Just how hard is it to get a job in Denver right now? (Craig: home, buying)

[denverian]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Maybe that's true in IT, but I haven't found that to be true at all in my field (accounting/finance) and at my level of experience (recent college grad entry level). I actually got blown out of a number of jobs because I was told my salary expectations were too low. So after having this happen to me a number of times, I decided to quit giving lowball numbers and just gave my salary at my last position, which was respectable for the position and level of experience. It seems like for almost all the positions I interviewed for (and like I said, IT may be a completely different story), true openings are indeed far and few between, however the salary levels have remained pretty consistent. At least in Denver. Strange as this may seem, from my own experience and from anecdoctal experience of my friends and acquaintances, the pay rates for entry level college grad types of positions seem to be higher in Denver right now than in southern California. Go figure?

The company I worked for in Orange County has the same entry level wage offering (cust. service, receptionist type jobs) today as it had in 1996! That right there tells you where this economy has gone.

[Ziasforever]

Denver; extremely high demand for relocation = lower wages even if there's lots of jobs.
I still don't understand the attraction of the pollution fog over downtown.

[Snikt]

Originally Posted by Ziasforever

Denver; extremely high demand for relocation = lower wages even if there's lots of jobs.
I still don't understand the attraction of the pollution fog over downtown.

Some people might say Denver but like me for example I wouldn't want to live in the city itself. I'm pretty happy with the Littleton / Highlands Ranch area. On the very south end so I can escape to rural areas quickly and still get into downtown if I want in 20-30 min or just hop on the Littleton RTD

This area blows Central Florida out of the water I can tell you that

[vegaspilgrim]

Originally Posted by Ziasforever

Denver; extremely high demand for relocation = lower wages even if there's lots of jobs.

Ziasforever, I've been hearing you say this dozens of times already. Lower wages compared to WHERE?

[Ziasforever]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Ziasforever, I've been hearing you say this dozens of times already. Lower wages compared to WHERE?

I'm comparing it to everywhere. In June, I interviewed for a job in El Paso county. It was a systems analyst job (IT). I checked out a comparable job in Amarillo, TX the actual dollar amount was 20% higher there. Conversely, I also interviewed for two different positions in two different cities in mountain Colorado. One was a help desk position and the other was a network/WAN administrator. The WAN admin job actually paid 30% less than the help desk job. Usually the WAN admin makes twice or three times as much as a help desk tech. The help desk job pay was comparable to Albuquerque wages but when you factor in the cost of living, it would probably translate into a 30% discount in CO. This has been in the last 3 months. I also interviewed for a position in CC in Feburary. I've done or I'm doing all these things I've interviewed for not because I'm smart but I've been in the IT field for so long it used to be called Data Processing.

You can read in the general forum about a librarian who wants to relo from OK to Canon City. Florence was looking for a 3/4 time director at $12.50 an hour. The director where I'm at makes almost 2 times the hourly wage fulltime for a comparable sized area. Even in Lubbock or Las Cruces or Tuscon or even Austin the wages are higher for someone who has a MLS.

Lastly, I transferred to Denver from Shreveport in 2000 with my employer. 10 years ago, gas was 1.45-1.60 per gallon in Shreveport but $1.70 to $1.99 in Denver. There is/was a gas station on Lowell north of I70 in Denver where I saw gas pass the 2.00 per gallon mark. Of course, back then, you could wait in a long line for gas at the TA in Commerce City and only pay a buck fifty per gallon for it. A pound of gala apples back then in the Denver stores was 1.09 to 1.19 not on sale. I went into a Safeway and King Soopers to compare some produce prices before I moved there. The same apples in Shreveport were .99 cents not on sale. I got what I thought was a significant raise (15%). It turned out to be less money in terms of living. Even less so when I lived in the FC area. The main reason I got the job is because I beat out a similarly qualified person from outside the organization from Ohio or Pennsyvania whom was asking for 10 or 15% more than what I started at in Denver and that was over the payscale for the position not because I already worked there.

People will pay more and work for less to live in Colorado. At least that's been my experience and let's not forget the depression we're in. I don't see a whole lot of jobs in my field in the Denver Post unless it is for some obscure skill set. I could keep going but that's getting off topic.
Where's Jazz-mo when I need him?

[TheNewGuyInTown]

Hello
I'm currently living in Ethiopia (Africa). I and my wife won a visa lottery and will travel to Denver on September to our relatives. I'm desperately looking for any kind of job through internet so far I found nothing. I am totally new to the country and I am not sure I am looking for the job in the right way or place.

I and my wife have a degree in Statistics and I have another degree in Economics. We have number of years of experience here working for the government, private companies, research firms and international agencies including UN. We are both on our late 20's. We are determined to work any kind of available job at least we can settle for a while.

Please help, what I should do either from here or after I got there at Denver.
Thank You

[vegaspilgrim]

Tons of people who already live here can't find jobs. Getting hired for a job over the internet while living in another country is unlikely unless if you are recognized as world class in your field. Desperation is not going to change reality.

If your goal truly is to live and work in the U.S., you cannot limit yourself to Denver. You'll need to look at opportunities throughout the entire country (perhaps with a focus on the Washington DC area?), finding an employer who needs someone with your background and skillset who would be willing to sponsor you. Once you have your foot in the door, been here a number of years and are eligible to get a green card, then you'll be able to narrow it down to Denver if that's what you choose.

[vegaspilgrim]

Fort Collins, Canon City, Florence, Colorado Springs, etc, etc, are not Denver. Wages in Denver are significantly higher than the rest of the state, and always have been.

According to an official industry salary guide for the finance/accounting professions, here are a few regional index numbers (100 represents the national average). Food for thought:

Denver 102.5
Colorado Springs 92.4
Fort Collins 92.4
Greeley 83.4
Pueblo 75.0
Philadelphia 115.0
Pittsburgh 95.5
Albuquerque 86.0
New Orleans 97.3
Los Angeles 124.0
San Francisco 135.0
Chicago 123.0
Cleveland 95.9
Columbus 95.0
Cincinatti 96.4
Austin 103.0
Tucson 99.0

The Denver Post is not the place to look for jobs.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by TheNewGuyInTown

I'm currently living in Ethiopia (Africa). I and my wife won a visa lottery and will travel to Denver on September to our relatives. I'm desperately looking for any kind of job through internet so far I found nothing. I am totally new to the country and I am not sure I am looking for the job in the right way or place.

I and my wife have a degree in Statistics and I have another degree in Economics. We have number of years of experience here working for the government, private companies, research firms and international agencies including UN. We are both on our late 20's. We are determined to work any kind of available job at least we can settle for a while.

Please help, what I should do either from here or after I got there at Denver.
Thank You

If you're competent in your field and your visa is a work visa, then stay in Denver, be prepared for 9-18 months while you look for a job in your field. You can probably get some menial work (restaurants) or some temporary agency office/work in the meantime.

When you're in Denver, update your resume with a Denver address, look for jobs on the internet (CareerBuilder.com Jobs - The Largest Job Search, Employment & Careers Site, Jobs.com: Search Job Opportunities. Find Local Job Openings & Listings) and apply for them.

[Ziasforever]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Fort Collins, Canon City, Florence, Colorado Springs, etc, etc, are not Denver. Wages in Denver are significantly higher than the rest of the state, and always have been.

I can't argue that. At all. I made the mistake of getting off track and not focusing on the Denver sub forum. My post should have been in the Colorado general forum.

So one last stab. Computer operations. I had an opportunity in Denver to be an MVS operator years ago. A bank in KCMO had the same MVS operator job at a higher rate as it was in Phoenix but Albuquerque was less but not by much. I even had an offer in Lubbock, Texas at a hospital for more wages although it wasn't much. And there's my previous post about moving to Denver. Back in the 90's MVS operators were in demand. I didn't have job opportunities in all these places but that was the pay that was posted on the Monster Board at the time.

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

According to an official industry salary guide for the finance/accounting professions, here are a few regional index numbers (100 represents the national average). Food for thought:

Denver 102.5
Colorado Springs 92.4
Fort Collins 92.4
Greeley 83.4
Pueblo 75.0
Philadelphia 115.0
Pittsburgh 95.5
Albuquerque 86.0
New Orleans 97.3
Los Angeles 124.0
San Francisco 135.0
Chicago 123.0
Cleveland 95.9
Columbus 95.0
Cincinatti 96.4
Austin 103.0
Tucson 99.0

The Denver Post is not the place to look for jobs.

Salary boards are like the Kelly Blue Book of used cars. You never get close to trade in values for your car. I go by what the employer is offering. I find it hard to believe that Pittsburgh is that expensive given the number of transplants we have here not to mention official census number indicating that the Metro area is dying.

That being said, I will agree that most wages are higher in Denver than the rest of Colorado. I can't argue that. What I still believe is that generally speaking you work for lower wages to be in Denver. You're right the Denver Post is a not a good place to find a job but I have gotten some interviews from applying for jobs posted there before.