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How did you find a job prior to moving? Did you fly in a lot for interviews? How soon did you start applying before you moved?
PP, I began sending out applications in early August of 2009 and received an offer in late October for a January 2010 start, weirdly enough from the first application (of about 15) that I had sent out; so, basically, it took a little less than three months to secure that job (the process was really slow). In late September, I had made a trip up here for the interview for that position and to look at neighborhoods, and I got really lucky that it worked out; however, the offer I received was over 25 percent lower than what I had asked for in the interview, and I nevertheless accepted, which might be one of the reasons they hired me over others. This was for a job in the training/ coaching/ consulting industry requiring a masters-level degree.
My Advice to You: Since DC isn't that far from NY (as opposed to say, Florida) I would sit tight and job search and pay off your dept. I did intern in PR and I know that a starting salary is around $30,000 a year. A lot of jobs are based on networking. Marketing and Communications are very very competitive. I mean who doesn't want to live in NY and have a fun job?
This is good advice. It’s hard to get an entry level job from out of town unless you know someone or are recruited straight out of school. It’s possible, but not likely. You’ll probably have to do an internship. Marketing/Communications is particularly difficulty because it’s a “fall-back” job for people in even more competitive fields, like journalism or creative writing.
All of this brings up the dirty little secret of making it in a “cool” career in Manhattan: class and family money. Many people on this board think people with money spend their days sipping martinis and planning where to go for dinner. This is not true. People with family money use it as a leg-up to land a hot job (that might be prestigious, but doesn’t pay a lot). This applies to all of the jobs that TurtleCreek80 mentioned: “fashion assistant, marketing/ advertising/ public relations, media, film/ photography, museums and art galleries.”
If you can come out of a top school with no debt and have $10K or $20K to get settled in the city and do an internship or two, you have a tremendous advantage.
If you don’t have such advantages, it’s still possible, but you have to be prepared to scrimp, save and struggle. You have to live with a lot of roommates, eat mac and cheese and then hit the pavement. You have to be really driven and preferably young.
All of this brings up the dirty little secret of making it in a “cool” career in Manhattan: class and family money. Many people on this board think people with money spend their days sipping martinis and planning where to go for dinner. This is not true. People with family money use it as a leg-up to land a hot job (that might be prestigious, but doesn’t pay a lot). This applies to all of the jobs that TurtleCreek80 mentioned: “fashion assistant, marketing/ advertising/ public relations, media, film/ photography, museums and art galleries.”
So true! If you ever go on an interview for one of these "prestigious elite" jobs where the hiring manager asks if you have any family in NYC....there's a good chance that they're hinting you won't be making a living wage! Happened to a friend of mine with a magazine "oh, you went to Brown. Do you have any family here? Oh, a sister- great! Would you live with her?" The offer back in 2002 was $16,000 (per year, not per month), if I remember correctly. This was with a top top top Conde Nast magazine.
I started in a retail training program with a prestigious department store. In my little training class of 12, was the former Macy's CEO's daughter, the Bloomingdale's HR VP's neice, the son of an EVP's college roomate, a big time designer's nephew, and a few other well-connected people. Only 3-4 of us got into the program with zero connections.
So true! If you ever go on an interview for one of these "prestigious elite" jobs where the hiring manager asks if you have any family in NYC....there's a good chance that they're hinting you won't be making a living wage! Happened to a friend of mine with a magazine "oh, you went to Brown. Do you have any family here? Oh, a sister- great! Would you live with her?" The offer back in 2002 was $16,000 (per year, not per month), if I remember correctly. This was with a top top top Conde Nast magazine.
I started in a retail training program with a prestigious department store. In my little training class of 12, was the former Macy's CEO's daughter, the Bloomingdale's HR VP's neice, the son of an EVP's college roomate, a big time designer's nephew, and a few other well-connected people. Only 3-4 of us got into the program with zero connections.
Wow this is crazy. In realty.. I'm not completely against living and working outside of Manhattan. Even New Jersey. I just want to live conveniently close to the city where I can hope on a train or subway and be in the city in 20 minutes. I care more about living in NYC than working in NYC.
I got a job first and then moved. We spent at least $10,000 between job hunting trips, moving, an apartment hunting trip, security deposit, first month of rent, prorated rent for 3 weeks, etc. And we did not pay a broker fee.
I care more about living in NYC than working in NYC.
This isn’t an indictment, but this is this sort of attitude that makes New York so competitive. So many people are willing do to anything to live here that it drives down wages for certain jobs and contributes to many people being “underemployed.” That is, working in job that they are vastly overqualified for, like someone with a MA in English being a proofreader.
The challenge is not working in Manhattan, but getting an even tangentially “creative” job in Manhattan. That’s what so many people under the age of 35 want.
Communications/Marketing is not particularly prestigious outside of New York (and maybe San Francisco). It’s “back-office” work and generally not where the money is (especially not big bonuses). Contrary to what many people believe, New York isn’t only about money. It’s also about status and personal fulfillment. A creative job beats a numbers job in most instances (unless you’re at Goldman).
Looks like I have my work cut out for me. Unless of course I win the lottery. Which I still pay regularly.
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