Working at PSU University Park (State College, Hershey: house, employment, law school)

[dscans]

Hi all,
My wife and I are planning on moving to PA within the next year. One of the places we are considering is State College as we have some family there. I know there isn't too much employment other than the university so I have been scanning their web site for jobs. While there are many jobs in my field that I am qualified for, they are only funded for one year with "excellent possiblity of re-funding."
Does anyone know how often these are refunded? I don't want to move to the area and be out of a job in a year. Since there are many different departments offering similar jobs, I'm wondering if it is possible to bounce around from one department to the next once a job is up. Would they be more likely to hire from within?
Any other advice on job hunting, or what is like to live in this area would be appreciated as well.

[dscans]

wow, I guess I asked a really hard question. I figured someone here from the State College area must know someone who does/has worked at the university.

[SteelCityRising]

There aren't many State College area members on this forum, but I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. I've been to PSU many times to visit old high school friends, and each time I return I never want to go back "home." The town is truly extraordinary.

[LetsGoState]

Hi,

My husband and I moved to the State College area almost 5 years ago, when he retired from a government job in MD. I've been working at Penn State in one of those "excellent possibility of re-funding" jobs for almost 4 years, and I've had no problems with the annual renewal of my contract. I think job prospects are good at the University, and if you wish to move to another department, employees get first shot at open positions before they are announced to the public. After coming from metropolitan Baltimore, I found salaries to be surprisingly low at PSU, but benefits are great (with a 75% tuition discount for family members, a generous number of vacation days, and Christmas week off for everyone). Living expenses are much cheaper here than in Maryland (we sold a 20-year-old four bedroom house on half an acre in MD for $409,000, and bought a brand-new 3 bedroom house, on over 7 acres of woods, for $229,000). We live 23 miles from campus, out in the country, but the commute is easy -- it takes only 30 minutes. If you have any specific questions about this area, I'd be glad to answer.

[Rtom45]

Penn State advertises all vacancies "in-house" before advertising publicly. Once you are in the system you have the opportunity to bid on any position within the College. This inculdes jobs at all the campuses, etc. away from University Park. This includes Hershey Medical Center and the law school.

[dscans]

Thanks for your responses everyone. I just received notification from PSU that I am on a short list of potential candidates for a position and I will have to send in some writing samples.
I am, however, leery of moving without my wife getting a job in the area as well. She is applying to some teaching positions in the Bellefonte school district but there isn't much else being advertised in the area.