they're out there. I've never been there though. It's competitive in yes that there are loads of highly educated people here, but on the other side, there is tons and tons of hiring in lots of fields and demand for talent is high.

[Tarzanman]

Originally Posted by MidwestRedux

There are a few places that represent a happy medium between the high cost, ultra competitive "world cities" like Boston, SFO, NYC etc. and the stagnant/declining rust belt cities like Milwaukee, Cleveland and the rest of the usual suspects.

I recently moved from the Boston area to Minneapolis, one of the places that I would put at or near the top of the list of "just right" cities.

Minnesota is the only flyover state that regularly makes the top 10 for median per capita and household income:
America’s Richest (and Poorest) States - 24/7 Wall St.

The unemployment rate in the twin cities metro is something like 3.1%. While the workforce is highly educated, the abundance of large corporations and the relatively low cost of living make this a pretty easy place to earn a comfortable living.

Other cities that I think are similar would be Denver, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Charlotte and a few others. These cities have a similar combination of a healthy economy and growing population coupled with a moderate cost of living.

I would argue that just about every large city/metro area in the US falls into one of the three categories mentioned above. At least for the foreseeable future, I think this trend will continue making Boston and the other super desirable places more and more impractical for people of average means.

I live in Atlanta. Though we have had a very recent drop in unemployment (we were above the national average for a couple of years), I think that calling the economy 'healthy' might give a wrong impression in the context of this thread.

Atlanta's economy is still diversifying and it can still tricky to find gainful employment just starting out depending on what you do. There is also the fact that Atlanta has one of the highest income disparities in the country (not usually a good sign for new grads).

I have lived here for a number of years and it has been a struggle for me (STEM degree in hand) to earn a salary commensurate with averages around other parts of the country. Part of that is due to Atlanta being weaker in the particular industry that my degree is usually geared towards... but another part of it is the historic unemployment rate and the ability for many small-to-mid sized employers being able to pay less for labor.

The traditional advice given to people on the Atlanta forum is to make sure that you have a job lined up before moving here.

[Dm84]

Many employees in Boston are underpaid relative to the cost of living here. The unemployment rate doesn't tell the whole story.