Why do you want to move to Seattle? (teaching jobs, luxury)

[2ForTheSea]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I know what you mean. I often don't like to tell people what my major is because it draws so many blanks and annoying questions. Geographers are what I call the unsung heroes of so many things. Geographers decide where water lines get placed. They are involved in alot of things that it would take a while to explain.

I'm not to thrilled about working in a windowless room with fluorescent light either. However, at this point, as long as it pays, and I can work in my field, I'll put up with it. I recently came across an opening in Tacoma. However, I need a security clearance for it as it is defense related. I don't have one and I don't know how to get one.

For me, cartography is my main career path, but I'm open to things like political geography, weather and climate, economic geography, I'll even work for magazine if the opportunity arises. The issue is finding the opportunities.

When I worked for the subcontractor for Defense Mapping they guided me through the clearance application, but that was the early 1990s and a lot has changed since then.
Hopefully, you have a good advisor at school who can help you with some of your issues.

One of the other things I did when I was trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up was teach English abroad. There was no money in it. I did it for the adventure. I have heard though that if you go to an Asian country like Japan or Taiwan you can earn a decent living.

I was lucky that I went to school at a time when it was still reasonably priced as well as having a couple scholarships. I don't know how recent grads survive today.

I think you should apply to the job in Tacoma. If they're interested I would think they would help you with security.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by 2ForTheSea

When I worked for the subcontractor for Defense Mapping they guided me through the clearance application, but that was the early 1990s and a lot has changed since then.
Hopefully, you have a good advisor at school who can help you with some of your issues.

One of the other things I did when I was trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up was teach English abroad. There was no money in it. I did it for the adventure. I have heard though that if you go to an Asian country like Japan or Taiwan you can earn a decent living.

I was lucky that I went to school at a time when it was still reasonably priced as well as having a couple scholarships. I don't know how recent grads survive today.

I think you should apply to the job in Tacoma. If they're interested I would think they would help you with security.

I will give the job application for Tacoma a try. I hope it works out.

On the other hand, someone in North Dakota seems interested in me. It isn't Seattle, but maybe in time it will be a stepping stone and I can drive west on I-90 to the Emerald City.

I have considered teaching abroad. It isn't cheap to get certified.

[mrman78]

Originally Posted by 2ForTheSea

Just curious? Do you have a plan for your B.A. in Geography? I'm asking because that's what I majored in (minor in Anthropology) and I haven't come across many others. After graduation I worked in cartography for a short while before realizing it was a bad fit for me. I kind of wish at times I would have stuck with it, but overall I'm pretty happy with the way life has turned out for me.

I was a double-major and have a BA in Geology and Geography, and almost all my jobs (before and after college) have been in these fields. Most of my background (jobs, education) is in Geology and I added Geography during my senior year after gaining an interest in GIS. I guess a Geography degree alone might be more restrictive, but I haven't had too much trouble getting jobs in these fields. I guess I'm just lucky or I know where to look lol.

I had already decided I wanted to move to Seattle, so I was relieved because there are a good amount of GIS jobs here (Denver was my second choice, where there are TONS). If you get into GIS, it's not that hard to find a job with a Geography degree. However, I've found GIS jobs are very work experience based, so pretty competitive. The best way to get started may be to try and get some temp work so you get some experience. I'm also enrolling in the GIS certificate program at UW either this year or next so I have an actual credential in GIS versus just work experience and the degree in Geology and Geography.

So, I worked in GIS in oil and gas for 6 1/2 years in Houston. I left my job and just moved here in April and there were quite a lot of GIS openings that I applied for. It took me a month and a half to find a job. I now work as a contractor at Google doing Google Maps/Earth stuff. It's a year contract (maximum 2), but it's a full-time job and a fantastic experience, even if it's not permanent. I did actually have 2nd interviews scheduled for two other companies interested in me, but the Google position required traveling to HQ in California for training when those were scheduled. They were also both temporary positions for 6 months at first, but I think that's the norm nowadays so they can see if they like you before deciding to pull you on full-time. There was no way I was risking the Google opportunity (pretty much guaranteed for a year) for the possibility I might get an offer from one or both the other two (plus no guarantee I'd go on more than six months either). Nowadays, I feel it's a blessing to be employed at all, so I'm just extremely happy and thankful for the way things worked out. It would have been nice to have multiple offers, but the timing just didn't work out. Either way, the Google position is a great break from the usual professional corporate work environment. It's so relaxed and you can wear casual clothes. Not to mention free food and gym. I figure I'll concentrate on finding a more permanent position once this contract is over - it'll look great on my resume! I guess there is also the possibility of being pulled on full-time, but I'm not counting on it!

[grammyR]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I would be more than happy to go up to Seattle. I still have to...

1) Graduate from college(that will come in 34 days, a B.A. in Geography)
2) Find in job in the Seattle area
3) Save some money to relocate.

Well, I am sorry to say but a BA in Geography will not likely find you a job very soon. Why not study something better equiped to get youy employed down the road. Still, you sound smart so best thing I would do is re-educate regarding job possibilities. Healthcare is usually pretty reliable work , computer expertise. Now structure what you LIKE to do around something you CAN get employed in. Perhaps "teaching ".

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by grammyR

Well, I am sorry to say but a BA in Geography will not likely find you a job very soon. Why not study something better equiped to get youy employed down the road. Still, you sound smart so best thing I would do is re-educate regarding job possibilities. Healthcare is usually pretty reliable work , computer expertise. Now structure what you LIKE to do around something you CAN get employed in. Perhaps "teaching ".

I chose Geography because it's something I'm good at and like. I actually tried computer science and failed a few courses miserably. I've seen some of the coursework required for healthcare. Nothing I would be interested in. I tried accounting and failed miserably. I got bored fast too.

[green_mariner]

Finding an employer who is asking for a degree in Geography isn't the hardest part. Not even in the Seattle area. I found something in Tacoma. Now I just have to get the security clearance and I hope that employer helps with that. The problem is that so many positions require experience. I feel like some people are just trying to keep recent college grads out.

[rainforest338]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I have considered teaching abroad. It isn't cheap to get certified.

I've heard of a few people that teach abroad in Korea (mostly to teach English...any primary English speaker) and they got paid well and the certification was paid for, as well as some travel expenses.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by rainforest338

I've heard of a few people that teach abroad in Korea (mostly to teach English...any primary English speaker) and they got paid well and the certification was paid for, as well as some travel expenses.

But how did they get their certification paid for?

[PosterExtraordinaire]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

But how did they get their certification paid for?

if you do teach for america, or a number of programs, they either pay for your certification or provide a cheap route (for example 8,000 year when you're making 30,000 through the program).

if you wanna teach abroad, SKIP korea,china, japan and look for the more lucrative positions in saudi arabia. They can pay as much as 40,000-50,000. don't know how you go and get certified abroad though

if you can't land a job with your geography degree that is. If you can, then you're good

A teacher job is basically transferable everywhere, and makes it somewhat easy to move around the usa. Another job like that (even more bank) is nursing but that requires you to go back to school hard core.

[RVD90277]

i guess this thread had gone off target but i'll chime in anyway.

for most english teaching jobs in korea, you don't need any kind of certification. all they require is a bachelor's degree from an accredited 4 year university. obviously the better the school, the higher your chances of getting hired.

this may be racist in some ways but in general, you also have to look "American" so blonde hair, blue eyes, etc. will increase your chances of being hired.

most will pay for your plane ticket to/from korea.

most teachers that i know say that overall there are a lot of pros and cons.

pros - relatively flexible work hours, pay is enough to get by, get a lot of respect from students, can maintain a fun lifestyle of going out most nights and having your job pay for it, good opportunities to travel in asia (most travel to japan, singapore, malaysia, thailand, etc. frequently).

cons - most hogwans (the language institutes) lie to you before you go about the hours commitment, etc. pay is enough to pay for going out to bars, etc. but doesn't really pay enough compared to allow you to save, take money home when you're done, etc. most hogwan wonjangs (the owner / head guys) are greedy liars.

anyway you get the drift.

as for actual pay, i don't know. if i had to guess, it'd be in the neighborhood of $2-$3k/month. korea is an odd place though where rent is high but cost of living is highly variable. you can eat street food for a few bucks or go to really nice restaurants for hundreds of dollars. i guess it's sort of like hong kong in that way.