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It's not always about a degree or major, compared to your experience. If you have a philosophy degree, but have been in a certain field for over 10 years, it doesn't really matter except to a few companies.
You have to answer some basic questions. You have $19K to play with. Do you care about roommates? If you don't want to room with random strangers, and you want to live in a decent enough area, you're looking at over $1K per month for rent.
So if you can't find a job after 6 months, you already blew through $6K or more. And how do you plan to get here? Moving is never easy and never cheap, even if you try to keep it cheap. If you just up and go, you'll still have to buy some clothing, some furniture, some pots & pans, and so on. If you do plan on hiring a mover or renting a truck, you're going to blow through a few thousand right there. How much of that $19K are you planning for the move?
All those things need to be taken into consideration. And lets say you get a job but make only $45K per year, then what?
You mentioned Foreign Affairs earlier as some career interest, not sure why SD would even come up on any list in that category. It's not some huge Foreign business capital. If you are more into that realm, Los Angeles and San Fran are far better places for that line of work. Hell, Miami has a huge South American business presence.
I wasn't trying to be rude in my comments, I'm just amazed at so many people needing to move to San Diego and never really knowing anything about the city. I mean somebody who has a poly sci background and wants to work in Foreign Affairs should look at cities like LA, SF, etc more than SD. If you were in the biotech market or wanted to work at Qualcomm as some real hardcore engineer(not software), I'd say that probably makes sense. But foreign affairs and web development, I'm not sure why SD even comes up in any of those conversations. It's a wonderful place to live, but it's also not a place you move to find that "career" job. People just can't accept that reality about the city for some reason.
San diego is far more twenty somethings who don't want to start their adult lives, wealthy individuals who made it elsewhere and moved here, or people struggling paycheck to paycheck. Very few people move to SD to find that great career job. So in the end of all this, if you want to come out here and spend a few years enjoying the San Diego sun, work at a few jobs here and there, then go for it. But if you plan on moving out and hoping to find that career job that'll allow you to buy some million dollar home in Carmel Valley in five years, you'll probably leave SD hating the place because it was too expensive.
I say these things because I've known far more people who move here and leave after a year or two. They can't afford the lifestyle, they find jobs that aren't career ladder type of jobs and don't pay well, or they can't find jobs at all. There are also many who move to paradise only to discover it's not much of a paradise if you are stuck in a cube or office building 10 hours a day and you live out in El Cajon because it's cheaper. San diego seems to have the mythical beauty about it and everybody wants to move here, except many people just don't seem to comprehend that paradise isn't exactly paradise if you're broke.
It's also a great place for those of us in our 20, 30's and beyond who have figured out how to support ourselves working from home, or whose employers allow them to work from home. I've seen more than a few posts about that on this forum and including from myself. It simply makes sense that people will choose a place like San Diego more often than not if they have the freedom to go wherever and are not tied to another place.
This is why I said 'go where you have to' first, and if you ARE in technology, eventually you could work out the work from home deal too.
With your degree I'm wondering if you have looked into municipal type work like in urban planning and that kind of thing? Other types of city or county work? I'd start with internships at places like that if you want to work in your degree and any other federal internships. My internships helped me more than anything.
But if you want to go the route of technology you can do that too and just keep moving with it.
I'll make this short. Lived in NE OH for many years.
By the way, I can think of many places besides just Detroit that are worse. Good people in Ohio, seasonal changes (Fall is awesome), low cost of living, people don't live on top of each other, education isn't too bad certainly better than most places in SD County.
But given your career direction I wouldn't come here.
I'll make this short. Lived in NE OH for many years.
By the way, I can think of many places besides just Detroit that are worse. Good people in Ohio, seasonal changes (Fall is awesome), low cost of living, people don't live on top of each other, education isn't too bad certainly better than most places in SD County.
But given your career direction I wouldn't come here.
while I was exaggerating, I was speaking mostly from the place of knowing that job trends have been bad in places like Ohio, PA, Michigan which were the power houses in a more industrial era. While certain things are still good (like education in many places of those states) and other things, its not the greatest place for a young single person, but especially if good jobs aren't as plentiful as they used to be. It's called the Rust Belt for a reason...
It's also a great place for those of us in our 20, 30's and beyond who have figured out how to support ourselves working from home, or whose employers allow them to work from home. I've seen more than a few posts about that on this forum and including from myself. It simply makes sense that people will choose a place like San Diego more often than not if they have the freedom to go wherever and are not tied to another place.
Well, yes and no. There are many people in San Diego in their "20's 30's and beyond" that are making enough to live in San Diego "supporting themselves" but it's a bit of a paycheck to paycheck type of thing. Many aren't banking up anything significant for the future. They lose their job and they typically have to move out of San Diego.
Or they are ok "making it or supporting themselves" when they are single. But add a spouse or kids into the picture and life becomes really difficult. That's often the case as well. I'm not saying this is applicable in the situation of the OP but that becomes the case with many people I've met.
Again, I'm not saying this is everyone but I've seen it first hand many times. Yeah, they might be making enough to survive or live here but not banking anything significant for the future and mostly living paycheck to paycheck due to high cost of housing/rent. When they might be able to live in a less desirable city and bank up more for their future.
Of course it's a case by case scenario but you have to think about that as well. Just because you have the freedom to go anywhere doesn't always mean you should.
well of course, I wasn't suggesting anyone should. I think its just a new demographic that people forget about especially in terms of San Diego, this demographic is increasing with tele work options that were not there 10-20 years ago. Whether people SHOULD move there or not is irrelevant, I'm saying people will choose San Diego more often than they will other less desirable places and this demographic will become more apparent in time if it isn't already.
Also in regard to living paycheck to paycheck into eternity -- you know whether you agree with it or not -- that too is a personal choice and some will and have obviously chosen it. It's all about personal values in life.
And the tele workers I'm talking about are not exactly paycheck to paycheck. Most of us who do this have worked traditionally for some time and were already high paid before we got to work from home, or are software developers who can live where they want and work for a company, in my age group this has gotten more and more popular for employers to offer to talented people because its a huge benefit -- which makes us want to stay with the company and even accept slightly lower salaries...it breeds loyalty to the company. Some young people manage this arrangement out of school, it took me 10 years of onsite work and moving around. But its becoming more and more popular. I think you need to understand I often comment on trends, culture and geography -- its not necessarily advice.
I'm not talking about moving to San Diego and opening up a business where you sell stuff on the interent, lol. I'm talking about the new demographic of teleworkers which is a very real trend and these people have to live somewhere...
well of course, I wasn't suggesting anyone should. I think its just a new demographic that people forget about especially in terms of San Diego, this demographic is increasing with tele work options that were not there 10-20 years ago. Whether people SHOULD move there or not is irrelevant, I'm saying people will choose San Diego more often than they will other less desirable places and this demographic will become more apparent in time if it isn't already.
Also in regard to living paycheck to paycheck into eternity -- you know whether you agree with it or not -- that too is a personal choice and some will and have obviously chosen it. It's all about personal values in life.
Oh sure rgb123. When I'm posting I'm speaking generally. I'm not suggesting you are right or wrong. Just throwing out my opinion and what I think people need to consider before moving to San Diego or cities like it.
No doubt people WANT to move here. It's a super desirable city. Sure, you have to figure what you value in life and for your lifestyle but I always believe you have to value and think about the future as well.
The thing of it is that most people think they will be young forever and they can live paycheck to paycheck forever but the rub is typically the older you get the more difficult it is to make money. Most people live for today or tomorrow when in reality they really need to think further out.
The problem with "working from home" or "telecommuting" is that what happens when the company you work for suddenly changes the policy? There are plenty of people who work for big companies and are screwed once a new boss takes over and tells employees, No more telecommuting. Or they make it once a week into the office. Look at HP and Yahoo recently. If a company is in Chicago and you're in SD, hard to suddenly show up on your own dime once a week.
I knew a woman years ago who was about 5 years away from retirement and she would only go into the company about once every six months. So she moved down to Arizona from Seattle and loved it. She would work from home, call in to meetings, fly in once a year, and so on. And she was 5 years from retiring. And then new management took over and they kind of made telecommuting as a 1-2 times a week thing. So if you couldn't come into the office at least 3 times a week, you couldn't telecommute.
She was screwed and therefore retired about 5 years early. She wasn't happy, but when you aren't the boss and aren't the CEO, crap like that happens. Like I said, what happens if you were a Yahoo employee and loved SD so much that you moved down here and Yahoo probably paid pretty well. And then suddenly telecommuting isn't allowed. You're pretty much screwed out of a job or are forced to move. Does this happen often? It happens far more often than you think when it comes to managers changing policies.
And I don't know anybody who really just "works from home" that makes a ton of money. You get to the point of working from home and making a ton of money by being an expert, by being known, and by being needed. Yes, you try to not travel to middle of nowhere places, but I work virtual most of the time, but I also am forced to go into business offices and fly to headquarters.
If you are making good money and get to the point where there isn't really a 9-5 schedule, it usually means businesses need you. And more often than not businesses and c-level types want you to be face to face sometimes. It might only be once a month or less, but have enough clients, and suddenly you're traveling now and again.
It is a double edge sword. You are needed and wanted because of your skills, experiences, and talent which means you might be able to work from home, but you are also wanted & needed and clients want to see you now and again. If nobody ever needs to meet you, it's hard to imagine you are making a boatload of money. I mean business development is all about face to face most of the time.
It might take a month or two to get new projects, but after that, you can work from home for months. And so it goes. I know from my perspective, if you never need to meet anybody f2f, why would anybody really hire you? I can find cheap help offshore if I never know you or need to meet you. And there is far more offshore workers these days than onshore.
So that's the entire "telecommute" issue in general. If nobody needs to ever see you, hear from you, or meet you,they could just as easily just offshore the damn work. But if they need to see you now and again because they need you, that's an entirely different story.
And this isn't just a tech thing. It's marketing, it's business, it's strategy, it's sales, it's customer support, it's management, and more. There are a lot of us who technically work from home, but half the time we aren't exactly home because a client or potential client needs to see us. And a place like SD means you're more likely traveling elsewhere to some HQ.
Oh sure rgb123. When I'm posting I'm speaking generally. I'm not suggesting you are right or wrong. Just throwing out my opinion and what I think people need to consider before moving to San Diego or cities like it.
No doubt people WANT to move here. It's a super desirable city. Sure, you have to figure what you value in life and for your lifestyle but I always believe you have to value and think about the future as well.
The thing of it is that most people think they will be young forever and they can live paycheck to paycheck forever but the rub is typically the older you get the more difficult it is to make money. Most people live for today or tomorrow when in reality they really need to think further out.
The other reality, especially in places like California, is there is extreme ageism. When you're young you don't see any of that and don't care. But if you know people that are older, you start to hear stories, and then more stories, and suddenly you start to notice that what they see is kind of true. I've never thought of those things so much and I still am not in that realm, but I always have it in the back of my head about "how do you continue to make this kind of money or more as you get older."
It's one thing to think, hey I'm not in Tech or California so who cares. But then you could say I'm not in entertainment and media, so who cares. But then you'd get into I'm not into sales and marketing, so who cares. The truth about living pay check to pay check is that once you start closing in on the big 5-0, hell in California people look at 40 as too damn old for some companies, you start to get that "well if you're not running the company, you're useless to us."
So if you are living pay check to pay check and suddenly one day you can't get those high paying jobs because they'd rather hire a 25 year old, you are really screwed. Where as if you've lived in a place with a lower COL, saved money, made good investments, etc, you would probably not worry as much as that magic age came around and you were forced out. But imagine if at 50 you're forced to find lower paying jobs because a 25 year old is far cheaper and who gives a crap if they know less than you, you're old... and believe me we've all had those thoughts and younger generations always have those thoughts, and so it goes.
I guess I kind of started realizing how the younger crowd does view the older crowd recently because of my own sons perspective. I was part of that younger generation for years, part of the I'm in my thirties but still look and feel young and act young, and so on. A couple months back I was at some mall or something and there were some kids and a tv screen ad that had Justin Beiber on it. My son looked over and had this weird look and looked up at me and said 'he's old.' It was one of those moments of wow, so my young son thinks Beiber is old, what the hell does he think people my age or even older are.... And so it goes.
So it's nice to be in the paycheck to paycheck mentality, except we live in a state where some of our big companies avg employee age is like 30 years old. That doesn't bode well for when you reach 50 and they don't want to pay some big salary to a 50 year old. And it's always about money. Why pay one person 200K, when you could pay 10 people for that amount. And in many industries being old doesn't equate to knowing more. It might not be true, but that's what people think.
So going back to struggling for years just to live close to say La Jolla is nice, except what do you do at 50 years old where you might have another 20+ years working. Hell my own father is 70 and still works, so if at 50 you have little saved and are now screwed into accepting lower paying jobs, was it really worth it? If you can say yes, great, but if you don't even want to think about that concept or think it'll never happen, well there is your answer in itself. Not accepting reality doesn't make it worth it.
you can debate the work from home stuff but its all just ...well that, debate. Yes it happened at Yahoo -- well if I were a well paid Yahoo developer and I was out on Colorado and they gave me a choice to quit or move back to Silicon Valley I'd probably do so. But many of them might have been talented to enough to find something else if they wanted to keep working from home. It's not the end of the world, companies have a harder time keeping the most talented people.
Many of us never were at a home office to begin with, I wasn't. I was moved out to a client site and I'm staying in California for various strategic reasons and they let me stay for various reasons. I do have an option to leave but I'd think it over carefully before removing myself from being close to a few key clients and being as I'm one of the only CA employees in the company. I'd talk to them before deciding to leave CA as that could have implications on my salary as well.
this is obviously something that will be different for people and people have to make their own smart decisions. But most people will think carefully before they move based on their own specific situation and there are benefits to some companies to have their people in different places -- if you are growing your client base in different areas you have people who are geographically closer to those places who can do the work then it pays, I speak from experience there.
That doesn't at all change the fact there is a growing demographic of people who tele work! Like it or not it's a trend and its in the 'mix' that is San Diego probably more so than other parts of the US.
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