I've just relocated from NY to Tucson ~ am job hunting (Phoenix: hotels, home)

[LRV]

Dear all,
I, too, am just moving to Tucson from NY. I welcome your guidance as I network to find the right professional match (job) and settle here. Your feedback and guidance to our college grad has been very helpful.
A position in Organization Development and Training as a Trainer, Learning Officer, Consultant, Facilitator, Curriculum Developer, Grant Researcher and Writer, all are good matches. Thanks in advance for your networking ideas.

[Jukesgrrl]

I'm assuming if you are locating here without a job you must have some over-arching reason which is more important than your career. Moving anywhere without employment is a sketchy idea, but the limited opportunities in Southern Arizona make this an even worse situation than average. (I speak from experience. My forced move to Tucson occurred when the economy was in MUCH better shape than it is now and it still took me a year to find a job, with excellent experience and references.)

Your job matches seem to be positions that would occur in academia, a corporate environment, or possibly medical centers. Your first obstacle will be the fact there are only 25 employers in all of Pima County that have more than 1,000 employees (limited need to develop your employees when you only have a couple). Corporations that want to put their headquarters or a large facility in Arizona usually choose Phoenix.

The top ten Tucson Metro employers are:
1. Raytheon (about 12,000 employees)
2. University of Arizona
3. State of Arizona
4. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
5. Tucson Unified School District (TUSD)
6. Walmart
7. Pima County (which includes the community college system and the county libraries)
8. U.S. Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca
9. City of Tucson
10. Phelps-Dodge Mining (4,900 employees)

You will see that only numbers 1, 6, and 10 are private employers, with number 6 hiring mostly part-time workers. Anything that is funded by the government is usually trying to get rid of employees instead of hiring new ones because of budget problems. (Arizonans aren't known for their desire to fund governmental entities.) The U of A puts a big emphasis on employing its own grads. People with strong historic ties to the community tend to get the city, county, and state jobs. That leaves companies employing about 3,000 people or far fewer. Hospitals and other medical facilities predominate on that list. The hospitality industry used to be big, but many of the larger resorts/hotels/spas in the area are in bad financial shape (although some of the rehab/spas might be looking for funding developers).

The community college system has spent more than a year in serious management upheaval, so that might actually bode well for someone with no previous ties to that organization. I'd look there first. TUSD might have jobs because everyone I know who works there is killing themselves trying to get out (bad pay, worse leadership, no growth). The library system in Pima County is wonderful (one of the area's best assets) but it's probably a lost cause for new hires as their funding is looking at even more hits in the near future.

You can always look at the U of A; they hire from an application system that starts on their website, so you can easily see their open positions. Just don't get your hopes up unless you have an in there. It never hurts to apply, though. Same with Raytheon. They hire mostly engineers, but I worked many years for a Fortune 100 company that hired mostly engineers and I have a background in communications.

If I were you, I'd also apply to every one of the medical centers. They might have employee development or funding development jobs open. Of course, there are plenty of non-profits in Pima County that need people with grant-writing and similar funding-related skills. Not many of those jobs are full-time though and be prepared for the fact that salaries will be shocking low.

When I came here from back East I found most jobs in my field paid half of what identical positions paid where I came from (PA, NJ, DC, WA state). One of the major issues here is that people in the Southwest hold jobs for extraordinarily long times. There is less job movement here than any place I ever lived. If someone in Tucson gets a reasonable job that feeds their family, they usually hold on to it for dear life. Tucson also isn't known as a place where the natives are especially ambitious, career-wise. People come here to enjoy their lives, not work themselves to death. The trade off for that relaxed lifestyle is no money.

I might sound like a Debbie Downer, but people who have never lived here need to understand what they're going to be up against. Pima County is many nice things, but "land o' job opportunities" is not a moniker it will ever earn in my lifetime.

One final tip: the Oro Valley Public Library has a weekly "Facilitated Gathering for Job Seekers" led by a former executive recruiter. Several of the libraries also have computer workshops with a facilitator to help job seekers look online for job openings.
Facilitated Gathering for Job Seekers | Pima County Public Library | Tucson, Marana, Ajo, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Vail, Arivaca | Arizona

Hope that gives you some avenues of exploration. The short-term advice: get a job lined up before you come here or else bring plenty of money. Best of luck.

Here are some recent C-D threads that discuss employment:
What are Tucson hiring managers looking for?
Need Advice on Moving to Arizona
Grim picture of Tucson painted without leaders' 'awakening'

Here's an article about employment from the University's newspaper The Daily Wildcat:
Arizona Daily Wildcat :: Low ranking education system, high unemployment rates earn Tucson sixth-poorest in nation

[Annilyna]

Hi LRV, it seems we're in the same industry - I'm a Training Specialist/Curriculum Designer for a private company. I relocated to the Tucson area a few years ago from Southern Cal. I was lucky enough though, to go from my cubicle at the office to a remote home-based status, keeping my same position. I often facilitate webinars, and all my meetings online (with the occasional times where my company chooses to fly me in for a face-to-face, roughly once a quarter).

Just to add on to Jukesgrrl's response, you may also want to widen your search to companies offering positions where you can conduct trainings/instructional design work online, as I do. We're in the lucky position where our job skills allow the flexibility of not having to commute to a physical office (downside, I'm stuck at home throughout the week and rarely get a chance to go out and meet people). Online training seems to be the direction that many companies are headed anyways, as you may already know.

This way, you may not have to relay on the few companies hiring locally here.

Good luck in your search!