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Old 01-25-2011, 09:49 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
156 posts, read 325,276 times
Reputation: 110

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Hey Guys,

Im trying to find a place to relocate to that works with my skills. Currently I have been trying to get relocated to Denver, CO but their unemployment rate in the last year has worried me. I may also look deeper into North Carolina since I have relatives there but the unemployment there worries me as well.

Im keeping my options open on any place to relocate too. Currently I reside in an area that is basically farm county and most jobs are just through self-employment (Chautauqua County Western NY). We only have prospering businesses from the months of June-August because thats when our summer tourists come in.

My girlfriend along with my cousin have both been to Chicago and absolutely loved it. My cousin has been trying to push me into relocating to Chicago for the last couple years. I never went through with it because I lacked the funds but now I have roughly $10,000 saved up to get me moved somewhere and to find some work.

I have never been to Chicago, obviously I am going to go out there before I make any type of decision. But, when it comes down to it, me and my cousin have fairly similiar tastes in cities we enjoy so Im taking his advice pretty strongly.

My question to you guys is; how hard would it be to find a restaurant job or any law enforcement work? Within the last couple days I have applied to roughly 10 restaurant jobs in the downtown Chicago area along with a handful of Juvenile Detention Facilities.

My main goal in life is to either work with troubled youths as a probation officer or a couselor and work my way into Adult Probations. I have a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology. I also interned with my local Sheriff's Office during the Summer of 2009.

Illinois Department of Corrections seems to have ample career opportunities in my field (I believe quite a few jobs I am interested in require you to be a Illinois Resident which hinders my abilities to apply for those positions).
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Old 01-26-2011, 03:24 AM
 
588 posts, read 1,795,824 times
Reputation: 514
To be a Police Officer in this area (which I am), it is very competitive. The ratio for both Chicago and the Burbs is you have about a 1 in 100-200 per person testing chance of making it. Right now most suburbs are on a hiring freeze and Chicago just tested, don't expect another test from them for at least 3-4 years. The Chicago-land area will NOT be good for any LE related field with budget cuts on the municipal, county and state levels. A decent number of PD's have even laid off Officers. So these Officers will be first to be called back, or if a PD is hiring Officers, now quite a few PD's will hire the laid off guys since they are certified and trained.

Non-sworn positions in Probation, etc. are pretty low paid and it will give you no preference in being hired later as the Police. I'm talking in the $10 an hour range. Often you work in crappy condition with crappy resources and have a high burnout/turnover rate for the jobs. I'd honestly wait tables and try to get myself working at a higher end restaurant before ever dealing with any kind of Juvi Prob work.
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Old 01-26-2011, 12:36 PM
 
60 posts, read 73,842 times
Reputation: 33
Becoming a police officer without knowing someone inside the department would be nearly impossible. Even if you moved here, the odds of it at your age are almost slim to none.

You can get a restaurant job anywhere, but will you be making more than $20,000 a year? Unknown, and even with $10,000 saved up - that isn't very much in Chicago. There are condos in my building that rent for $13,000/month which isn't an example of the average rent here - just to point out that Chicago is not an afforable Midwestern City. Living in River North, there is 12% tax on goods - it makes everything 12% more expensive than it normally would be.

With $10,000 saved up, you would be better off moving to someplace with a low cost of living like Raleigh, NC.
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Old 01-26-2011, 03:29 PM
 
588 posts, read 1,795,824 times
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The whole "you need to know someone" to get on a Department is somewhat of an urban legend. I'm not saying at times it doesn't help, but certainly if you are qualified, no juice is needed. Over my career I've been hired by 2 PD's with knowing no one, and have been high on every list. I also have turned down 3 other PD's through my career because I choose to go with the other places. In my life I've tested for 7 PD's and basically could have got a job with 5 of them, with zero juice. Right now the problem is basically no one is hiring due to budgets. For Police jobs now, you need to go to more of the "Red States" in the south/southwest. PD's are still hiring in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico area in decent numbers. Police and Fire jobs in Chicagoland will be stagnant for a few more years.
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Old 01-26-2011, 07:57 PM
 
Location: Chicago
4,085 posts, read 4,318,773 times
Reputation: 688
Quote:
Originally Posted by JDBattleMC View Post
Unknown, and even with $10,000 saved up - that isn't very much in Chicago. There are condos in my building that rent for $13,000/month which isn't an example of the average rent here - just to point out that Chicago is not an afforable Midwestern City.
What do you live in the Trump Tower? Why even mention a figure like that when 99% of condo rentals in Chicago are five digits less than units in your building?
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Old 01-27-2011, 08:05 AM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,142,617 times
Reputation: 6321
The press seems to think business travel is picking back up, which means Chicago's restaurant scene should be improving over the next year or so.

You didn't say what aspect of the restaurant business you have experience in, but if you managed to get a waiter position in a decent downtown business-class or better restaurant you could make enough to live on as a single person pretty comfortably. If you got in to a good restaurant, making over $50k/year isn't out of the question, although don't count on that happening immediately after arriving here.

That would give you enough money to live on and you could look into getting a masters in psychology or at least counselling, which would be a lot more applicable to what you want to be doing long-term than your current bachelor's degree does. Sociology is not a substitute for psychology.
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Old 01-27-2011, 05:45 PM
 
Location: Denver, CO
156 posts, read 325,276 times
Reputation: 110
Thanks for the advice everyone, Im thinking Chicago is a little out of my price range and I am going to stick with my initial plan of going to Colorado. I also dont believe the myth that you need to know someone within the department to get hired, unless the department is severely corrupted. I know countless friends of mine who have received police work in states they have never visited before. I have a strong belief that I will be able to get police work in Colorado without knowing someone within the department.

As far as restaurant experience goes, if I was to go to Chicago, I have worked at 1 3 star restaurant as a Seafood chef (scallops, lobster, stuffed flounder/haddock/tilapia/, crabs, shrimp, scampis, etc). I also have experience in running "the line" by myself (not at a fancy restaurant (Wing City Grille) but a restaurant that serves over 800 people on any given weekend night). Im skilled in poulty, meat and seafood cooking. I have also worked large wedding banquets during my restaurant gig. I guess to sum it up, I have ranged from cooking your basic chicken finger all the way up to lobster. Is this a career I would want to stick to? No, I need something where I am constantly on my toes and doing something different on a daily basis. I just do it because I know im good at it and I used to be able to make decent money (roughly $17 a hour during summer seasons).

O and Emathia: I have been thinking of extending my schooling. I may actually go back and finish up the Bachelors in Sociology, or possibly an associates in Psychology. Im also considering getting certified in Paralegals and maybe an associates in Computer Science. Im just hoping I dont have to do all this schooling and I will eventually get a job thrown my way but who knows anymore
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Old 01-27-2011, 08:31 PM
 
Location: Chicago
4,085 posts, read 4,318,773 times
Reputation: 688
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMan87 View Post
Thanks for the advice everyone, Im thinking Chicago is a little out of my price range
Because of what?
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Old 01-28-2011, 06:53 AM
 
Location: Denver, CO
156 posts, read 325,276 times
Reputation: 110
Just from the advice ive heard on here about tax rates, poor probation officer/juvenile worker salaries and then add on top the lack of police opportunities im hearing from people on this site.
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Old 01-28-2011, 07:06 AM
 
Location: River North, Chicago, Illinois
4,620 posts, read 8,142,617 times
Reputation: 6321
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMan87 View Post
...
O and Emathia: I have been thinking of extending my schooling. I may actually go back and finish up the Bachelors in Sociology, or possibly an associates in Psychology. Im also considering getting certified in Paralegals and maybe an associates in Computer Science. Im just hoping I dont have to do all this schooling and I will eventually get a job thrown my way but who knows anymore
A bachelor's in sociology, by itself, gets you nothing and is not worth the time and effort since you already have a bachelor's degree.

It won't get you anywhere that a bachelor's in crim jus and the minor in soc will get you. Even though both sociology and psychology are social sciences, sociology is not viewed by anyone in the counseling field that I know as in any way a replacement for psychology, counseling or social work training. Paralegals can make okay money after years of experience, or if working for a top law firm (very competitive placement, though), but in general the legal profession isn't exactly doing mass hiring right now and there are so many underemployed lawyers and paralegals around that it would be hard to break into.

As someone who works in I.T., I can honestly say I'm not sure if there is much value in an associates in computer science over, say, several certifications from Microsoft or other brand-name certification. Neither typically gets you into the higher-paying roles without a bachelors, but at least the certifications are usually narrower in focus so you have more of a selling point for specific tech jobs.

In this market, if you wanted to work in technology (at least on the software side of things) a 4-year degree in computer science from a good school would be the best long-term solution because it's most likely to get you in the door someplace where you get the kind of career-molding experience that will keep you employable in the long term. Currently everyone I work with has a BS in computer science or engineering of some sort, and about a third of them have a masters degree in computer science or IS or engineering. I have a BS (it's a bach of science and not art because I was able to combine it with extra math and computer courses, which is why I can work in IT now) degree in Sociology, but I graduated in 1996 and was able to ride the dot-com boom and then get work based on my experience - that's not nearly as easy to do these days. And even then I'm currently working on a masters degree in IS because I think it may be necessary going forward to maintain my salary level.

Honestly, if your desire is to work with troubled youth your best bet, both from a "where can I go from here" standpoint and a "what can I do to earn enough to pay off any student loans and still have a decent life" standpoint may be to get a Masters in Social Work. I think the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC) has one of the best MSW programs in the country, and it's a 2-3 year program. MSW will get you into some counseling positions, as well as a number of other government roles. With a little experience, you could then decide if working in government roles where you get to (try to) help some of the most traumatized youth is where you want to stay, or you could decide to move into the private sector and have a chance at earning in the low six figures as a private social worker.

As far as cooking - three stars from which ratings source?

Last edited by emathias; 01-28-2011 at 07:21 AM..
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