Looking at moving to Little Rock - Harding College

[OK_Bound11]

Many people don't realize is that if you are educated its pretty easy to find a job in Little Rock, even in this economy. The reason is there is not enough local talent, and corporations in Little Rock have a difficult time recruiting people in from out of state because people in most parts of the country would never want to live in Little Rock. As long as your MBA is in one of the fields Little Rock specializes in, you should be fine.

Thanks for the nice reply. I assumed that might be true. To be honest, as long as I can go to church, meet friends, go to shooting range or hunting/fishing every now again, and get out to to ride my mountain big, it doesn't take a big city to make me happy. I personally think that I could easily be happy in city like Little Rock.

If you don't mind me taking this thread in a tangent a little, what industries are prevalent in Little Rock?

[bchris02]

Originally Posted by OK_Bound11

Thanks for the nice reply. I assumed that might be true. To be honest, as long as I can go to church, meet friends, go to shooting range or hunting/fishing every now again, and get out to to ride my mountain big, it doesn't take a big city to make me happy. I personally think that I could easily be happy in city like Little Rock.
If you don't mind me taking this thread in a tangent a little, what industries are prevalent in Little Rock?

Healthcare is the big one. Beyond that, telecommunications, IT, engineering, and marketing are big. Keep in mind it is a small market so there isn't a huge amount of jobs except for in healthcare, but there also isn't a huge amount of job seekers either. I am usually pretty hard on Little Rock on this forum when people from big cities come in here asking how they will like it, but from what you've told me about your lifestyle, I think Little Rock will be a perfect fit for you. Church, outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing, etc are staples of life in Central Arkansas. If I were you I would work in Little Rock and live in Saline county. Most transplants in Central Arkansas live in Benton, Bryant, Maumelle, Conway, or Cabot. If you land a killer job, West Little Rock might be for you.

[clint.rankin]

I went to Harding University for undergrad and for my M.B.A. I am not conservative, and still found it to be a great environment. Based on the conservative nature you have defined yourself by, you should love Harding. There are all kinds of people there - those we drink and those that dont. Searcy is a small town, but not far from Little Rock. However, there is a great community there. If you are Church of Christ, there are plenty of churches in both Little Rock as well as Searcy that have a large number of young adults. So, going to the bar would not be required of you. Job placement is pretty high for Harding. I am not employeed at the moment b/c I am in law school now. Good luck!

[RayZorback]

Have you checked into the University of Arkansas? I graduated from the U of A Business School and I really enjoyed it. MBA's from there have an easy time finding a job working for a major corporation dealing with Walmart. The U of A seems to be focused on the "corporate" jobs vs the small businesses. Most colleges do the same thing, but Walmart has asked the U of A to include certain classes and electives that give a U of A grad a leg up on the competition from other colleges.

Just FYI.

I don't know much about Harding, but my wife is from LR and I grew up just south of LR. It's an "OK" place in my opinion. We really love NWA though. It seems to be a very conservative area. We attended Fellowship Bible Church & LOVED it! I didn't like it at frist because it was so big, but when we got involved in Community Groups, that made all the difference in the world!
There are more "natural" things to do up there and we are huge Razorback fans. (I even know a few Canadians in NWA -- but I try not to hold it against them. )

Wherever you decide to go, just remember: if you do an incredible job, you won't have to get involved with the politics. If you slack on the education or the job, advancement and promotion in your field will be all about "who you know".

[kfaulk1]

I have heard many wonderful, positive things about Harding! Searcy is a nice place as well.

[ashleyette]

Hello! I grew up in Searcy and graduated from Harding with IT and accounting degrees. Harding is a great school full of all types of people. The professors genuinely care about their students. Most of all there's no goofing off at Harding - you will earn your degree. I had no problem finding a job, but that was in 2006. Harding is known for finding their students jobs, though.

Searcy is in a "dry" county, meaning alcohol is not sold in stores or served in restaurants, so many people have found they can have fun without the involvement of alcohol.

The great thing about Arkansans is that most of us are down-to-earth and super friendly. You shouldn't have a problem fitting in.

Lastly, Searcy is about an hour away from Little Rock, so if you're going to Harding, you'll probably want to live in Searcy. That was probably your plan, but I thought I would mention the distance.

Good luck with your decision-making.

[northbound74]

Harding is generally regarded as one of the better universities around. It gets on those 'top 100' something-or-other lists by Newsweek regularly. I know people who went there and they all seemed to love it. Not just liked it, but loved it.
It's always surprising to me how little people in Arkansas know about the school. Then there's the overly conservative stereotypes, some of which are true, and some are not.
Little Rock's job pool is pretty limited to a few key industries. If you're not in one of them, jobs can be hard to come by. If you are in one of them, you could do worse than Little Rock.