Jobs in Wyoming (Cheyenne, Casper, Laramie: rental, student loans, lawyers)

[campaignmanager]

I am currently in Michigan and everything I have seen about Wyoming employment has related to blue collar workers. Just curious, with an unemployment rate between 2 and 3 percent (as opposed to our 7+), what is the market like for white collar positions? My wife and I would obviously be looking more toward Casper/Laramie/Cheyenne, but would be open to other area.

I read an article in the Denver Post comparing the Wyoming economy to Flint, MI, and it mentioned areas where fast food restaurants pay $10/hr. and still can't keep people. Is the payscale relative to that for all areas of work?

My wife has worked in human services for several years and is currently enrolled in a masters program. I will have my masters degree prior to relocation and have spent the past ten years in in public affairs. Does anyone have any thoughts?

[Kristynwy]

I am more familiar with blue collar positions and trades ect... but I think there is indeed a market for white collar work... I think there may even be here in Sheridan.

I think your wife could easily find a job, what area of work do you specialize in?

If you are above the median income and can buy a home, that would be your best bet as far as housing. Renting in next to impossible in the boom towns, or towns like Sheridan, even Casper now.

Cheyenne I have heard is easier to find a rental in. But windier there and colder in the winter...

So depends on what your preference is.

Wyoming isn't for the faint of heart, that is why it is hard to keep fast food workers ect, they are paid pretty decent, but they have to try to find a rental also, or if their spouse works possibly buy a home...

There is a high demand for skilled workers in many occupations, it is just overcoming the housing obstacle that makes it harder for some to relocate here.

[dictionary]

Both my spouse and I are in "white collar" fields with masters degrees required for our positions (in most parts of the U.S.). He is a native and I have been here for many years and I will say, it is very, very difficult to find white collar positions unless they are in the following: engineering, medical field, or education. Not only is it difficult to find these positions, they pay much, much less than even the mid-paying states in the south and in the midwest. That said, your best bet is Cheyenne and Casper.

As a white collar professional I become very frustrated with many things. I truly believe I would be better off in a different state. The majority of Wyoming is blue collar work and blue collar lifestyle and you may interpret that as you wish.

[dictionary]

one more thing, let me add that as a white collar worker, we know doctors and lawyers that live far, far less well than the blue collar workers. There are 20 year olds making 70K plus in the CBM fields. They buy houses, that with our student loans, we couldn't even think to afford. Our quality of life as professionals plummeted when we moved here.

For example, we live in very nice neighborhood, the homes in other neighborhoods going for 400K plus are being bought by 26 CBM workers who park their "junked out cars" etc. and put their hot tubs in the front yards. So you have a LOT of money = very little education or culture.

Many of our friends, with advanced degrees and more office type jobs have left or leave the state, not because they don't love the spaces and many of the people, but because being in a professional field it is very hard to afford the high cost of living with a lower salary.

For example: I know a web developer, he moved his family here for better schools, open spaces, etc. In 4 years he was disillusioned, his pay was much lower than he thought, he was frustrated by the consistent "lack of excellence" in dealing with vendors, etc. He sold his 1,500 sq ft 1970 dump of a ranch (he even called it a dump) for 209K, the then moved to Dallas TX where his salary... tripled, he bought a home in a nice community (with a pool) and the weather is great. Sure he complains about traffic, etc. BUT..

For some people, living in a trailer is ok. For us.. and for that web developer, he didn't spend a lot of money to earn an education not to have it appreciated or worth anything.

[NoMoBull]

So, if the wages are that much better for blue collar workers (and they are!), does it truly pay at the bottom line when you factor in the cost of housing?

[dictionary]

the cost of housing is crazy.. now if I said you could get a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home that was new for 350K you might think that sound ok,.. then what if I said it was built like 150K tract housing, low grade everything in the home and only 1,600 sq ft? A home in northeast WY that's 1,300 sq ft. And I don't count what the realtors try to pass off as extra square footage ... the basement.. it's not a bonus room, it's not an extra bedroom, it's a basement that looks like an episode from a horror movie. And they try to list the house as 2,600 sq ft.. and it hasn't been renovated since 1954. AT ALL. And they are asking 245K and in it's in a crap neighborhood. Look, my family came out to visit and all they could say was, "these houses would be in our GHETTO" and they are asking 250K plus for them!!

So you may have high wages but you'll pay out the nose for everything else. With the blue collar workers a lot of them owned a home before the boom OR.. and I know this from banker/realtor friends, they are just incredibly stupid with their money as well and don't have a college degree.. so no loans.. they don't travel.. they don't take their kids anywhere except maybe to Arby's.. sooo.. but they all have ATV's, snowmobiles, horsetrailers, huge homes, 800$ worth of diesel truck, etc.. but.. they have zero savings.

hey though, if I was young and didn't have a degree, I'd move out here too!

[ruggedindividual]

Originally Posted by dictionary

...they are just incredibly stupid with their money as well and don't have a college degree.. so no loans.. they don't travel.. they don't take their kids anywhere except maybe to Arby's.. sooo.. but they all have ATV's, snowmobiles, horsetrailers, huge homes, 800$ worth of diesel truck, etc.. but.. they have zero savings.

hey though, if I was young and didn't have a degree, I'd move out here too!

Translation: "If I were a young, dumb and uneducated redneck, I'd move to Wyoming and blow all my hard-earned money on worthless crap too!"

Sounds to me like someone is sitting on a very high horse. But Arby's does sound pretty good right now...

Very Respectfully,
A young, educated, cultured & financially responsible blue collar worker. (Yes, there is such a thing.)

[Kristynwy]

Originally Posted by navyvet79

Translation: "If I were a young, dumb and uneducated redneck, I'd move to Wyoming and blow all my hard-earned money on worthless crap too!"

Sounds to me like someone is sitting on a very high horse. But Arby's does sound pretty good right now...

Very Respectfully,
A young, educated, cultured & financially responsible blue collar worker. (Yes, there is such a thing.)

Well said Navyvet79

I guess my husband and I fall into that category also... lol...

[Wyomiles]

Well... I guess I see an opportunity for you and your wife to make more money in a "blue collar" job, and bring your higher education to the masses. I have worked these "lower" jobs my whole life and have worked right along side many - many college educated folks who found that their investment in education did not give them the lifestyle that a less educated person might be able to get. They realized that seeing themselves as being better ,due to their degree , was keeping them from living with all of the things that a good blue collar job brings. Having these "educated" people around made for a very interesting work environment and ,I think, really helped some of these folks enjoy their lives more.
Many of these jobs are not just physical , most of the jobs I have worked require computer skills, management skills, human resources skills, etc. I have also seen, those who cared to, advance into "white collar" jobs once they were established in a Wyoming company. So think outside your box, as they say. There may be a great opportunity for you if you are willing to "lower" youself.

[NoMoBull]

I want to lower myself, I need opportunity! Hey... wait a minute...I'm already low. Come to think, I picked poop with the chickens all day.

There really is a lot of opportunity in Wy; a wonderful way to learn a valuable trade.

I recently heard some interesting statistics from a social psychologist that was doing a study. He found that parents are pushing their children to go to college in order to make more of themselves vs. pursuing the trades, crafts, etc. What he has discovered is a shortage of people to fill these trades (i.e. plumber), and a very unmotivated, unproductive male youth. Many of these guys are just not interested in a four year degree. Now there are more women in college and graduating than males. These women, he found, don't want to marry a man that can't at the least provide an equitable income, so these young women are not marrying. Moreover, we are not replacing ourselves. But, the immigrants who place a high value on reproduction are. Therefore, in about a hundred years the U.S. will most likely not be as we know it today. (Europe about 50 years.)

Degree or no degree- we can all be viable contributors to this nation. We all need someone to repair our cars, fix our plumbing, build our houses, wipe our backsides when we're unable, and defend this great nation that so many others want to come and be a part of.

So I say, go get dirty, make a decent living and lots of babies!!!

Things don't impress me- people do.