bay area employers hiring?
tommyLucinda has a question about the Tampa Bay area job market, so she contacted us through the old Ask-a-Tampan gimmick.
Hi everyone,
My fiancee and I are moving to Tampa in Early May of this year. He currently works at John Hancock in Boston, and I am a paralegal. We make roughly 35-40k a year individually. Based on prior posts I understand that the pay in Tampa is pretty low. When I look at job-postings on websites like craigslist.com and other sites though, the pay seems comparable to what we are making here, so I’m unsure what ti expect. I was also wondering if the job market has picked up at all? I know that here, a lot of places have a ” hiring freeze” in effect due to the economy. I was wondering if that was the case there also. We are planning to apply to jobs from here and possibly fly down for some interviews but I’m afraid employers will be reluctant to call us back since we are still living in Mass. Since so many people move down to Florida from up here though, I was wondering if employers are more open to hiring out of state people who are relocating. Any thoughts? Comments? I just want to get an idea of what to expect.
First of all, congratulations on your engagement! And second of all, congratulations on making the decision to head to Tampa Bay for this next part of your life.
At this time, governments have a hiring freeze in effect, but that is not necessarily the case with business. Forty percent of businesses expect to hire more people this year (down from 56% last year). Locals feel as if things are just sorta ok.
As far as the 351 area code on your resume, I would assume that many Florida businesses are used to getting job applicants from out-of-state. After all, everyone wants to live here sooner or later! But for others with real live experience in this matter, we’ll have to rely on the incomparable sticks readers - they often leave helpful anecdotal evidence in the comments.
One caution to you though - compared to the Northeast, Florida is laid back and (some would say) s.l.o.w. I beg you not to come down here just to complain that they do things so much better up North. We really don’t care much for that sort of attitude.
Also, I see your husband is at John Hancock. We’re not particularly endeared to insurance companies here lately. Although they are a necessary evil.
I hope this is somewhat helpful, and I encourage you to check back for more comments - folks ’round here are pretty good at helping out…
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February 12th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I left New York in 2005 purchased a beautiful home here in Tampabay area and struggled for two years until I found a job. I went from earning 52,000 a year to 22,000 a year. DO NOT move here with expectations of making even close to what you are going to leave behind!!! Make sure you secure employment BEFORE you commit to moving to this area. My real estate agent told me with my background I would not have a problem securing a job, it was a terrible misrepresentation of the employment here in this state. Please do your research and think twice before making such a huge committment I sure wish I HAD!!!!
February 12th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
You can go online and look for employment at http://www.TBO.com which is the local papers classifieds. Go to the Hillsborough County website as well and look for county positions, there’s a legal secertary position that pays 50k-60k out there right now. I know people that make your salary range and a few that make a little less. I’m currently looking to change jobs and I have sent about 2 resumes a week and get called on about half. For me it has been location not salary so much.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I personally can comment that jobs in the nonprofit field are scarce. I live in the area and am planning on moving out of it because of the lack of job opportunity. Also, two friends who are in the banking industry and wished to move here from the Fort Myers area pushed their move back a year because they couldn’t find employment. The pay is not on par with the educational requirements and cost of living. I agree it would be a wise decision for you or fiancee to have a job that will support you both before moving here.
February 12th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Hi,
Thanks for the input everyone. I’m starting to apply for a few jobs now. I’m just worried that since I’m not moving until May , these jobs may not be available at that point. I guess I will just keep applying and hope that something pans out by that time.
February 12th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
The good news is that companies are always hiring, but they don’t always announce it in the paper. Find out some companies that interest you and check their websites for job listings. There are a plethora of Fortune 500 companies in the area that are constantly hiring: Outback Restaurant Group, Franklin Templeton, Raymond James, Tech Data and Avaya are just a few.
Until recently, the bad news was that a majority of the people living in the Tampa Bay area could not realistically afford to live in the Tampa Area. A single person making $65k a year? You couldn’t even afford to buy a house. But fortunately the housing market is in a correction and affordable living for the area is on its way.
If you can make a combined income of $100k, you should be able to do ok. Good luck.
-Kevin
February 12th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I’m a paralegal, and there are definitely firms hiring paralegals in the Tampa Bay area. The outlook for paralegals isn’t as dismal as in other fields. The pay for a paralegal here will be about the same as what you listed if you have at least 5 years of experience. Plus you won’t pay any state or local income tax. Right now, paralegals in Florida don’t have to be certified, but that is on the verge of changing. Voluntary registration through the Florida Bar Association begins in March, and after that the push will be to make it mandatory. One negative … you’ll probably find that most firms aren’t willing to pay travel expenses for paralegal interviews … basically because they get plenty of good applicants from within the state who are willing to drive at their own expense. But don’t let that stop you … if you can find one low-cost round-trip airfare, you can probably line up several interviews over the course of a couple of days. The Hillsborough County Bar Association has a job placement registry (like thelegalregistry.com) that you can sign up for NOW, and you can also contact a couple of private legal placement firms.
February 12th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
As to the lack of a Tampa Bay Area Phone #. Contct Vonage and get a # with an 813 or 727 areacode. it will cost you about $25-$30 a month and it will allow your to call any # nationaly without any long distance charges. However you do have to already have a Highspeed Internet Service Provider. Or you could buy Cell phone service here in the Bay area but that would probably cost you more.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
No! No! No! Do not come down here expecting to make any sort of decent salary. I almost puked when I heard my frist job offer. No kidding.
I work probably 55 hours a week in order to live the life I want and even at that, I don’t think I bring in what I’m really worth.
Granted, I spend on clothes what I spend on rent every month; I drive a luxury car and I travel every six weeks or so. Also, I truly don’t understand how the f*ck you’re living in Boston on those salaries, so maybe you won’t mind driving a shitbox, not having high-speed internet and eating a carb-based diet all the time.
Nobody else down here does, I’ve noticed.
Move for the warm winters, the year-round tan, the excellent beaches, the smiles most people have, and the constant willingness to party.
But do NOT move for the money.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
“Move for the warm winters, the year-round tan, the excellent beaches, the smiles most people have, and the constant willingness to party.”
WTF, Rachel, I’ve lived in FL my whole life and you’ve just summed up every reason I’ve ever had for wanting to MOVE AWAY.
February 13th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I’m not moving there for the salary.. but I just want to be sure that we’ll be able to make it in Tampa and live relatively comfortably.Boston is one of the most expensive cities to live in. I’m just hoping that the lower pay and lower cost of living in Tampa will balance each other out out and we can be okay.
February 15th, 2008 at 12:05 am
Good Advice: Stay up North! The hurricanes here snatch you from your homes! Gators come up out of the toilet and bite your ass! And the snakes, I won’t even tell you about the snakes. And we’re all full up savvy? We just can’t fit another yankee, thank you.
February 15th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Wow. What’s with the hostility. I’m being thrown into some “Northerner” stereotype. I don’t plan on moving to Florida in order to complain about how it sucks, and how great the North is. What would be the point? I’ve spent time there, I have family in Ocala and I like it. Is that so bad? You don’t think Boston is full of people coming from different places? I don’t resent them for wanting to move to a place that they like. “We just can’t fit another Yankee”? You say stuff like that, and then wonder why people think the south is full of rednecks.
August 24th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I’m interesting on getting a job.I’m a paralegal