Why I’m leaving San Diego : millennials and gen Z read this before moving (yes long) (Columbia: sublet, apartment)

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by Mike Town

california at one time was a nice place to live, today it stinks. Moved out of there about 10 years ago best thing I ever did.

Where did you move to? Moving back here with a few $$ in our pockets worked for us.

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by dg628

I feel the time has come to leave while I’m ahead as far as finances go and to get a job elsewhere before that federal aid runs out and people start taking any job they can get.

When I moved out here I was doing scaffolding so when I got here I stuck with what i knew just to get by and because I knew I could get a job.

On my part I took too long to try and get into electrical but it was a new expensive city and I didn’t know anyone.

As time went on and after a bad shoulder injury finally healed I started looking into electrical and ran into several problems I didn’t account for.

San Diego’s union is very hard to get into but also is a very up and down union. Work is very unsteady unlike other west Coast locals. The IBEW has a website for travelers stating how many guys are out of work “on the books” and the current journeyman pay along with work outlook.

San Diego literally has the 2nd most amount of guys out of work in the U.S. in the IBEW

Right now is supposedly an Up time too. Anyway it’s hard getting in green so just start off non union right ? Wait...

Here’s how it goes on the non union side. Most Shops in San Diego hire what’s called an ET ( electrical trainee) which is just a cheap independent apprentice. The problem though is getting your ET card. CA makes it hard to get it and maintain it. To get it you have to be enrolled and attending in a state cert class and do a certain amount of work and schooling every year to keep.

So there in lies the catch. You have to wait for the next available class and yes that’s including online. When I looked back in March the soonest one was end of sept. Also CA takes their sweet time mailing your card without a temporary one. 8-12 weeks.

Same goes for the non union contractors like ABC and WECA , really hard to get in the apprenticeship even though the pay is bad and if you get accepted the wait time is about 2 years.


CA is literally the only state with licensing like that for the ET card , the other states just require Registering with the DOL and a small amount of class room hours every year to keep it after that.

The whole point is to track all the hours you accumulate in the state really. Not to make it hard for people trying to get started in the trade. You won’t be exploited and making nowhere near 13/$hr as a ET in other high COL states either.



the take away


is there are no skilled jobs available in San Diego and if you already have one expect the same salary at best. I used the skilled trades as a good example because there really is a big shortage in the US.... just everywhere but SoCal with the exception of LA maybe.

Also you really need good established credit to rent anything in San Diego if you want on a lease so you have atleast some legal recourse and trust me if you’re like 90% of the people here you’ll have no choice but to have roommates. I’m talking 750 with credit history and previous rental references. Real landlords , they check. Trust me.

I don’t have bad credit and I could never find anything. I just gave up looking. I’m used to an alternative lifestyle though.

I honestly don’t know how kids my age do it out here (18-23) and most work crap retail jobs. It has to be their parents or slinging illegal substances on the side.

If you’re young like me (22) one more thing to really consider is long term commitment. If you find a way to establish yourself here once you start making any sort of real money the state takes it. If you make 300k you have plenty to spare even though they’ll take half of it.

Different story if you’re upper middle class. You go from making good money to borderline lower class after taxes by national standards. Well below the poverty line by CA lol.

I will miss San Diego despite the 15 months I’ve spent here, about 70% have been me living out of my truck.

Love the pacific coast , the deep blue colored water and tide, the weather , sunsets , cliffs , just the right amount of nightlife and amenities, hook up culture , etc. Not a fan of the desert topography though. I’ll like the PNW a lot more in that regard.

I have to go though if I ever want a real career and my own place. Getting tired of couch surfing and living out my pickup. Will never have roommates ever again after what I’ve experienced.

After my union interview on the 23rd I’m leaving SD that night. Not holding my breathe but by some miracle I’m accepted it’ll be a year or two until I get the call to start.

I’m not gonna pretend to know the inner workings of the electrician’s union here, but I do know several electricians, plumbers, and machinists that makes good money, and all own their own homes. I know these people because they’re old employees of mine I’ve stayed in contact with over the years. I will say they all worked for me part time 2-3 days a week while paying their dues working up the food chain to make ends meet.

Another old employee who cleaned pools started his own company after a year or two of building up a client base he could siphon off. I see him in the water from time to time and he says he now surfs more than cleaning the pools himself.

I also know several that started working on construction sites straight out of HS doing the same grunt work the illegals were doing that now make bank. This includes many from my childhood. They learned the trade and had enough business savvy to get their GC license and go into business for themselves. Word of mouth/referrals, and the sheer amount of people with money always looking to upgrade something in their house keeps them more than busy. The few times I’ve inquired for a friend they always seem to booked out weeks/months in advance, and/or turning away jobs.

I guess the moral of the story is you can not only make a good living, but can also do really well for yourself going this route, but you need to put in the time, probably have a second job for sometime, and/or have some business sense.

Good luck to you.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by cruitr

Like you did Sassberto. Remember f'd company in 2001? I was following your every move here in San Diego. Those were some f'd and fun times.

Right time right place... you'll never go broke if you know how to program a computer!

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Right time right place... you'll never go broke if you know how to program a computer!

Some of the code I wrote @ a Fortune 50 company in the 80s is still running today. I wrote it to be Y2K-compliant. That code is so complicated no one wants to touch it today. Just wish I'd get royalties from it.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by cruitr

Some of the code I wrote @ a Fortune 50 company in the 80s is still running today. I wrote it to be Y2K-compliant. That code is so complicated no one wants to touch it today. Just wish I'd get royalties from it.

thats awesome. I built the site for the Del Mar Fair in the late 90's they re-skin it every year but it's the same site.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by cruitr

Some of the code I wrote @ a Fortune 50 company in the 80s is still running today. I wrote it to be Y2K-compliant. That code is so complicated no one wants to touch it today. Just wish I'd get royalties from it.

Same with my work. They want to turn it new but can't

Complete new will cost.

[T. Damon]

It’s a tough place here these days for millennials if you aren’t in that tech/biotech-med/gov’t-military contractor status but there are plenty of high paying jobs in those categories and in others. The cost of living is otherwise doable but RE has far outpaced salaries so I can understand the OP’s dilemma and decision if you want to buy a house. 25 years ago you had a similar salary structure but houses (and apt.s for rent) were but 50% higher than the national average, not the 150% of today. There are several cities that - post Covid - have most of the attributes you would want for far cheaper COL/housing with similar or slightly discounted salaries.

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Same with my work. They want to turn it new but can't
Complete new will cost.

I f'd up when I signed the "BIG BOZO COMPANY OWNS ALL SOFTWARE WRITTEN BY EMPLOYEES" form. I wanted to do the job as a contractor with no benefits and retain the right to future royalties but BIG BOZO COMPANY wouldn't buy it.

It didn't really matter in the long run. My sights were set much higher than system development and it worked out well. My future was so bright I really did need to wear shades. With enough liquor, my wife and I can still karaoke this song.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrriKcwvlY

[dg628]

Just an update.

I started applying to electrical jobs up in Seattle yesterday for apprentices and already had two calls just hours later from shops that basically offered me a job on the spot because they where looking to hire me immediately.

What a completely different experience than trying to find apprentice work here in San Diego. I looked for months before covid hit and hit the pavement hard and barely got a job for a company that tanked because of covid. I only got the one I lost because I had concrete experience and there was a civil crew as well but the electrical crew let me work with them a lot too.

Literally just by the skin of my ass. It’s ****ing brutal out here. Job market of **** and prosperity.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by cruitr

I f'd up when I signed the "BIG BOZO COMPANY OWNS ALL SOFTWARE WRITTEN BY EMPLOYEES" form. I wanted to do the job as a contractor with no benefits and retain the right to future royalties but BIG BOZO COMPANY wouldn't buy it.

I mean to be fair to them, no company, Bozo or otherwise would agree to it. If they're paying you a salary you're theirs to do what they please.... Work For Hire after all. The trick is to build it and sell it to them. Another route, which only works if you have a ton of trust built up with your client, is to have them fund the development in exchange for a permanent free license and discounted support, and you keep rights to the IP. Even better if you can get the the client to take an equity position. That was rare in the 80's but actually becoming more common today.