Portland - High Paying Job Market (real estate, high income, to live in)

[RandomGuy1776]

I will potentially be moving to Portland from a similar sized city and would like to avoid too steep of a drop off in salary. I was hoping some experienced hands could help me out with a couple questions:

1. Is there a supply of $100k plus jobs in the city?
2. Is there a market for driven people happy to work 50-65 hours a week?
3. Would the market grow for someone willing to work 65+ hours a week?
4. What fields have the best supply of high paying jobs?
5. Would someone interested in hard work and being "driven" or ambitious be extremely out of place?

To be clear, I prefer a good life style to my career, but if available I'd like both. I have no interest in moving to NYC, Chicago, Boston, etc. just to have a 70 hour a week and $100k plus job. However, I value hard work and enjoy having a good income, so I wanted to see if it would be possible in Portland to both enjoy lifestyle and hard working / high paying career. Also, I'd happily work 30-40 hours a week for the same salary (or 15), I am just assuming that won't exist.

Thanks for any insight, much appreciated!

[bler144]

Broadly speaking, it's not a high-income city like NYC/Chicago/Boston/SF or even Seattle where 100k jobs just float around waiting to be plucked.

I'm sure there is some demand for people who work 50-65 hours and think the threshold for "working too much" magically comes in at 70 hours, but on the whole it's really not that kind of market.

Edit - though I suppose the initial response should have been a question back to you: What are your skills/what line of work are you in?

[MN_Ski]

I do not live in Portland, but recently went through the application process at a few companies in the city.

The thing to remember about Portland is that the city grew in popularity because of it's lifestyle. It's a laid back, casual city where people have come to escape the 60 hour work week and high salary lifestyle. From my impression of companies I applied with, they seem to have generally been about work/life balance, and because of the demand in the market, lower salaries.

[RandomGuy1776]

bler144 - my background is legal and natural resources business. I'd say my best field there would most likely be natural resources or real estate.

[bler144]

Mmm...personally can't really help you much on that score without researching it, which I'm probably not liable to do this week. And presumably you could do easier than me anyway since you could look at job postings and see what is/isn't in your wheelhouse.

I'd wager other posters have at least some familiarity with your field, so sharing might still yield knowledge from the hive mind.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

High paying jobs in Portland? I'm sure there must be some, somewhere. Portland isn't known as a high wage city.

Actually my son makes over $100,000 a year driving a truck. Not in Portland, but his company has a branch in Portland and my son says they pay more in Portland but unfortunately, that means you have to live in Portland, which he won't do, not even for the higher salary.

I know investors in Oregon who make over $100,000, but that doesn't work unless you have the initial money to invest.

There must be websites somewhere that have high salary jobs posted. Or maybe contact a corporate head hunter?

[bler144]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

Or maybe contact a corporate head hunter?

Head hunter crossed my mind as well, esp. if the OP has a pretty good resume.

[RandomGuy1776]

All - thanks for the prompt answers!

I guess rather than looking for specific jobs I wanted to gauge whether it is common or not for people to find high paying jobs and be driven in their careers. Job posting sites don't really give a good sense of the personality of a city.

I get the sense that the mainstream stereotype of Portland would be that it is more life style oriented in the work/life balance. My own experience is more hanging out at Saturday Market, Chinatown, and at the Waterfront, so I do not have a sense of the professional landscape of the city.

I guess I'd like to know if there was the opportunity to buck that trend and if I would be alone doing it, or if there is a decent sized minority that is more/equally concerned with the fate of their business/career than the restaurant scene or where they going hiking that weekend (no judgment at all here).

Don't get me wrong, I will certainly aim to be hiking/skiing/biking every weekend and enjoy the great food. I am just trying to get a feeling for what is out there options wise and the personality of the city's professional population.

[bler144]

Originally Posted by RandomGuy1776

a decent sized minority that is more/equally concerned with the fate of their business/career than the restaurant scene or where they going hiking that weekend (no judgment at all here).
.

Many restaurant owners are concerned with both their business/career & the restaurant scene. Doesn't have to be one or the other.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Oregon can be laid back and outdoors oriented, but it doesn't matter where you go in the world, there is a layer at the top that is driven to succeed. They exist in Oregon also, but it is not a matter of simply luckily obtaining that job at that salary. You won't get that job unless you are also a driven, hard working, motivated person.

Any successful business owner is going to be driven to success, otherwise his business wouldn't be successful.

You want to hang out at the Saturday market and the waterfront and still make over $100K a year. I'm not feeling the optimism for you.

Yes, the high income job holding people in Oregon do get out fishing and maybe they occasionally get to the markets, but that only happens when there is some free time. There are very wealthy people who live in Oregon who do a lot of outdoor sports and lifestyle activities, but their income comes from a more passive investment, which you could do, but you need a lot of money to invest if your money will support you while you don't work.