Immigrants with limited English getting jobs

[GabachaYucateca 0]

That's a great attitude your hubby has, Diana!

[bora bora 1]

That's a great attitude your hubby has, Diana!

I agree .

My husband went back to ESL class today so I'm excited.

[pereira 0]

Hello,

I have not posted in a while. However, I am happy to report that my husband finally started working at a hotel last week. I am hoping he will be able to continue with his ESL classes. How is everyone else doing?

P

[athena_ny 1]

My husband speaks English, but does anyone know any cities that have good economies for immigrants? He's pretty much unskilled, and Tampa is no longer working out for a myriad of reasons. :(

[bora bora 1]

My husband speaks English, but does anyone know any cities that have good economies for immigrants? He's pretty much unskilled, and Tampa is no longer working out for a myriad of reasons.

Athena,

The Orlando area has a BUNCH of jobs...I mean my husband doesn't have more than a HS education and has never had a problem getting a job. I mean, it's been super easy for him.

There are tons of immigrants here and they tend to stick to the same kinds of jobs.

I mean, the women are mostly housekeepers/cleaners and the men tend to work in "driving" jobs (at the airport), construction (if there is any work), and restaurants/hotels. Now I'm talking about illegals with limited to no English.

Athena, your husband has papers and speaks English - so there should be more jobs for him.

[athena_ny 1]

My husband speaks English, but does anyone know any cities that have good economies for immigrants? He's pretty much unskilled, and Tampa is no longer working out for a myriad of reasons.

Athena,

The Orlando area has a BUNCH of jobs...I mean my husband doesn't have more than a HS education and has never had a problem getting a job. I mean, it's been super easy for him.

There are tons of immigrants here and they tend to stick to the same kinds of jobs.

I mean, the women are mostly housekeepers/cleaners and the men tend to work in "driving" jobs (at the airport), construction (if there is any work), and restaurants/hotels. Now I'm talking about illegals with limited to no English.

Athena, your husband has papers and speaks English - so there should be more jobs for him.

Only thing he has ever done is jewelry - and I guess most people don't see any good in that, when he was interviewing last time (before the economy took a turn for the worse) the most he was offered was 9.00 an hour. He makes more than that where he is, but he wants me to go back to school and we just bought a car that we shouldn't have (okay, last year)...

With the cost of gas going so high (I heard up to 250.00 a barrel by next year?!) it's too difficult for him to keep his present job and us both drive 40 miles (round trip) everyday.

I'm keeping myself up nights worrying about this. He's entertained the idea of going elsewhere to find work that pays well, but I hate that idea; also considered construction but there's not much building going on over here at the moment. I've been kind of afraid more of the same over in Orlando =/

[bora bora 1]

What about working in a restaurant? It's hard work but he can make more than $9/hr for sure. A friend of mine works in Lakeland and her husband works in Tampa and he has experience but makes up near $16 (or more)/hour.

If you work in a higher end restaurant you can make no less than $10/hour.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Only thing he has ever done is jewelry - and I guess most people don't see any good in that, when he was interviewing last time (before the economy took a turn for the worse) the most he was offered was 9.00 an hour. He makes more than that where he is, but he wants me to go back to school and we just bought a car that we shouldn't have (okay, last year)...

With the cost of gas going so high (I heard up to 250.00 a barrel by next year?!) it's too difficult for him to keep his present job and us both drive 40 miles (round trip) everyday.

I'm keeping myself up nights worrying about this. He's entertained the idea of going elsewhere to find work that pays well, but I hate that idea; also considered construction but there's not much building going on over here at the moment. I've been kind of afraid more of the same over in Orlando =/

Athena,

Having worked in the jewelry business has certainly given him some skills that he could apply in other very detailed jobs. Spruce up his resume, focusing on skills; and go check out jewelry business in the area, as well as other places where he could use his very specialized skills.- What kind of work would he like doing?

L.

[shadtov 0]

Hi! No new news. I just wanted agree with Bora Bora that listing languages spoken can be very important depending on where you live.

I just got myself caught up on this post. It's great to have a place for ideas and venting.

Reeses16--I don't know if your husband is still looking. We've been in Seattle since last summer. My husband is taking ESL classes at the community college and found a job at UPS through their job fair. It was easy to bus down from North Seattle, but I picked him up at night b/c the bus ran infrequently at night and was in that sketchy, industrial part of seattle. There were other immigrants, but he was the only Mexican. He said the other co-workers were nice, but it was very demanding physically. It depends which area your're assigned to. He kept saying "I'm not in my 20s anymore"--He's only 32! He lost 3 pant sizes in 3 months, and he wasn't heavy to begin with. But, they do have great health benefits for part timers. THey have 3 shifts a day. He worked the evening shift. He did manual labor through high school and some of college, but not for a while.

In January he decided to leave and got a job at Starbucks. It's his favorite job ever. He decided he would get over the "wanting to work in an office" thing and finally do what makes him happy. His favorite job in Mexico was bartending his way through college. Starbucks gives you benefits after 3 months of working at least 80 hours a month and he likes his co-workers. They're also flexible with his school schedule. He feels a lot better as an immigrant in Seattle than in San Diego. I think that had more to do with his being mexican immigrant and the tension near the border.

My husband has a 4 year degree in Business Administration and was working as a human resources/finance department assistant when we married in San Diego 4 years ago. My husband had a hard time there. He really wanted an office job. He thought he'd paid his dues through high school and college, working manual jobs, and felt frustrated that he was "starting over." I, of course, felt guilty b/c I didn't have to "start over' when he moved here. But now he's in a place where he sees the opportunities here that wouldn't have been available to him in Mexico. But that took a while.

It's a long process, but as you all know, if your relationship makes it through, you're much stronger as a couple.

[shadtov 0]

Only thing he has ever done is jewelry - and I guess most people don't see any good in that, when he was interviewing last time (before the economy took a turn for the worse) the most he was offered was 9.00 an hour. He makes more than that where he is, but he wants me to go back to school and we just bought a car that we shouldn't have (okay, last year)...

With the cost of gas going so high (I heard up to 250.00 a barrel by next year?!) it's too difficult for him to keep his present job and us both drive 40 miles (round trip) everyday.

I'm keeping myself up nights worrying about this. He's entertained the idea of going elsewhere to find work that pays well, but I hate that idea; also considered construction but there's not much building going on over here at the moment. I've been kind of afraid more of the same over in Orlando =/

What did he do with jewelry? If he really enjoyed the work, I'd think there has to be something out there, especially in areas with high tourist flow. My mom works at a store in San Diego where she runs the register but part of the job requirement is that she make necklaces, etc, while in between customers. I know she's a USC, but she enjoys it the combo.

I have another friend who started selling handmade jewelry on-line after she and her husband had a major car accident. She has a PHd in chemistry but enjoys jewelry making. (you never know) Her husband works part-time as a teacher for insurance, but otherwise they survive on her income. They run the business from their small apt.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Oh! And absolutely listing all languages spoken is always an amazing skill.

[bora bora 1]

Oh! And absolutely listing all languages spoken is always an amazing skill.

I told my husband the same thing. Although he's not fluent in English yet, he gets by, and IS fluent in Portuguese and understands Spanish fine.

[athena_ny 1]

What did he do with jewelry? If he really enjoyed the work, I'd think there has to be something out there, especially in areas with high tourist flow. My mom works at a store in San Diego where she runs the register but part of the job requirement is that she make necklaces, etc, while in between customers. I know she's a USC, but she enjoys it the combo.

I have another friend who started selling handmade jewelry on-line after she and her husband had a major car accident. She has a PHd in chemistry but enjoys jewelry making. (you never know) Her husband works part-time as a teacher for insurance, but otherwise they survive on her income. They run the business from their small apt.

He's looking into importing handmade Peruvian jewelry at the moment, but he has spent the last 4 years working for a husband and wife team. He makes the jewelry - it's all handmade. He is interested in having his own business, but that won't fix our situation at the moment, and the start up costs are so high. That's in the plans but is not immediate

[reeses16 8]

Hey! Glad to know things are going well with your husband. Which school does your husband go to? I wonder if they might know each other. My hubby goes to North Seattle Community College.

Yeah, he's working at a restaurant now. Its frustrating because he's not being treated fairly there. It sucks, but he's willing to do what he needs to put us in a better position long term, but its ridiculous stuff like: 1) not giving him enough hours...(do you know anyone who was hired for a full time position but works 26 hrs a week?) or not paying him for time worked (his last check was short many hours, thank God his clock-in/out gives printed receipts that I record on my calendar and file. This has happened 2 times now). Sigh.... he's doing the best he can. He tried getting a job at UPS for holiday season, but he was really confused during orientation. There was a lot of reading and it was too fast paced. My hubby is definitely a relaxed person and hopefully in time he will adjust to the quicker pace of things in the US.

His first job was at Starbucks... where he was never scheduled for more than 19 hours/wk and most often 10. So he never got benefits.

He did have an awesome job offer, exactly what he wanted for GREAT pay...but he didn't have a drivers license. His road test is later in the week. I'm praying for him. I know for him having a license will help him get a job that he finally ENJOYS. I guess we just have to be patient, I'm sure things will get better with time.

===

On a side note the economy is really frightening to US right now! Gas reached regular gas was $3.67 in Seattle last week. We shop at Sams club and no joke, several of the items we buy were $2-3 more expensive, per item! We've been pretty committed to paying off our debt, but for the next 2-3 months we're going to make minimum payments and put the rest in savings for security.

Hi! No new news. I just wanted agree with Bora Bora that listing languages spoken can be very important depending on where you live.

I just got myself caught up on this post. It's great to have a place for ideas and venting.

Reeses16--I don't know if your husband is still looking. We've been in Seattle since last summer. My husband is taking ESL classes at the community college and found a job at UPS through their job fair. It was easy to bus down from North Seattle, but I picked him up at night b/c the bus ran infrequently at night and was in that sketchy, industrial part of seattle. There were other immigrants, but he was the only Mexican. He said the other co-workers were nice, but it was very demanding physically. It depends which area your're assigned to. He kept saying "I'm not in my 20s anymore"--He's only 32! He lost 3 pant sizes in 3 months, and he wasn't heavy to begin with. But, they do have great health benefits for part timers. THey have 3 shifts a day. He worked the evening shift. He did manual labor through high school and some of college, but not for a while.

In January he decided to leave and got a job at Starbucks. It's his favorite job ever. He decided he would get over the "wanting to work in an office" thing and finally do what makes him happy. His favorite job in Mexico was bartending his way through college. Starbucks gives you benefits after 3 months of working at least 80 hours a month and he likes his co-workers. They're also flexible with his school schedule. He feels a lot better as an immigrant in Seattle than in San Diego. I think that had more to do with his being mexican immigrant and the tension near the border.

My husband has a 4 year degree in Business Administration and was working as a human resources/finance department assistant when we married in San Diego 4 years ago. My husband had a hard time there. He really wanted an office job. He thought he'd paid his dues through high school and college, working manual jobs, and felt frustrated that he was "starting over." I, of course, felt guilty b/c I didn't have to "start over' when he moved here. But now he's in a place where he sees the opportunities here that wouldn't have been available to him in Mexico. But that took a while.

It's a long process, but as you all know, if your relationship makes it through, you're much stronger as a couple.

[shadtov 0]

yeah, it's not so lucrative in the beginning. My friend started on-line a couple of years ago, but they live in nice apartment in a wealthy part of San Diego, now. They don't make enough for them both to leave their jobs, though.

But maybe someday soon for you guys.