Just moved to Fort Collins (Denver, Greeley: how much, home, find a job)

[zcontreras]

Hello all,

I just moved to Fort Collins last week, and am looking for a position as an educator. I have an M.Ed. in Social Studies Education, and have worked for the last two years as a teacher & co-teacher in middle school classrooms. I have applications on file with Poudre, Thompson, and Greeley-Weld districts. Does anyone have any other tips for trying to find a job in education? Would sending packets to the districts help or hurt, given that so many districts want to go paperless.

Additionally, for the time being I am looking for ANY sort of position. I have 2 years of experience as an immigration paralegal and worked as an assistant manager at a neighborhood pizza shop during college. Any ideas about places to look?

Thanks!

[StealthRabbit]

Try all the local private schools too (as well as outlying schools / small towns... My Sis STARTED teaching in Galeton, circa 1974)

For teaching jobs I direct folks to WY or AK. (you could easily commute to Cheyenne... BTDT for 7 yrs)

(Someone is BOUND to say how treacherous the roads are in winter... true... good idea to BE SMART and to have a plan B for those VERY FEW potential days. I lived through it and was NEVER stranded on in an accident.). I have a friend in Ft Collins that has made daily trips to Cheyenne for 35+ yrs.

[sunsprit]

Dropping into that Ft Collins labor pool has got to be a challenge ....

with so many students, graduates who prefer not to leave the area, and folk who find FC agrees with them. All competing for the jobs in hospitality/food service, labor work, assistants of any sort, or any other possible way to earn a living or pay for school/room & board. Lots of qualified people there in the education field, too.

All you can do is play the numbers game at any of the jobs that appeal to you. Get apps out to everybody and anybody with a potential job opening for your skills and what you'd be willing to do for a living.

I'm one of those people who would caution you about trying to do the daily work week commute to Cheyenne. Not only is the ridge a tough place for road conditions, but the respective Highway patrols have taken to closing the I-25 corridor in conditions that wouldn't have them doing so years ago. Nobody gets through when the road is closed these days, even the experienced and well equipped driver who has made the trip previously in similar conditions; the road is closed. Part of the outlook about this is that the Highway patrols have determined that they have higher priorities than risking equipment and manpower unecessarily in some very difficult circumstances; having to dispatch folk into blinding storms to rescue somebody who wasn't prepared for the conditions is expensive and it's a lot less expensive to simply keep everybody off the road until conditions improve. Unless you enjoy the challenge of driving in near white-out conditions on black ice roads and have experience doing so ... it's not a committment to be taken lightly. I've spent some very sporting days on that road with the strong winds/icy road/low visibility that presented with AWD cars or 4x4 trucks. As well, I employed several college kids from CSU in Cheyenne who were unable to make that commute quite a few days during the 2004-2009 winters; even with their AWD cars, I suspect that they weren't as capable/confident drivers as StealthRabbit and decided that they didn't need to risk the trip for their wage hours on those days. With a closed road or the likely prospect that it would be closed, the choice between earning a few bucks in Cheyenne vs staying home in Fort Collins and being able to attend classes later wasn't too difficult.

[barefootmeg]

If school rolls around and you still don't have a job in the schools, I'd recommend volunteering. Make a point of introducing yourself to the principals of whatever schools you volunteer at. Use the online tools with the district to log your hours (so if they want to see how much you've been helping them out, they can look that up). Get to know teachers by working in their classrooms. It's a good way not only to get your name out there, but also to get a feel for the schools and a sense of which ones you'd like to work in. I have a friend that volunteered for awhile and when a position opened up, one of the teachers she volunteered for requested her to fill the open spot. You might also look into working at the Boys and Girls Club. It's another way to get your foot in the door at schools.

[zcontreras]

That you very much for the advice. I am a bit adverse to driving long distances in the snow, as I'm originally from Florida, however I lived a year in Massachusetts and got a bit better at it.

I am definitely checking frequently for new job postings, and have sent resumes to a number of charter schools as well. Hopefully all will pan out. There are a few openings about an hour or so from Fort Collins, and am debating whether that commute is doable for me...particularly in the snow.

Again, thank you for the suggestions!

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by zcontreras

That you very much for the advice. I am a bit adverse to driving long distances in the snow, as I'm originally from Florida, however I lived a year in Massachusetts and got a bit better at it.

I am definitely checking frequently for new job postings, and have sent resumes to a number of charter schools as well. Hopefully all will pan out. There are a few openings about an hour or so from Fort Collins, and am debating whether that commute is doable for me...particularly in the snow.

Again, thank you for the suggestions!

an "hour or so commute" in dry weather is what? 65-75 miles?

In the winter, with road conditions being as variable and challenging as they typically are in average years, this could be a very daunting commute for somebody not well equipped for winter driving (vehicle) or experience with black ice roads. At best, you may still have some days with the major roads closed in the area each winter, which could make getting to or returning from work rather difficult.

Recognize that winter driving in the FC area is rarely challenged by snowfall depth, but slick surfaces which can present with even a minimal amount of moisture freezing in sub-freezing (if not sub-zero) temps.

[Davros]

Originally Posted by sunsprit

an "hour or so commute" in dry weather is what? 65-75 miles?

In the winter, with road conditions being as variable and challenging as they typically are in average years, this could be a very daunting commute for somebody not well equipped for winter driving (vehicle) or experience with black ice roads. At best, you may still have some days with the major roads closed in the area each winter, which could make getting to or returning from work rather difficult.

Recognize that winter driving in the FC area is rarely challenged by snowfall depth, but slick surfaces which can present with even a minimal amount of moisture freezing in sub-freezing (if not sub-zero) temps.

If it's an hour's commute southward, it's very rarely bad enough to be impassable. Can there be snow/blowing snow/ice/etc ? Yeah, a handful of days a year. Can he/she learn how to drive in those conditions with experience ? Yeah. Guy/gal probably should have moved to Denver metro, though, rather than Ft Collins because of there being more school districts in Denver metro, as well as access to public transportation.

[jwiley]

I am sorry but this post just made me shake my head, many of us post to find a job before coming to Colorado, esp fort collins, as your degree is not really that special, almost 2/3 of the city population has a bachelors, and a good portion of those have masters.

Nurses and teachers are not all that needed in the region as all the schools offer teaching and nursing programs and most of their students are not interested in leaving fort collins either, and if you goal is too just take whatever job you can find until you get a job, good luck on that as well, as there are college kids all over willing to take whatever job they can find, and they will probably do it for cheaper as well.

As for commutes, personally I would stay away from the drive to Greeley, Ault, or Eaton from Fort Collins if I were scared of snow and ice, those roads often get worse then I-25 will down to denver. You can look in Windsor, try the schools in Longmont st vrain school district I believe it is. You can also try Cheyenne as less people seem interested in discussing even driving there for a job. If you want just a throw away job, look into some of the phone centers, I know there are a couple in fort collins. I know a couple of people who used to work for center partners, they do not pay all that well, and it is not all that good of a job, but it is a job until you find something else.

[zcontreras]

Originally Posted by jwiley

I am sorry but this post just made me shake my head, many of us post to find a job before coming to Colorado, esp fort collins, as your degree is not really that special, almost 2/3 of the city population has a bachelors, and a good portion of those have masters.

Again, I thank everyone's positive comments and ideas.

I moved here, not on a whim, as so many of the native or longer-term northern Colorado residents seem to think people do. My boyfriend of four years got offered an amazing career opportunity, which meant we had to relocate. I fully realized that this move meant I would likely have to substitute in the districts and have a less-than-ideal job until something better came along. All I was looking here was some advice, which is what I thought the purpose of this forum was, not to judge others' life choices or belittle their accomplishments or education.

Forgive me for sounding defensive, but that was so rude.

[zcontreras]

Originally Posted by Davros

If it's an hour's commute southward, it's very rarely bad enough to be impassable. Can there be snow/blowing snow/ice/etc ? Yeah, a handful of days a year. Can he/she learn how to drive in those conditions with experience ? Yeah. Guy/gal probably should have moved to Denver metro, though, rather than Ft Collins because of there being more school districts in Denver metro, as well as access to public transportation.

Unfortunately, Denver metro was not an option. Thanks for giving perspective on the weather. I'm glad it's likely to only be a few days of those conditions, as when I lived in Massachusetts that was what the entire winter was like