Orlando area economy and jobs

[BabyBoomers2]

Gee, this sounds just like living in the Charlotte, NC area!!

Originally Posted by mdesler

To everyone applying for jobs, you need to ask yourself what makes you stand out from all the other applicants. If you don't have the skills or education to make yourself stand out from everyone else, of course you're going to have a hard time finding a job that pays more than $15 an hour. There are thousands of people in Orlando that are just as qualified for the same basic position.

[BabyBoomers2]

Years ago (I'm 59), a person could get a job at a Vet (animal) Hospital as a Vet Assistant with just some prior experience. A person could work as an Accountant with just experience. A person could work on an Ambulance with just some First Aid courses taken. A person could work in a warehouse and drive a forklift with just some prior experience. A person could get a job in Purchasing, Production Control, Inventory Control with just having some experience.
NOT ANYMORE!!!
Vet Hospital requires a Vet Assistant to be Certified.
Good paying Accounting jobs require a Bachelors Degree.
Person has to be a Certified EMT (or Paramedic) to drive/attend an Ambulance now.
Warehouse: Certification on a forklift required.
Jobs in Purchasing, Production Control, Inventory now a lot of times requires an APICS (or other) certification.
Yes, we now live in the day of "Certifications and Degrees"......like it or not! And, if you do get lucky enough to get a job without these two, it won't pay nearly as good.
WOW, has the job market changed!

[Mugatu]

So true, Loveboating. The job market gets tougher and tougher each day. There is really no such thing as "entry-level" jobs anymore. Companies do not want to train new employees anymore. Even $10/hour jobs require "1-2 years exprience" or some form of degree.

What I really hate now is that most job openings require you to give them your "salary requirements" when sending a resume and won't even consider you if you don't. So you have to play a game and guess what you think the position will pay. If your salary reqirements are too high, you'll never get a call. If they are too low, you'll be low-balled into a salary lower than your counterparts. Whatever happened to companies posting what the position pays so I can decide whether it's worth my time applying or not? Everything has become such a game in the corporate world, I can't stand it.

[DailyJournalist]

The job market has become very tough in Central Florida in general, their is definitely a lack of decent paying jobs for many professional fields and blue collar labor is severely underpaid. I have lived in Orlando many years and enjoy living here because I am close to my parents and my 2yr daughter loves spending time with them, but I am going to have to move within the next 6 months to search for better job opportunities in a city with a more diverse economy. Although Central Florida has some niche professional jobs that pay well, the majority of the economy is sustained by tourism, which creates an abundance of low paying blue collar jobs and minimal well-paying professional opportunities. I will most likely be moving to Atlanta soon as it is not far from Florida (so I can visit my parents more frequently) and has a much stronger economy and larger pool of good-paying professional jobs. Both my wife and I have college degrees ( I have a B.A. and an MBA and she has a B.S.I.T) and we cant seem to get past the low 30's salaries. We have come to realization that it will be very hard for us to build our future in a city that has such a lack of well-paying corporate jobs. Many of my friends that moved to other cities throughout the country after graduation are living comfortably and have a bright futures. Central Florida has many beautiful features and attractions, but i would not recommend it for young families trying to make a future, the struggle you have to go through here is not worth it!

[bdpop]

More and more jobs in the Orlando area are now requiring Spanish, especially office type jobs like Human Resources and jobs in the Legal Field. This is not unique to Orlando. I am seeing this requirement in other area as well.