Getting a JOB in Pittsburgh.....Best Way (West View, Wall: transplants, 2013)

[mbw5100]

From a corporate perspective, your best bet is to start out as a contractor and let it transition into a full-time position. There's no reason for employers to hire a risky resume, when they can get a 6-month trial period out of them first.

[DaisyDaisy]

Pittsburgh hiring news for 5/5 - NEXTpittsburgh

ImaginePittsburgh.com : Find a Job, Build a Life You'll Love in the Pittsburgh Region

http://careerlink.com/jobseeker/sear...urgh&radius=30

http://www.indeed.com/q-Federal-Gove...,-PA-jobs.html

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by mbw5100

From a corporate perspective, your best bet is to start out as a contractor and let it transition into a full-time position. There's no reason for employers to hire a risky resume, when they can get a 6-month trial period out of them first.

My partner has worked as a "permatemp" since 2009. A major Pittsburgh company contracts with his company to provide staffing at a lower cost. Why would the primary employer make him an offer with better pay/benefits if they can continue this incestuous relationship with his sub-contracted employer at a lower cost to them? I will say the primary company is one of the many "big players" that has been taking a beating on Wall Street over the past few years, so I doubt they could even afford to make him a better offer.

The same conundrum applies to me in the Accounting field. Many companies now use Accountemps or Robert Half International to fill their ranks for paltry pay and then just keep renewing/extending contracts instead of making direct-hire offers. Why should I forgo paying my bills to make $9/hr. for a company through Accountemps when I already make more than that not utilizing my degree? My partner and I know many 20-somethings caught in this same boat here of being taken advantage of.

[PghYinzer]

My dept cannot find qualified people to fill positions, however we are pretty niche in what we do. The majority of people in my area started out pretty low at the company and have continually climbed up thru the ranks, but if someone came to us with the experience we need we would definitely hire them off the street.

The best advice I have ever received or given in regards to this is start at the bottom and learn as much as you can no matter what you are working on. The knowledge base you learn at the beginning pays off ten fold later down the road.

There are plenty of entry level jobs in operational areas of local banks where you can gain valuable skills, and then branch out within the company or other firms in the area.

However this plan does not work out if you cannot afford to take a lower paying job due to family obligations or what not.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by gladhands

I know this isn't the greatest job market, and I'm probably a little out of touch, but can't a college grad eek out 30-40k working at a call center or something? Are there not a lot of admin positions and UPMC?

$25k would be a much more realistic salary point

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

$25k would be a much more realistic salary point

Floor or ceiling? That's still better than what I've seen in this board about accountants being paid less than Aldi and Costco cashiers.

[PghYinzer]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

$25k would be a much more realistic salary point

Perhaps I am completely out of touch and live in an entirely different world, but that is well under the base starting for entry level positions that I saw almost 10 years ago.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by PghYinzer

Perhaps I am completely out of touch and live in an entirely different world, but that is well under the base starting for entry level positions that I saw almost 10 years ago.

Then I'm out of touch in the same way. $25,000 a year is $13/hour, or just a bit more than a dollar an hour over UPMC's current minimum wage.

[lprmesia]

I'm a transplant. I relocated here from Toledo, OH (if you want to talk about being economically bleak) about 10 years ago.

I dropped out of high school when I was 16 and obtained my GED when I was 17. Started off in fast food, worked my way up to an Assistant General Manager by the time I was 21. Used this to transition to call center work (bill collector) and made around $9.50/hr plus commission.

Moved here in 2006 and was able to successfully land another bill collector position to get my foot in the door, still making just under $10/hr. I eventually transitioned into a call center position paying around $9.50/hr plus monthly incentives that came closer to $12/hr.

When I applied for a management position there and found the pay to be less than that of a rep, I knew it was a dead end and applied for an entry level position at a Mortgage Services company. Started at $12/hr.

Spent several years in that industry taking on several promotions, eventually earning over $50K/yr before I left last year.

Now I'm a Senior Analyst at a well known local company, doing pretty OK for myself at the age of 32.

These types of opportunities did not exist in Toledo. They do exist here, but you have to apply yourself.

More importantly, I enjoy what I do. Chase job functions, not job titles.

When you align yourself to doing tasks you enjoy, you'll typically put forward more effort and energy into your work and it will show. These types of things will get you recognition and advancement opportunities. Setting a dollar figure or job title goal is kind of like wanting to jump to the top of staircase without taking any of the necessary steps to get there.

[MountainDewGuy]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

My partner has worked as a "permatemp" since 2009. A major Pittsburgh company contracts with his company to provide staffing at a lower cost. Why would the primary employer make him an offer with better pay/benefits if they can continue this incestuous relationship with his sub-contracted employer at a lower cost to them? I will say the primary company is one of the many "big players" that has been taking a beating on Wall Street over the past few years, so I doubt they could even afford to make him a better offer.

The same conundrum applies to me in the Accounting field. Many companies now use Accountemps or Robert Half International to fill their ranks for paltry pay and then just keep renewing/extending contracts instead of making direct-hire offers. Why should I forgo paying my bills to make $9/hr. for a company through Accountemps when I already make more than that not utilizing my degree? My partner and I know many 20-somethings caught in this same boat here of being taken advantage of.

It seems to me that it would be mutually beneficial for a large company to hire qualified individuals to THEIR staff full time directly. They don't, because the networks that are developed within the HR and staffing/consulting company circles can become profitable and beneficial to those individuals involved. Scratch my back and I'll scratch your's kind of stuff. Crony hiring practices.

Out of college, I worked for at large corporation's Pittsburgh location as an IT consultant. The North American headquarters were in Canada, and they used a global IT staffing company to manage all of their IT functions. That IT company then contracted with a Canadian staffing firm to hire consultants. That Canadian firm then contracted with a US hiring firm in North Carolina, who eventually hired me to work at the corporation's Pittsburgh location (and it was a large location). So instead of the location in Pittsburgh just hiring me directly, their corporate headquarters had to pay the global firm (which was probably an astronomical figure), who then paid the hiring firm in Canada, who then paid the US hiring firm, who then paid me. It was, quite frankly, a ridiculous situation. Then, on the site, since the hiring firm did all of the hiring based on a quick 5 minute phone call, it was a total cluster****.

Another negative experience with a different staffing firm was enough for me to never go that route again. You either hire me directly, or find somebody else. Unfortunately, not everyone has that option.