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having a business degree already makes it very easy to pick up a 2nd degree in another business field like accounting, I did this myself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spokanejobseeker
I already have a Bachelor's in a business field though. I am going to pursue my MBA this January hopefully have some luck with the job hunt in between now and then.
The most frustrating thing to me is that I can go away with the Army at any given moment and make over $80 K a year just to come back to Spokane and struggle to find jobs that pay over $25 K a year the same week I get back. It's not like I'm just a grunt anymore. I have quite a bit of transferrable leadership and organizational management skills that I don't know if they intimidate civilians or if is just impossible for the 40 plus year old who has never served their country to grasp that someone my age has the same level if not a higher level of leadership capabilities than they have. I don't mean that I'm coming off saying I'm more competent to a hiring manager than they are I mean I don't think they grasp what it is we do on a day to day basis unless they themselves have done it. That's the greatest challenge any returning service member has when seeking employment is transitioning those skills to a language civilians understand. My recommendation to employers would be to hire returning service members. There is nothing you can throw at them they can't overcome. I had one a recruiter in BFE Montana tell me that she looks at the military like a place holder. It just says you've been somewhere and that's why you haven't been in the job market. I wanted to reach thru the phone and detach her head from her shoulders. Yeah lady it's like some hippy excursion like Peace Corp except it pays 60% higher than any positions you're hiring for. That's just one example of what we deal with when trying to find employment.
For me all I need is a specific industry to apply myself in. I think that industry is healthcare, specifically care of the elderly in retirment communities. The boomers are going to be dropping like flies soon and heading off to the assisted-living communities. I think if I could get into an entry-level admin or marketing/sales position now with a retirment community I could be running one before I'm 40 at probably a $120 K plus a year salary. I'm eyeing the MBA with an emphasis in healthcare management at GU. CTU also offers the same program but I'm not exactly sold on the idea of online colleges. I think the only difference in the healthcare management MBA and a plain vanilla MBA is a couple of classes. EWU offers a pretty hefty discount to those of us that have served in OEF and OIF so if I could make a regular MBA work that is more affordable option there.
Good luck Jobseeker. I know those of us who haven't served in the military haven't got a clue. I have some friend and family who have talked to me about it their experiences, but it could never be the same. Thanks for giving us a little insite how frustrating it has been for you. I don't know about anyone else, but it makes me even more thankful for all the military sacrifices for us.
THANK YOU!!! :~) D
"I have quite a bit of transferrable leadership and organizational management skills that I don't know if they intimidate civilians or if is just impossible for the 40 plus year old who has never served their country to grasp that someone my age has the same level if not a higher level of leadership capabilities than they have."
Ummm....No. Not always.
"There is nothing you can throw at them they can't overcome"
Except working at any job that is "beneath" them.
"It just says you've been somewhere and that's why you haven't been in the job market. I wanted to reach thru the phone and detach her head from her shoulders. Yeah lady it's like some hippy excursion like Peace Corp except it pays 60% higher than any positions you're hiring for. That's just one example of what we deal with when trying to find employment."
(rolls eyes)
Everyone please stop pandering to this guy. He has been whining about his awesomeness and "exceptional" leadership for the past 8 pages.
You come off as the exact type of junior officer I hated to work with and everyone hated to be working under.
"I have quite a bit of transferrable leadership and organizational management skills that I don't know if they intimidate civilians or if is just impossible for the 40 plus year old who has never served their country to grasp that someone my age has the same level if not a higher level of leadership capabilities than they have."
Ummm....No. Not always.
"There is nothing you can throw at them they can't overcome"
Except working at any job that is "beneath" them.
"It just says you've been somewhere and that's why you haven't been in the job market. I wanted to reach thru the phone and detach her head from her shoulders. Yeah lady it's like some hippy excursion like Peace Corp except it pays 60% higher than any positions you're hiring for. That's just one example of what we deal with when trying to find employment."
(rolls eyes)
Everyone please stop pandering to this guy. He has been whining about his awesomeness and "exceptional" leadership for the past 8 pages.
You come off as the exact type of junior officer I hated to work with and everyone hated to be working under.
You don't sound like someone that has served in the 21st Century military. You come off as a Vietnam Vet, or at least the way your attitude is towards officers. I could be wrong though but I'm willing to bet you were a one term service member at the very least, which is fine, but it doesn't give you a lot of subject matter expertise when arguing against a career Soldier. I don't take anything away from those that do their time and move on to great things. This nation is a better place because of those that have done just that.
Now I felt the same way towards my officers as a junior enlisted which is why I became an officer. Nine years later here I am. I don't hear too many complaints from anyone that has served under me.
I've also been working a less than desirable job. Well, it's more like a "less than desirable job." It seems to me to be a dead end sales job but I have been making $200 a day with my commission during my five hour shifts. I think it's a total fluke but I'm going to ring this shammy for as long as it is worth it. I'm supposed to be applying for other jobs right now but it makes it tough to want to work for more "professional" jobs for longer hours and less pay. I think I will at least wait until sales flatline. I'm pleasantly shocked at my current position. I only work 9 to 3 everyday with my weekends off. I've definitely focused my job search more at the very least and focused more ofmy free time on running my own business venture. I have a meeting with a lender next week.
"You don't sound like someone that has served in the 21st Century military. You come off as a Vietnam Vet, or at least the way your attitude is towards officers. I could be wrong though but I'm willing to bet you were a one term service member at the very least, which is fine, but it doesn't give you a lot of subject matter expertise when arguing against a career Soldier."
Subject matter expertise when arguing against a "career soldier"?Aren't you in the reserves/guard? What in the world are you going on about? Seriously?
Not a one "termer" and just got back in June from Iraq so I don't know how you can tell from my post I would be a "Vietnam Vet".I thought that was interesting.
Never said I was enlisted. You assumed.
Meh. Unlikely anything said here is going to sink in anyway. Good luck to you.
"You don't sound like someone that has served in the 21st Century military. You come off as a Vietnam Vet, or at least the way your attitude is towards officers. I could be wrong though but I'm willing to bet you were a one term service member at the very least, which is fine, but it doesn't give you a lot of subject matter expertise when arguing against a career Soldier."
Subject matter expertise when arguing against a "career soldier"?Aren't you in the reserves/guard? What in the world are you going on about? Seriously?
Not a one "termer" and just got back in June from Iraq so I don't know how you can tell from my post I would be a "Vietnam Vet".I thought that was interesting.
Never said I was enlisted. You assumed.
Meh. Unlikely anything said here is going to sink in anyway. Good luck to you.
I've served both on active duty and Reserves. Though the only difference in me and the active duty members right now is they get full pay and benefits in during their year off from deployments.
Trust me I understand your frustration and dilemma. My husband also lost his job in Spokane twice in an eighteen month period after making almost a six-figure income consistantly for several years. After several months without work and living off of equity all he could find were jobs paying around 30K so we basically were forced to relocate to another state in order to keep his pay scale.
In some ways I wish we would have downsized and simplified our lives in order to stay because I loved Spokane so much. I miss it dearly and things just are not the same. I am not meaning to sound negative but if you can (not sure of your status) live modestly and hang in there until something opens up or the economy gets better I probably would do that if I were you. Work at a grocery store for awhile or do something outside of your field. It is better being happy in a great place with less than having lots of stuff and being miserable. I have lived now in five states and find this to be true.
If we didn't have kids in school and sports we probably would have chosen to stay in Spokane but we knew that our quality of life would have been terrible and I wouldn't have been able to stay at home with my boys if we would have stayed there which is very important to me. There would have been no sports, no private lessons and a small apartment for the four of us. For our family situation... that was not an option. If it is an option for you... then personally I would stay.. Spokane is beautiful and there is so much to love about it.
But only you can make the decision if you cannot find a decent paying job. Times are tough right now and a lot of people are having to make sacrifices and adjustments. We had to basically walk away from our home and start over again... Let us know what happens and please give more information about you circumstances... Are you married? Do you have kids? I hope things turn out good for you...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spokanejobseeker
I graduated in December of 2005 from Whitworth with a degree in Business Management. It took me four months to find a job that I liked and paid what I felt a new college grad in my field in Spokane should be paid ($35 K - $36K). I was laid off after working at this position for six months and I believe my commitment to the Army Reserves weighed heavily in the company's decision to lay me off. Fortunately I went on active duty as an officer in the Army for six months to complete my Officer Basic Course. I was shocked to see that because of my previous tour as an enlisted Soldier I was paid considerably more than the other officers in my pay grade. I came back to Spokane in June of 2007 and made an attempt at self employment since I was unable to find employment that paid more than $30 K a year. Six months into being self employed I was mobilized with the Army Reserves for six months on a stateside tour. With per diem I made around $7400 per month and was in charge of 300 personnel and a substantial amount of equipment. I returned back to Spokane in November of 2008 without a lot of job prospects in sight. I have been almost unemployed for a year now and my savings are dwindling down. When I first returned to Spokane my salary requirements were around $45 K a year. I have slowly reduced my wage requirements and I am now asking for a mere $32 K a year. It seems the only positions available in Spokane are either low income service oriented jobs or really high income upper level executive jobs. Does anyone know where they have mid-level career positions and anyone that might be interested in hiring someone with my background?
Please no preaching about the cost of living in Spokane. Yes the cost to RENT a home is low but wages are much lower. 48% of Spokane pay more than the recommended 30% of their monthly wages on monthly housing expenses. The average per capita family income is only $44K. So spare me costs of living gripes because I have a whole bag of statistics to fire back with. Only those with something to contribute to my search please respond as I would like to stay in Spokane though I am willing to leave for lucrative offers.
Trust me I understand your frustration and dilemma. My husband also lost his job in Spokane twice in an eighteen month period after making almost a six-figure income consistantly for several years. After several months without work and living off of equity all he could find were jobs paying around 30K so we basically were forced to relocate to another state in order to keep his pay scale.
In some ways I wish we would have downsized and simplified our lives in order to stay because I loved Spokane so much. I miss it dearly and things just are not the same. I am not meaning to sound negative but if you can (not sure of your status) live modestly and hang in there until something opens up or the economy gets better I probably would do that if I were you. Work at a grocery store for awhile or do something outside of your field. It is better being happy in a great place with less than having lots of stuff and being miserable. I have lived now in five states and find this to be true.
If we didn't have kids in school and sports we probably would have chosen to stay in Spokane but we knew that our quality of life would have been terrible and I wouldn't have been able to stay at home with my boys if we would have stayed there which is very important to me. There would have been no sports, no private lessons and a small apartment for the four of us. For our family situation... that was not an option. If it is an option for you... then personally I would stay.. Spokane is beautiful and there is so much to love about it.
But only you can make the decision if you cannot find a decent paying job. Times are tough right now and a lot of people are having to make sacrifices and adjustments. We had to basically walk away from our home and start over again... Let us know what happens and please give more information about you circumstances... Are you married? Do you have kids? I hope things turn out good for you...
I personally don't share your love of Spokane. I'm not from the Northwest and I'm only staying here now because my son is here. I'm not married and I'm trying to hang in there to maintain the relationship. At the same time though I feel pressure from my ex's attorney to provide more support. My attorney's are doing well to prove that I am doing everything within my power to provide adequate support but that I cannot pay more than I am paying now. They actually wanted me to pay support based on my income in the Army even though I was essentially at less than $800 a month in income when I came back last November. With my ex-spouses low income that basically would be giving her a second paycheck. That is a big factor that influences me in wanting to move is that I could provide adequate support if I moved elsewhere in search of employment and being a non-custodial parent that lives out of state there would be an $800 cap put on how much support I pay versus if I made a higher income here. I personally think $800 a month is more than enough support for one child if I am also paying half of daycare as well as medical.
I actually took what I thought would be a $10-$12 an hour sales job with commission working 5 hours a day Monday thru Friday. It's turned into a $200 a day job right now. I don't think those sales numbers will sustain due to the seasonal nature of the service I'm selling, but right now it's pretty good.
I do plan on staying here though for at least another 15 months after January while I obtain my MBA. I run a business as well that is growing but I'm not really able to take anything away from it as far as paying myself goes. I am attempting to get more financing for it next week. That could be something that could keep me here in the future. I'm actually heading off to a trade show today with my business.
What you described about how you would have to live to stay here is what I hate about Spokane and takes away from the beauty of it. Many people do live that way here. In 2005 you had 20% of the population living at or below the poverty level. With this recession I'm sure it is at more than that. Your average individual living in Spokane only makes $22,000 a year and the average per capita family income is at $44 K a year. Even with that low income you had housing costs jump 15% in 2005. Now housing prices have dropped down and they are almost to a level that would have been achieved with sustained and marginal growth had you not had a large influx of people being imported into Spokane from areas with even higher housing markets. So now what you have is a housing market that is inflated beyond the means of most of the local population. Then you have another housing market that has been created that does just the opposite. It is going down in value. Now if Spokane had living wage incentives to businesses in Spokane like Seattle and Portland have adopted you would start to see some positive growth and change in Spokane. People that make a living wage do things like buy homes, start businesses of their own, and ultimately build wealth and the community around them. From my perspective when looking at Spokane I see a town that has its feet firmly planted against growth and change. It's the largest city heading east on 90 until Minneapolis, but it wants to maintain this backwards small town mentality. At some point Spokane isn't going to have a choice but to grow or become even more recessed.
Trust me I understand your frustration and dilemma. My husband also lost his job in Spokane twice in an eighteen month period after making almost a six-figure income consistantly for several years. After several months without work and living off of equity all he could find were jobs paying around 30K so we basically were forced to relocate to another state in order to keep his pay scale.
In some ways I wish we would have downsized and simplified our lives in order to stay because I loved Spokane so much. I miss it dearly and things just are not the same. I am not meaning to sound negative but if you can (not sure of your status) live modestly and hang in there until something opens up or the economy gets better I probably would do that if I were you. Work at a grocery store for awhile or do something outside of your field. It is better being happy in a great place with less than having lots of stuff and being miserable. I have lived now in five states and find this to be true.
If we didn't have kids in school and sports we probably would have chosen to stay in Spokane but we knew that our quality of life would have been terrible and I wouldn't have been able to stay at home with my boys if we would have stayed there which is very important to me. There would have been no sports, no private lessons and a small apartment for the four of us. For our family situation... that was not an option. If it is an option for you... then personally I would stay.. Spokane is beautiful and there is so much to love about it.
But only you can make the decision if you cannot find a decent paying job. Times are tough right now and a lot of people are having to make sacrifices and adjustments. We had to basically walk away from our home and start over again... Let us know what happens and please give more information about you circumstances... Are you married? Do you have kids? I hope things turn out good for you...
I'm sure that you guys were smart about your money when you were making plenty of it and saved so you would be able to live through possibly years of not having any income, right?
I have read this entire thread and honestly I feel your frustration in all of this. You are in Spokane to be with your son which is more than I can say about many dads in this country. That choice alone is worth so much. I understand that Spokane doesn't have much to offer as far as employment and that is why we are in Oklahoma of all places. The economy here is really good and there are ALOT of jobs. Plus the academics and sports are simply amazing for my boys. We did the "trade-off". We left the beauty for something else "education and money to pay for private lessons for our boys". It is paying off but not without a price. I don't like the scenery here, the people are odd and the traffic is horrible. I miss Washington very very much, miss my friends but then again I wouldn't have the things that this place has to offer in Spokane. So life is a trade-off sometimes and unfortunately you can't always "have your cake and eat it too". There was nothing we could do about our situation and we had to move. My husband lost two high paying jobs in a matter of 18-months and he ended up working at Sheri's restaurant bringing home $1600.00 a month. He hated the job and quit after 3-months. My husband is NOT a prideful man...he just didn't like the work or the pay. We couldn't pay our mortgage payment and got into debt fast. We could not stay in Spokane... It is really easy to judge another person unless you walk in their shoes for awhile and I think some of the people on this thread have been a little harsh with you. When I read your posts I can sense that you are angry, frustrated and REALLY disappointed and you are here because you need help and need to vent. With that said, I am really sorry that you are struggling right now. Many people are in the same boat and it sucks... Life is really difficult right now. We just have to hang in there with one another and try to be an encouragement. Hopefully things are going better for you...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spokanejobseeker
I personally don't share your love of Spokane. I'm not from the Northwest and I'm only staying here now because my son is here. I'm not married and I'm trying to hang in there to maintain the relationship. At the same time though I feel pressure from my ex's attorney to provide more support. My attorney's are doing well to prove that I am doing everything within my power to provide adequate support but that I cannot pay more than I am paying now. They actually wanted me to pay support based on my income in the Army even though I was essentially at less than $800 a month in income when I came back last November. With my ex-spouses low income that basically would be giving her a second paycheck. That is a big factor that influences me in wanting to move is that I could provide adequate support if I moved elsewhere in search of employment and being a non-custodial parent that lives out of state there would be an $800 cap put on how much support I pay versus if I made a higher income here. I personally think $800 a month is more than enough support for one child if I am also paying half of daycare as well as medical.
I actually took what I thought would be a $10-$12 an hour sales job with commission working 5 hours a day Monday thru Friday. It's turned into a $200 a day job right now. I don't think those sales numbers will sustain due to the seasonal nature of the service I'm selling, but right now it's pretty good.
I do plan on staying here though for at least another 15 months after January while I obtain my MBA. I run a business as well that is growing but I'm not really able to take anything away from it as far as paying myself goes. I am attempting to get more financing for it next week. That could be something that could keep me here in the future. I'm actually heading off to a trade show today with my business.
What you described about how you would have to live to stay here is what I hate about Spokane and takes away from the beauty of it. Many people do live that way here. In 2005 you had 20% of the population living at or below the poverty level. With this recession I'm sure it is at more than that. Your average individual living in Spokane only makes $22,000 a year and the average per capita family income is at $44 K a year. Even with that low income you had housing costs jump 15% in 2005. Now housing prices have dropped down and they are almost to a level that would have been achieved with sustained and marginal growth had you not had a large influx of people being imported into Spokane from areas with even higher housing markets. So now what you have is a housing market that is inflated beyond the means of most of the local population. Then you have another housing market that has been created that does just the opposite. It is going down in value. Now if Spokane had living wage incentives to businesses in Spokane like Seattle and Portland have adopted you would start to see some positive growth and change in Spokane. People that make a living wage do things like buy homes, start businesses of their own, and ultimately build wealth and the community around them. From my perspective when looking at Spokane I see a town that has its feet firmly planted against growth and change. It's the largest city heading east on 90 until Minneapolis, but it wants to maintain this backwards small town mentality. At some point Spokane isn't going to have a choice but to grow or become even more recessed.
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I am not meaning to sound negative but if you can (not sure of your status) live modestly and hang in there until something opens up or the economy gets better I probably would do that if I were you. Work at a grocery store for awhile or do something outside of your field. It is better being happy in a great place with less than having lots of stuff and being miserable. I have lived now in five states and find this to be true. 
