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Are you talking IT as in network admin/support, or IT as in anything related to HW/SW engineering of IT products? I'm in IT product development. Most everyone that I work with has been here since before the tech crash of 2001. We don't see the attrition rate that you're talking about. That appears to be more in the support end of things. I don't deal with those folks at my company. They're too snotty and self centered. KIDDING. I don't deal with them so I have no clue how people in that arena play with each other.
Well I've done primarily consulting work over the last couple of decades, mostly in software architecture and related infrastructure, but that has encompassed everything from low-level programming to data modeling to supporting all of the above to managing all of the above to being the guy that had to make all of the above after everyone else was laid off, so my duties have exposed me to all types. I've worked in probably 25 different organizations since the mid 90's and I have seen some that match what you're describing. Some of them just seem to have created a corporate culture that lends itself to politeness, and on the occasions I've seen it, it transcends more than just the local offices of said organization but you see it in the people that work for the company regardless of geographic location.
But, if I were a techie looking to move here, I would definitely not assume that my work environment is going to be filled with nice people or that I'll be as fortunate as you've been. Wandering about town, or even my immediate neighborhood, I do find people to be nice in general. But in many technical environments, things can get quite intense. Hats off to those who have found an oasis of politeness in all this.
If the unemployment rate in NC is 8.8% doesn't that mean 9 out of 10 people have jobs? In Wake county it's 6.6% (May 2013). The national average in July was 7.4% so Wake county is actually doing better than the national average. It sucks when anyone is out of work but I think your argument of "the majority" is struggling to get an interview doesn't match the numbers.
I don't imagine it would be too difficult to find part time work for a newly retired able bodied willing to do anything type would it? Anything. Walmart greeter cashier anything.
WalMart greeter is a highly sought after job. Who knew?
If the unemployment rate in NC is 8.8% doesn't that mean 9 out of 10 people have jobs? In Wake county it's 6.6% (May 2013). The national average in July was 7.4% so Wake county is actually doing better than the national average. It sucks when anyone is out of work but I think your argument of "the majority" is struggling to get an interview doesn't match the numbers.
The unemployment figure reflects the percentage of workers who are actively seeking work. It doesn't count those who have given up, are underemployed and want to be working at a better paying job in their field, etc.
The majority of people may be working, but the majority of those seeking work may be struggling to get an interview.
well, it is true that as of ~15 months ago our local unemployment rate was stagnant because there were more folks moving here than job being created.
and it "seemed like" 1.5-2 years ago that folks were un/underemployed elsewhere and moving here for Shangri-La based on either 5 year old news articles or, in the last 12 months, new "best places" lists.
The unemployment figure reflects the percentage of workers who are actively seeking work. It doesn't count those who have given up, are underemployed and want to be working at a better paying job in their field, etc.
The majority of people may be working, but the majority of those seeking work may be struggling to get an interview.
"Underemployed" and "I wanna make more money" are two crippling pseudo-ideologies that should stay out of mainstream discussion of the unemployment stats.
You are either working, or you are not working and looking for work. The latter is what unemployment is, and what unemployment discussion should be centered on.
My latest tack on warning "have a job before you move" is simply not to bother offering it. People will do what they want to do. Moving here without a source of income and subsequently not finding work and having to bail is, to me at least, just one more life lesson to be learned. It sucks, yes, but I believe in letting people make mistakes. Maybe I'm just callous.
That said, I'm sorry to hear things didn't work out for the OP. It's smart of you to get out before you complete wreck your savings.
When my husband was unemployed for years, he was perfectly willing to accept work way below his pay grade. We had scrimped and saved before. We could have done it again. But companies generally refused to hire anyone making a higher salary, claiming that the person would just up and quit when the economy got better. Unfortunately, we haven't seen the economy improve very much since 2001. This "jobless recovery" nonsense is a joke.
Some companies wanted to hire someone fitting a certain profile. I've often mentioned the hiring manager in Raleigh who told my husband to his face that she was hiring a woman for the job, regardless of a male candidate's qualifications. Period. I guess she didn't like men very much, or the company was pressuring her to do so? Dunno.
So many companies played games. So many. IBM was one of the worst when my husband was job-seeking. Three times they told him he was practically in. Three times they never bothered responding after a certain point. Not even a "drop-dead" letter.
Many companies age-discriminated. My husband found dozens of those. Over-35 meant obsolete. Doesn't matter if you DID keep up your certs. Many didn't want to pay for older workers because they felt that older workers would put a strain on their health insurance and take more sick days.
Some hiring managers loved bandying the words "looking for a great fit". Problem is, what makes a great "fit" is very hard to ascertain. We were convinced that some hiring managers turned people down because they reminded the manager of someone in his or her past, or the manager didn't like people of a certain height or body shape. Or the manager didn't like Yankees. Really. We never could figure out what constituted a "great fit".
And yes ... Heaven helped you if you were unemployed for more than a year. You were obviously garbage. No matter what, you were garbage.
Oh, and my husband had an extensive network and many sterling recommendations. Unfortunately, many of the people he networked with retired, had very selective memories (he helped several of them get a job when they were out on their butts, but they never bothered to try to do the same for him), or tried to help, but the hiring managers blocked their efforts.
Add that to offshoring, companies that are spooked by the economy and are working with skeletal staffs (even though the workload stresses the few personnel in the company), businesses becoming more automated (oh, it's sometimes so much fun trying to talk to a live person on the phone!), etc. etc. and I'm finding it amazing if many people over 35 who are not doctors, lawyers or CEOs can even FIND a job here. Sorry, Mike ... I cannot even vaguely share your positive outlook.
So I do confess that when someone is posting starry-eyed posts about moving here on this forum, my first reaction is indeed "BEWARE!" It's a reflex with me now. I don't want people going through the same thing we went through.
I couldnt agree more with this. I thinking people might want to start thinking that this level of jobs is the new norm.
"Underemployed" and "I wanna make more money" are two crippling pseudo-ideologies that should stay out of mainstream discussion of the unemployment stats.
You are either working, or you are not working and looking for work. The latter is what unemployment is, and what unemployment discussion should be centered on.
Regardless of what you personally believe should or should not be part of the discussion, the guy with B.S. in Biology who is working at McDonald's is not counted in the unemployment stats. However, he is still applying for biology jobs and is still in competition with those who are in the unemployment stats looking for biology jobs.
There are a plenty of folks who got laid off in the recent recession who ended up taking jobs that paid less, some in other fields. "I want to make more money" is not a crippling pseudo-ideology. Where do you come up with such nonsense?
People make the best of a bad situation and many are applying for better jobs, because, yes, they want to make more money, work at jobs they love.
An unemployed person's competition for jobs is not just the other unemployed folks in the stats, but all the underemployed folks who are sending out their resumes, developing their networks, interviewing for jobs.
When we talk, as we are here, about the difficulty in finding a job based on the unemployment stats of an area, we need to keep in mind that not all the competition for those jobs are counted in the unemployment stats.
Man after 7 years of reading this forum all the lectures about how tough the market is and the fabled PhD flipping burgers is getting old.
These posts really do get pointless quick because you end up with a lot of anecdotes and people comparing careers and job markets that aren't really comparable.
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oh yea
