Move to Sac - advice/recommendations? (Sacramento, Roseville: job market, good schools, wages)

[Radiance]

Hello,

I'm 25 and currently planning to move from the Chicago suburbs to around Sacramento (I have friends in the area and would like to live close by). However, I'm a bit anxious about my employment situation. I currently have a good entry-level job (customer service/tech support) and while I do enjoy it, I'm quite lonely out here and really would like to live near friends. I'm partway though my master's in network security; however, since I am taking all my courses online, I figured it wouldn't be much different if I completed it over there versus over here. Some people have advised me that it's better to wait until I complete my MS and get a few years' worth of experience prior to moving, but other than the initial moving expenses and the increased costs of living (hopefully offset by higher wages? not sure), I didn't see much difference. I have been around Sacramento and California in general several times the past few years, and I think I really will be happier if I move.

Basically what I'm wondering is, how difficult would it be for me to settle in and find a job that would support a very modest home/lifestyle? Is my only option just to stay here and wait out those years for experience? Good places to look for employment? (I've had some bad experiences w/ Craigslist and Careerbuilder) And what areas would someone recommend to live in? (someplace cheap and more importantly safe, since I'm female and would be living alone - I've noticed from city statistics that the two seem to be mutually exclusive )

[NewToCA]

Moving out here and finding a job is very easy, employers are begging for employees, and a customer service or tech support job shouldn't be very difficult. Major employment centers are downtown, Roseville (especially around Douglas east of Sunrise), Folsom and Rancho Cordova. Residential choices would probably best be midtown, Folsom and Roseville.

I'm much older than you, but my advice is to jump in. I gave the same advice to my 20 something year old sons, and both moved to LA from Ohio and love it, and found work paying much more than Ohio (and with far greater move up potential).

[KidBlue]

Where do your friends live in Sacramento? Once I know the area, I could give you some suggestions. There are some areas that are less expensive and still relatively safe.

Sacramento has a good job market. It's been rated high compared to other parts of the country. You can check for State jobs at the State Personnel Board Web site at Welcome to the California State Personnel Board. You'll need to get on a list first, but the State is always recruiting for tech. people. You can take a lot of the employment tests online now. There are lots of other smaller companies looking for good people. Have you posted your resume on Monster.com? I've found that job experience is more important than the MS to get started (at least this was true for me) and the MS is important if you want to promote once you get a job. If you decide to take more classes or switch, CSU Sacramento and UC Davis are good schools.

[Radiance]

Thank you for the encouraging responses. I haven't done much in terms of job-hunting yet; I will only have about 1.5-2 yrs work experience by the time I'm hoping to move next year, and I didn't have the foresight to finish with one of those marketable undergraduate degrees (translation: asian studies major). I will probably end up taking more classes at some point in time though.

I do remember looking at the state employment site once before - I will definitely have to follow up on that, since at the time, I couldn't get over my doubts over my qualification for any jobs! Do you think it would be worthwhile to begin seriously job-hunting prior to the actual move? While it would provide much more peace of mind, I had read from other forum postings that unless one possessed some very desirable qualifications, one's chances of being hired over an established local were slim - since I'm really coming off of my first full-time job, I didn't think I had much of a chance!

My friends actually live in Elk Grove; it's a very nice area, but I was afraid the housing costs would be too high for me until I got settled in with a better job. (I could be mistaken, though) Suburbia suits me just fine - I'm not really the type to have an active night life, and I'd love to become part of a nice community. Also, I wasn't entirely certain what other areas were good to start looking for jobs, other than Sac and where NewToCA mentioned. I will probably have a car and don't mind a bit of a commute, so I'm not really ruling out any options until I get a chance go to see the area for myself.

[NewToCA]

Well, I think it is easier to find a job once you are out here. I can only give you the same advice I gave my kids a couple of years ago, and it worked for them. Speak with a local employment agency to see what kind of temporary jobs they have and for which you could qualify. Do temp work when you first arrive, and you can job search much easier when you are already located here. Also, one of the temp jobs could turn into a permanent offer, as it did for my older son.