How good/bad is the job situation in the U.S.

[Mand 1]

We are looking at a move back to the U.S. (all going well with the visa) around the end of this year. My husband (US citizen) just cannot stand it here anymore and wants to get home. Some days I'm excited about the move and other days, like today, I'm very nervous.

I worry that our standard of living will drop, that DH will have to take a pay cut to get work ... is there even any work out there? He's extremely qualified and has said that his line of work is growing at the minute (I.T/I.S. Security), but how do people out there find things? I know every sector is different and I may aswell be asking "How long is a piece of string?" but any thoughts?

[payxibka 10,045]

8+% unemployment

many qualified and highly qualified people are ready and available for each good available job...

best bet is to "tap" you network for jobs than go it via the classifieds

[Reba 2]

Depends what state you're moving to. There are currently 4 states with double digit unemployment rates, and more that probably this month will be right on their heels.

Wyoming has a fairly low unemployed rate. That doesnt necessarily mean there's jobs to be had there though. It just means there are fewer people collecting benefits.

What area are you moving to?

[Mand 1]

Columbus, Ohio

[Reba 2]

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/multi...?sec=datacenter

[Mand 1]

Columbus, Ohio

We're moving to Columbus, Ohio.

Thanks for the replies. Unemployment is just under 5% here and set to sky rocket in the next few months once redundancies go through, DELL leave etc

[Mand 1]

Sorry, scrap that figure ... it's a few months old. Unemployment rate is at 10% here and rapidly rising!!

[hxxrmonkey 0]

Sorry, scrap that figure ... it's a few months old. Unemployment rate is at 10% here and rapidly rising!!

Well Mand, I live in Cleveland OH and my fiance is in Ireland, moving over in 1 month, and he's in computer repair. He says jobs are so sparse in Ireland that he'd rather move over here and give it a shot (of course he lives in Tralee, not exactly a big city). Anyway, there aren't a lot of places hiring but at the moment jobs in IT security seem to be fairly long term if you can find one. But the best advice I can give you is 1. find a job at a university or 2. find a job in healthcare (tech for hospitals will always be necessary). Also, don't be too proud to take a minimum wage job until the recession is over or you find a better job. I read somewhere that even during the great depression there were loads of minimum wage jobs, it was just that everyone thought they were too good to take them. Don't let that happen to you. I also heard that the recession should be clearing up near the beginning of next year. So you could always put the move off for a year or so.

[fozzie 41]

I live in New York and you would think that there would always be opportunities here. However I work for a University and interview many prospective students each day. Many of these people are unemployed and desperate to get a degree. Does your husband have a degree in this field? Is it a US degree? Experience? The information systems and security field is still doing well and he should be able to find work. It does depend on where you are moving to in ohio. There will be parts of the state where there is a concentration of those kind of jobs, there usually is. Find out where the industry is centered and what companies are there. Trade magazines. Career fairs. These are good ideas because they are industry specific. Good luck.

[DI&JR 1]

We are looking at a move back to the U.S. (all going well with the visa) around the end of this year. My husband (US citizen) just cannot stand it here anymore and wants to get home. Some days I'm excited about the move and other days, like today, I'm very nervous.

I worry that our standard of living will drop, that DH will have to take a pay cut to get work ... is there even any work out there? He's extremely qualified and has said that his line of work is growing at the minute (I.T/I.S. Security), but how do people out there find things? I know every sector is different and I may aswell be asking "How long is a piece of string?" but any thoughts?

Here is a suggestion, have him check for university and government CSIRTs (computer security incident response teams) in your area...

[Mand 1]

Wow, thanks for all the info!!

Lauren and Dave, he's the U.S. citizen so his Degree is American and he has worked in this industry since he graduated, so no break in his career ever.

hxxrmonkey, yeah Tralee is probably tough job wise - but to be honest, where isn't these days!

DI&JR, I'll get him to look into that.

Thanks everyone!

[hxxrmonkey 0]

Wow, thanks for all the info!!

Lauren and Dave, he's the U.S. citizen so his Degree is American and he has worked in this industry since he graduated, so no break in his career ever.

hxxrmonkey, yeah Tralee is probably tough job wise - but to be honest, where isn't these days!

DI&JR, I'll get him to look into that.

Thanks everyone!

Of course what I'm about to say is all relative according to your current circumstances but...

I just wanted to tell you also the standard of living thing is SO NOT an issue, as long as you make good choices about where you live. Things cost twice as much and people get paid half as well in Ireland. When I was looking for a web designer/IT position they almost all only paid about 28k/year. Here you can make 50k+ per year starting out in IT. That's more than enough for two people to live decently, though not like a king and queen. And my fiance always talks about how we don't have to turn on the hot water to take a shower or shave or do the dishes and the heat runs as much as we want for a fraction of the cost. Those were issues for me in Ireland. Of course, I don't know anything about your living situation but it was so much more expensive when I was living there, and I was earning Euro while working, not dollars, so it wasn't about the conversion rate. And real estate is SO MUCH CHEAPER here!!! Especially right now, assuming you can get the mortgage.

The one thing I still miss about Ireland is the long drives on the tiny back roads, and only having to drive 10 minutes to find something scenic. It really is pretty... when it's not raining!

I think it's give and take but as long as one of you is working in a decent job and you keep yourself out of credit card debt you'll make it ok. Maybe your husband should go over first and try to find a job (It will be so much easier for him than for you). Once he gets something that can support you both then you can make the big move. That way you'll have time to look for work without the worry and stress (if you're going to work).

As far as advice about finding a job, you will always get better results if you apply in person rather than online. Tell him to get someone to check over his resume, preferably some sort of free career service. Also, from personal experience, sometimes it pays to send/deliver your resume to the hiring department instead of HR, or both. That's how I got my job. It will probably have to go through HR anyway, but at least if you catch their eye they'll fight for you.

Good Luck!

[Mand 1]

hxxrmonkey, thanks for the advice. You are right, it is expensive to live here and although housing prices are dropping, it it still expensive in comparison to what you get in the U.S.

And my fiance always talks about how we don't have to turn on the hot water to take a shower or shave or do the dishes and the heat runs as much as we want for a fraction of the cost.

Ah the good old emersion in the hot press

[Old Dominion 26]

In some places, and in some specialties, there are good job vacancies but too few skilled applicants. I'd say with the innovations now unfolding in federal government, there will be lots of new IT jobs. As always, networking is the best avenue to find out what hasn't yet been advertised.

If you have a choice of where to live, think of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia - it has the beauty and the winding country roads of Ireland.

[scandal 951]

We are looking at a move back to the U.S. (all going well with the visa) around the end of this year. My husband (US citizen) just cannot stand it here anymore and wants to get home. Some days I'm excited about the move and other days, like today, I'm very nervous.

I worry that our standard of living will drop, that DH will have to take a pay cut to get work ... is there even any work out there? He's extremely qualified and has said that his line of work is growing at the minute (I.T/I.S. Security), but how do people out there find things? I know every sector is different and I may aswell be asking "How long is a piece of string?" but any thoughts?

For qualified and experienced people, there are ALWAYS things opening up, even in the worst economy in living memory.

Like your husband, I am a USC that was living overseas (Israel) and moved back to the US in October 2008 in preparation for starting my new life here with my fiancee. She's still in Thailand, so we have a few more months apart. I too am in the IT field. I started my job search even before returning to the US. I had my resume up to date, my LinkedIn profile all spiffed up, my references all set, and I started firing off applications and resumes via the job boards, primarily dice.com and careerbuilder.com. To some extent also monster.com, craigslist (they're not as useful for this kind of thing), and old fashion google searches for relevant companies, and their career/employment pages. Once I got to the US I hit the ground running, HARD, and I had interviews through November, 3 strong prospects by Thanksgiving, an offer by early Dec, and I was working before New Years. Luck? Partly, no doubt. But also organization, hard work, research, preparation. There are jobs out there. Do your homework, use your networks.

For the most part the job boards (Dice etc.) won't get you direct leads to a hiring company. What they will do is get you on the radar of the recruiters who are actually posting the positions. Be nice to them. Recruiters are your friends in this game. A good recruiter who gets to know your skillset , experience and career goals CAN and WILL get you in front of the right hiring companies.

If you are interested in the Chicago area, I can put you directly in touch with the recruiter who ultimately placed me. I highly recommend him. If you are looking elsewhere, start on the job boards.

One thing I would say about Ireland vs. US (or for that matter Israel vs. US, or any other smaller sized country vs. US) - even in a downturn, especially in a global downturn, I'd rather be hustling for work in the US. It's just such a much vaster economy, with so much more lateral mobility and so many more hiring companies around. As you noted about Dell, if you lose one major employer in Ireland, where else can you go? Whereas in the US there's just a bigger scale to the workforce and opportunities.

Good luck!