California, Oregon or Washington state for upcoming college grad? (San Francisco: job market, school)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by floridaboy92

San Francisco though might be tough to deal with.

Just FYI, the whole San Francisco Bay Area is very expensive. Yes, it's cheaper across the Bay in Oakland, but still quite expensive. You have to commute a long way before the rental costs approach something reasonable, and then you're in a far flung boring suburb and much of the cost savings in rent are eaten up by commuting costs and time lost to commuting (i.e. no life outside working and commuting).

[MountainHi]

You say you have a lot of journalism-related interests and potential directions you could go in. What areas do you have concrete job experience in? That's what will make or break you. There will be stiff competition wherever you go, so you need something on your resume that will cause you to stand out. Photographers and wanna-be filmmakers are a dime a dozen. What have you actually achieved in your field? If you don't have much to say in response to that, now is the time to get that experience to beef up your resume.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by floridaboy92

Hi RosieSD,

Thank you for your advice. I'm looking at the West Coast region in particular due to the fact that I have family on that side of the country, one member whom I'm very close with. I'm staying open minded, but I know I probably am not going to be happy staying in an East Coast state.

That's fine. But the advice still stands: now is the time to be scoping out where entry level jobs might be located.

For instance, Portland is a fantastic city and might very well be a "match" for what you're looking for, but there are very few entry level full time jobs there for writers/creative types compared to other West Coast cities. That's because there aren't a ton of large corporations there, but there are plenty of young people who fancy a "creative career" competing for whatever jobs are available. So research where the jobs are on the west coast, and target your search accordingly. It may be better to head to a more expensive city like SF or LA IF there are more job opportunities.

The advice given by MountainHi is excellent: use the next few months to build a strong portfolio and resume. Even if you already have a decent resume and portfolio, use the time left while you are in school to make both even better.

If you haven't already done so, ask at least one of your journalism teachers to review your portfolio and resume and give you suggestions on how they can be strengthened and improved. Ask if they know anyone on the West Coast that you can contact to do an informational interview with by phone. If you have work or internship experience, ask a former (or current) supervisor to do the same. And, the most under looked office on campus is the Career Services Office. Make an appointment to speak with a counselor there and take advantage of any and all on campus job fairs and other programs for graduating seniors. In short, now is the time to use every contact you have to lay the ground work for your launch.

Good luck!

[Chuck5000]

Nobody has discussed numbers in this thread. You should know how much a typical entry level social media/content job pays (anywhere from 45 to 60k, from what I can see; that's low pay here), how much typical rents cost, and how much a typical share in a typical 3rd tier location (ie. not sf, not expensive outlying, but a level down from that) would be.

Check craigslist.org and look in the East Bay for rentals. Forget SF and San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, although maybe Daly City, South SF or San Bruno could have some semi affordable options. Search on craigslist to get an idea.

Dont' know if it was mentioned upthread, but you should know that they should expect to share an apartment with strangers to afford one. That way you can maybe pay as little as 1200 to 1500 per month.

If you are interested in business and technology, then the social media category could be worth trying. There's not a lot of mobility upwards unless you go into marketing. If you're not too comfortable with business, then you will feel alienated in the SF Bay Area. It's not particularly artsy and chill anymore, that went away a while ago.

If you really are interested in content and tech, unfortunately NYC could be the best place with the widest range of options. but there is plenty here. You might want to geographically look where there's a concentration of industries in your area of interest I'd suggest networking to learn more about if that's a viable path for you.

Did you go to a college with a strong alumni network? If so, that's a place to start networking. Learn to do it; you'll have to, because it's competitive. You paid for this network!

A lot of people want to get into tech, this is one of the few non-technical doors, and you will have to really want one of these jobs to get one.

[floridaboy92]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

Nobody has discussed numbers in this thread. You should know how much a typical entry level social media/content job pays (anywhere from 45 to 60k, from what I can see; that's low pay here), how much typical rents cost, and how much a typical share in a typical 3rd tier location (ie. not sf, not expensive outlying, but a level down from that) would be.

Check craigslist.org and look in the East Bay for rentals. Forget SF and San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, although maybe Daly City, South SF or San Bruno could have some semi affordable options. Search on craigslist to get an idea.

Dont' know if it was mentioned upthread, but you should know that they should expect to share an apartment with strangers to afford one. That way you can maybe pay as little as 1200 to 1500 per month.

If you are interested in business and technology, then the social media category could be worth trying. There's not a lot of mobility upwards unless you go into marketing. If you're not too comfortable with business, then you will feel alienated in the SF Bay Area. It's not particularly artsy and chill anymore, that went away a while ago.

If you really are interested in content and tech, unfortunately NYC could be the best place with the widest range of options. but there is plenty here. You might want to geographically look where there's a concentration of industries in your area of interest I'd suggest networking to learn more about if that's a viable path for you.

Did you go to a college with a strong alumni network? If so, that's a place to start networking. Learn to do it; you'll have to, because it's competitive. You paid for this network!

A lot of people want to get into tech, this is one of the few non-technical doors, and you will have to really want one of these jobs to get one.

Hey Chuck, I attend UCF, the second largest university in the nation. I'm connected on LinkedIn. But at the same time, I feel I can't really connect with a lot of people here for some reason. My professors seem distant and have a ton of expectations from their students (which is reasonable) but at the same time, I'm trying to get over my fears.

I've also gone to my career services facility on campus and they have NOT been helpful whatsoever, so that's why I've turned to forums like these to research and obtain some factual information that could benefit me in the long-run.

I am aware that San Francisco is insanely expensive. California is having problems with the drought, but my family is out there and I want to be near them for a bit. New York is another option, but I would need to find the right "spot" because how enormous that city is. NYC could probably eat me up and spit me out. Has anyone thought of any artsy, college towns around the US that might fit the bill?

[RosieSD]

It's really hard to give you advice about specific places to look since you aren't yet clear about what you're looking for or what the specific skills and experience are that you're offering to employers.

But, maybe this will help. Here is a list of all of the current jobs on Craigslist in all California cities for "social media" jobs. Go through the list, put a check next to the ones that you feel you qualify for and that sound interesting, then start applying. Search Craigslist, eBay, Oodle, Geebo and many others by state. Results for social media

Again, I would also encourage you to do the same with Monster.com and Indeed.com Although Craigslist has a lot of "jobs" advertised, in my experience a lot of the jobs on Craigslist are not always the best in terms of pay/benefits and stability. But, it's a starting point.

By the way, you can search the Craigslist ads for any state by using this site: Search Craigslist by state along with eBay and more. That may help you find the "artsy college towns" that fit the bill.

Good luck with your search!

[RosieSD]

Also, you probably are already planning to attend this presentation, but this looks like a great event in the UCF communications school:

How to Create a Rockin' Résumé
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Don’t let spring break stop you from getting ready for Intern Pursuit. Spice up that resume with faculty member and agency professional Gary LaPage. He’ll share tips on resume and cover letter writing before Intern Pursuit 2016.

How to Create a Rockin' Résumé | Nicholson School of Communication | University of Central Florida Events

Even though it's aimed at internships, I bet you could pick up some good tips for your job search and perhaps you could also contact Gary LaPage for some one-on-one advising as well. While that won't find you a job, it may help you narrow down a game plan for how to market yourself and where to look for opportunities. (And, perhaps an internship on the west coast might be a good jumping off point after graduation. It will at least get you here, and possibly allow you to make some connections).

And, one other thought -- since you have family on the west coast, ask them to put their thinking hats on and start asking everyone they know for names of people who work in fields related to writing/art. Get those names, and see if you can contact a few people to ask what the market is like in that area. While the days of doing informational interviews like this leading to a job are long gone, a few conversations like this may at least give you a better sense of what's out there in your field in the area near your family.

Good luck!

[Phrogg]

Originally Posted by floridaboy92

Yes, I want to stay within the Northwestern coast of the U.S. I've driven through Southern California, and while it is different, I don't think I'd fit in with the customs and stereotypes of that region. And I know California has that "divide" problem where they want to split the state up. Eventually, that will get worse when the drought gets worse over time.

I am going to check into Portland and college towns in Oregon.

I wouldn't get too worried about the state being split up in the near future-- that movement was in the news a couple years ago, but I haven't heard about it since and it never had much momentum to start with. So don't let that stop you from considering Southern California, though if SoCal just isn't your thing anyway then I totally understand.

In Oregon, you might want to check out the college towns of Eugene and Corvallis. For intellectual and artsy there's also Ashland, which is famous for its Shakespeare festival. It has a reputation for being expensive, though.

[Chuck5000]

Sorry I missed that you were already in SF. I stand by the networking prescription (in addition to the portfolio advice you also got.) Try to learn about events in the city where startup people go to - you can learn to "work" such events, or maybe already you're good at this. You might try first to connect with everyone in your class who is into tech/startup world; this would probably be the best first step. Hang with them, find out what they're doing. It's OK if you hang out with engineers; they can lead you to other department heads.

Tech is pretty clubby, so I do think this is a necessary path for you to get over the obstacles of not having an existing network.

Sorry to hear that USF is failing on alumni help; that's pretty disappointing. They charge near-Ivy money, but don't deliver except the patch of dirt in SF proper.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

Sorry I missed that you were already in SF. I

Sorry to hear that USF is failing on alumni help; that's pretty disappointing. They charge near-Ivy money, but don't deliver except the patch of dirt in SF proper.

He doesn't attend USF. He attends UCF (University of Central Florida). He's in Florida, not San Francisco.

But, that does make me think of another possible option to consider which is applying for a graduate program on the west coast. For instance, Univ. of Southern California's communications school has several great 1-year master's programs that are very career-focused. They even have one in digital communications. And, USC grads usually end up with good connections, internships, etc. USF also has a Master's program in professional communication. I'm sure there are other options on the west coast too.

Perhaps a master's is not something that the poster wants to consider right now, but maybe something to tuck away for future reference.

(P.S., Chuck's suggestions for networking are spot on. Networking is key not just for tech, but also for journalism jobs).