moving to vegas from PA

jmb8283 · 11-04-2007, 07:50 PM

Hey JFK thanks for the advice. I'm at a tough part in my life right now, not going to college out of high school, getting engaged and having that fall apart, and now not knowing what to do or where to turn. I appreciate the advice and hopefully I can figure something out. Thanks again to everyone who responded!!!!!

LIS123 · 11-04-2007, 09:30 PM

I would recommend first deciding what you WANT TO DO and then seeing where you can find a meaningful position in that field. If more than one place opens up, then decide. I would certainly not recommend moving to Vegas without a more definitive plan. If Finance is the field you think is right for you, go to the best undergrad Finance program you can and then try to find a job (hopefully, you'll have internships along the way). I don't know much about Penn State, but I'd imagine the undergrad Business program PSU is certainly better than at UNLV.
If you look through these forums, you'll see that the economy in Vegas is not that well-diversified. There are many service jobs, but they tend to be jobs vs careers. Related fields (construction, electrical, etc) can be in demand as well, though this is not the right time for them. It seems people run into trouble when they move to Vegas b/c they 'like the city' and aren't exactly sure what their purpose is when they arrive there. It appears that one can easily have a rewarding career in the Education and Healthcare fields in Vegas, though this is the case in many (if not most) other major metro areas as well. Finance is clearly not one of Vegas' strengths.
It's unfortunate what happened in your personal life. My best advice is focus on yourself. That's why they call it taking care of numero uno. Once you get your own life together, you'll be more confident and outgoing, which will make it easier to find someone.

olecapt · 11-04-2007, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LIS123

I would recommend first deciding what you WANT TO DO and then seeing where you can find a meaningful position in that field. If more than one place opens up, then decide. I would certainly not recommend moving to Vegas without a more definitive plan. If Finance is the field you think is right for you, go to the best undergrad Finance program you can and then try to find a job (hopefully, you'll have internships along the way). I don't know much about Penn State, but I'd imagine the undergrad Business program PSU is certainly better than at UNLV.
If you look through these forums, you'll see that the economy in Vegas is not that well-diversified. There are many service jobs, but they tend to be jobs vs careers. Related fields (construction, electrical, etc) can be in demand as well, though this is not the right time for them. It seems people run into trouble when they move to Vegas b/c they 'like the city' and aren't exactly sure what their purpose is when they arrive there. It appears that one can easily have a rewarding career in the Education and Healthcare fields in Vegas, though this is the case in many (if not most) other major metro areas as well. Finance is clearly not one of Vegas' strengths.
It's unfortunate what happened in your personal life. My best advice is focus on yourself. That's why they call it taking care of numero uno. Once you get your own life together, you'll be more confident and outgoing, which will make it easier to find someone.

The guy is about to get an AAS. The probability of an AAS leading to an MBA from Harvard or Wharton is small. So we are talking about "finance" as a trade...not an academic specialty.

On what basis (other than prejudice) do you suggest that PSU is a better Business School than UNLV? My general experience has been that UNLV is up to the level of the CA state colleges. It ain't UCLA but it will hang in there with Cal State wherever.

He needs access to a reasonable employment situation as well as access to a suitable academic environment. Las Vegas probably satisfies the employment need better than 90% of the US college cities.

He may well be a good fit to Las Vegas. In general the best thing is to stay home (or under the economic blanket of home) and get all your academic stuff punched. But once one decides on employment/school las Vegas may well be a good choice.

BradS1 · 11-04-2007, 10:34 PM

Penn state is one of the top schools in that area and seems to be a lot harder to get into than UNLV.

Anyway, you won't have that hard of a time finding a "finance" position in Vegas. Of course this isn't the finance capital of the world where all the bigshots come to get rich but there are plenty of mediocre type positions here. I have been looking for the past month or so for myself and I see them online, in the paper etc...they certainly aren't big time positions but you're not looking for those anyway. I graduated a couple years back and I'm still figuring out what I wan't to do so the middle of the road jobs are ok for me now b/c of the experience you gain from them. Once you are a seasoned professional you may have to go elsewhere to further your career but I think it's fine to start off here.

jmb8283 · 11-04-2007, 11:02 PM

That's all that I want to do is finish school and get a start out there. Wherever it leads to from that, well it's a long way away so i'll figure it out then. I just want to try something new and get away from the Northeast for a while and I just feel vegas is the spot I want to give it a shot in.... As long as I can get my degree from UNLV and have a decent job i'd be perfectly happy, if it leads to bigger and better things, great, if not at least i tried....

jmb8283 · 11-04-2007, 11:08 PM

What i'm trying to do is go somewhere to finish school, get away from everything up here and start somewhere. I'm trying no to think more than 5 years from now. I figure 2 years to finish school, 3 years to work and the whole time just take in the whole experience of moving away to a big, fun city. Whatever happens with my career and life after that, like i said i'll take it as it comes....

LIS123 · 11-05-2007, 08:26 AM

If you have a more casual/flexible attitude about what you'd like in the next few years of your life, then Vegas should be fine. You can certainly finish up at UNLV and find
part-time employment while studying. There should be FT jobs available once you graduate. Good luck!

lava5000 · 11-18-2007, 01:17 PM

I would finish your degree in PA and then see if you want to move here. There are so many amazing schools there. Why not go to a school in Pittsburgh of Philly instead of Penn State?