Where am I going wrong?

[MHT]

Originally Posted by Trident

Where are you going wrong? You do realize you are trying to move to Montana, right

What does that mean? I don't get it.

[mthawki]

Trident's attempt at a slam on Simmers I think.

[decembergirl]

Or it could be Tridents take on the cruddy job market here. Especially since Simmers is looking for IT. You would be better sticking to the coasts for computer jobs to be honest. Don't expect to get paid what you are worth here, especially with the State. My husband is IT with State and makes less than $40 a year. Norrup Grummen whatever they are is probably a better bet, especially if you are looking in the Helena area and would actually like to own a home. Not too many state workers can afford housing here on todays salaries. Unless you would like a lovely trailer.

[JoeJoeMan]

First off there are less jobs to be had here in montana - we all know that, But the second thing to consider is that there is fierce competition for those few jobs.
I once, quite awhile back, was looking for a job,any job, I was going from place to place stopping in asking for work. One place gave me the usual "NO" but said the boss would talk to me, "oh good" I thought, so the boss comes out and proceeds to tell me, that he couldn't even get a job for his own kid to work there. I think I muttered something smart back and left.
Anyway my point is, for the most part that, most employers don't need to go very far to find someone, chances are everyone in the office has a dozen friends willing to step over each other for the job. Such is life in the job market in montana.
But everything is not written in stone, my friend got a very good paying job and moved here, he was working for a large national big-box store, and seeked out and got a transfer here.
It can be done.

[GinainOR]

Hang tight. It took us 5 years to find a solid job offer. You cannot move to Montana without a job. We, too, did find that employers were adverse to non-local applicants. I think one of the main reasons was the fact that everyone wants to move to Montana and the idea to many is so romantisized. Employers that we ran into found this scary, that non-local applcants might not knpw what they are getting themselves into.

I recommend being persistent. Be willing to take a pay cut-Montana is a way of life. You have to love Montana or the financial sacrafice might be too much.

Also, searchout employers that are in your industry and pursue them that way-not just places that have job openings available at the time. Again, persitience is key. Get to know the HR Managers. Call monthly. Keep your name fresh in their minds. Scope out the areas where these employers do business and see what your wage would need to be. Prepare, prepare, prepare.

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Jobs for IT can be found in Billings, Bozeman and Great Falls, respectively, and the wages are comparable to any on the coasts.

State IT jobs are on the lowest end of the pay scale. Reason being is that the state doesn't rely soley on IT to make them money.

Other privately held companies in the state pay much higher because they depend on it for their bread and butter, and are willing to pay higher in order to achieve the "for profit" end.

Flipping hamburgers at McDonalds in Bozeman can often times pay more per week than the state allows for their IT employees during the same period.

[JoeJoeMan]

GinainOr Wrote:

Hang tight. It took us 5 years to find a solid job offer.

Wow....who did you know ? It took me 20 years and a college degree to boot.

I would suspect the answer is simple, why should they hire you from halfway across the country when they can hire some local montanan who lives here and they probably already know and really needs a job.
Actually I'd have to say that just about every job I ever got here in Montana, from washing dishes on up to professional, I got because I knew someone, there were also lots of jobs I didn't get where I knew someone to, I guess they just knew the other person better..............such is life.
Another thing about montana, when people do get a good job they have a tendency to hang on to it for dear life, for obvious reasons. So job turn over in the better job market is slow, 'course the kids at the espresso stand are different everytime you stop in.
As a side note......I heard the montana umemployment rate is 2.7 percent, if you can beleive that, I'm sure it's true afterall our politicians told us so, but it is a very misleading indicator even if you do beleive it. Let me explain, first off the unemployment rate is not calculated the same way these days as it use to be, now they only count people that are actually collecting umemployment benifits, and now-a-days, employers have figured out how to get around paying out umemployment benefits, thru use of part-time workers, contract help, etc, plus most jobs pay so litte few people stay and simple quite, thus they are in-elligable to collect, plus the whole dynamics of our economy has changed, ie..working at Wall Mart is not a seasonal job, so no layoffs - you just quite after a while when you get feed up, quite - an you get no umemployemnt $$,
I mean be real, look around you, what do you see younger folks doing for work these days, even your own kids, they go from one lousy paying job to the next. And never collect unemployment, it ain't like years ago working at the mill and getting laid-off, that's not how the montana economy works anymore. Alot of people simple work for themshelves banging nails or what have you, and a lot of government or business jobs now are contracted out, so there's no one to lay off when the work is done, it's a different world out there these days..........in short that 2.7 percent montana unemployment rate is a bunch of crap, more crap feed to you by your wonderfull leaders, if there ever was a depression, I'll bet the unemployment rate would still be 2.7 percent and they'd be telling you what a wonderfull economy it is. Something really smells fishy when your state has a 2.7 percent unemployment rate and you are 11th from the bottom state in the nation as far as pay goes. Sometimes things just smell so bad even government statistics can't cover it up.
Well I've digressed once again..............nite all

[GinainOR]

Wow....who did you know ? It took me 20 years and a college degree to boot.

We actually knew no one special. We did our homework, found employers state wide that were in my husband's industry, and kept his resume and name fresh in their minds until someone gave in. We visited several times a year and got to know Montana. We feel more like Montanans than Oregonians and we haven't even officially moved yet!