Looking to change location, need advice 3

[MNTPK]

Hi,

I live in Minneapolis, MN. I just graduated from college with an Degree in Engineering Drafting and Design. I was looking to move in the upcoming months but am unaware of where there are good markets for young designers. I am open to any suggestions, I would love to hear about what type of market is out there. I know it is good around Minneapolis here, but like I said, I'd like to go out and start my life away from my hometown.

Any advice helps,

Thanks!

 

[TheTick]

Save your pennies. It's not likely someone will pay to relocate a freshie designer.

 

[MNTPK]

I'd pay to relocate myself, I have the funds. I just need to know where there is opportunity to find a job. I wouldn't want to uproot and leave just to be unemployed there. I was looking at the west coast, or the south. I'm just looking to go experience something new for myself rather than stay in the same spot my entire life. I would just like to know of some good websites that would benefit me in this search.

 

[MadMango]

You might want to research into employment services, like Adecco USA, Aerotek, or even Dice. This will give you an idea of where the jobs are, and what you can budget for cost of living and other expenses.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[DRWeig]

If you can shave about 10 degrees off your latitude, you can sell your fur parkas for some extra cash.

MadMango had a great idea.

I'll add, don't even start looking at internet job boards and such. Cannot trust them at all these days.

You might look into the US Bureau of Labor Statistics --

http://www.bls.gov

-- they keep data and publish trends based on geographic areas on just about every profession imaginable. You can find monthly historical data up to about 30 days ago, so you can spot your own growth areas with a little regression. If you pick the top five or ten MSMAs, you'll have a head start in your hunt.

Good luck!

Best to you,

Goober Dave

Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies

 

[Latexman]

I would also look at it in a slightly different way. What do you like to do? You are only at work 25% of your time. You sleep 33% of your time. That leaves 42% of your time to do what you like. Where do you want to live so you can do what you like? Then see if there is a good job market there. Do you know a second language? If so, think outside of the box/country.

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[MNTPK]

Thanks for all the helpful advice guys!

 

[ConstantEffort]

No reason that you can't have work lined up BEFORE you move. One of your statements indicated that you might move on the hopes of finding a job once you get there.

Your college should have a careers office of some sort. Most of their contacts are probably local, but see what they have out of town. Even for those local opportunties, note the indusrties that are hiring and search out more companies in the same industry.

Understand how recruiters work before you use one. They are an added cost to the employer. If you have the time and motivation, do your own search. The lack of a headhunter's fee will make you a more attractive candidate.

Some internet job boards are great for a discerning user. It helps to know what you want though and where you want it. Most of the results will be recruiters trying to make a buck, but you will get some results which are from employers. Indeed.com is my recommendation.

If you want to give piping design a go, you could move to Houston and be reasonably sure that you'll find work there right now.

 

[MNTPK]

Constanteffort- The only way I'd move and then look for work is if my Fiance found a position first. We are both employed up here and we are both looking to find jobs before our lease is up on our town home here. We are really basing our decision off of basically what Latexman stated. Along with looking at the pro's and cons of moving to each place. Maybe some of you have some input as to the cities we are looking at and what they have to offer.

-Seattle
-Portland
-San Francisco
-San Antonio
-Dallas
-Austin

All of these have seemed to appeal to us in terms of going somewhere new. Our goal is to have a place picked out in the next couple weeks so we can start this job search. Texas kind of has a one up on the rest, seeing as she has family there. But we are keeping an open mind to any advice we are given about those cities.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

I just visited the Twin Cities - first time. Other than some cold winters - I LOVED the place. One of the nicest places I have ever been and I have been all over most of the US. Stay home...

 

[ConstantEffort]

Your list of locations makes me wonder if you're as liberal as they come or as conservative as they get. Only someone who elected Jesse Ventura and Al Franken could consider moving to all those places.

Consider life style. It will be very different in San Francisco than in San Antonio. Even if you find jobs that cover the different costs of living, will you be as happy shooting game, drinking beer, and cursing the government as you would be sipping fair trade, 100% organic, carbon neutral coffee while pondering the meaning of life and ways to raise taxes on the rich? Stereotypes? Yes. Grain of truth? I bet there is.

Your situation is not unlike mine when I got started. I followed my wife to a new city with great job markets for both of our lines of work. It worked out wonderfully and the lifestyle perfectly fits us.

 

[ivymike]

Everything i know about mn i learned from garrison keillor. I would recommend staying there!


This site might help, if you'd be interested in machine design

http://www.caterpillar.com/careers

 

[trey25624]

If you are thinking of moving to Texas then I would look into jobs with the oil and gas industry. That is a stable industry that is hiring.

The best jobs are probably going to be in places you don't want to move to, or never considered.

 

[TheTick]

Are you working now? Probably best to get experience first. Contract work would allow you short-term employment without the stigma of job-hopping.

I do get a few emails from recruiters trying to pull me out of WI to do design work in sunnier places.

San Francisco and Silicon Gulch are E X P E N S I V E ! A lot of money goes a little way there. Also a shortage of available women (if you swing that way), so best to import your own.

 

[AncoraImparo]

Check out career opportunities in Australia. English spoken here I know of at least one US graduate engineer who landed a job with one of the big engineering consultancies in Australia, straight out of college.

 

[geesamand]

One piece of economic advice about selecting a location: consider commute time and price of your housing. If you rent, are flexible where you will live, and don't need a car, you might consider this to be minor. Geographic salary adjustments tend to assume the smallest possible cost difference - driving an economy car and living in a small apartment.

If you move toward a big metro area the cost of important things in your life can vary drastically more than the typical salary adjustments. So if you highly value owning a home with a yard and don't want to commute more than 30 minutes, you may have eliminated a lot of places on your list. For example if you like to play ice hockey (or cello) and you move to a place where you'll need public transit to travel more than a mile, that could be a mistake.

I spent my first year working in the neighboring state to where I grew up. It was generally very similar, but some of my favorite things to do were much less enjoyable there. Plus there were no singles in that town. So I spent many weekends going somewhere else. The job was terrific but I eventually had to move. A good job interview (and plenty of homework on your part) will help you understand whether you as an individual will be happy there.

 

[oldestguy]

How many years did you go to college? I suspect the degree is what is termed "associate". This does not sound to me like a great place to start a life long career, since it likely will not go farther, especially when thinking about another location. I've run into many a "draftsman" and that is where they stayed. Sure a job, but not a career.

Why not check around in town to see if there are any openings? I'd first see what the general demand might be for "draftsman jobs". I suspect they mainly need someone who is proficient in putting on screen the ideas of some other person, a real engineer. Then look at what the pay is.

It may inspire you to go on to more education, in the engineering field.

 

[Mr168]

If you're not looking to buy a home and are looking for a hub of engineering activity, it sure is tough to beat Houston, TX these days. Reasonable cost of living, no state income tax, tons of big O&G, subsea, energy, and misc. EPC firms there, plenty to do as a 20-something, and you'll find people from all walks of life there. I'll move back there one of these days when the time is right.

 

[ewh]

Plenty of work in Houston (crowded, hectic city), not as much in San Antone (laid-back, small town feel compared to Houston)... I haven't checked out Dallas recently. My vote would be Austin.

“Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.”
-Dalai Lama XIV

 

[TomDOT]

Austin's full. Go away.

There are a LOT of O&G jobs in Texas right now - but they are geographically concentrated. Houston, Midland/Odessa, and the rural area SE of San Antonio (Centered around Karnes City, going in a band mostly NE/SW from there in the oil-rich ("wet") end of the Eagle Ford shale.)

Housing in Midland/Odessa and Eagle Ford areas sucks. Hard. Bring your own if you can, unless you like hot-bunking.

Pipelines and LNG export terminals are going gangbusters - West Texas oil is getting stuck in the Cushing, OK hub for the most part, and gas is stuck pretty much... everywhere. They have given up on any new production the "dry" end of the Eagle Ford and any other pure-gas or mostly-gas plays.