Thursday, November 10, 2011

Job Hunt: How far are you willing to go?

During my daily browse of CNN Money, I saw a pretty interesting article:

I Doubled My Salary in North Dakota

I have quite a few associates/friends who are job hunting right now and most are having a pretty hard time finding jobs in major metropolitan areas. This article led me to ask myself how far I would be willing to move for some (or double) bigger bucks.

A newly discovered oil patch in small town North Dakota has attracted tons of oil business and therefore many new workers. The article showcases some pretty hefty salaries for blue collar jobs not needing college degrees. Imagine being the manager of a fast food taco joint making almost $100k a year. Or a young oil field worker, making upwards of $120k per year. All of these people moved from their hometowns (where jobs were scarce and pay was minimum wage) specifically to N.D. to take advantage of the up-and-booming economy.

I've run into some conversations recently around moving to low-populated areas to find jobs and make more money. A colleague of mine said his daughter moved to Idaho after college to become a public grade school teacher. She makes about $60k a year (I think that's better than a lot of teachers starting out). Maybe the new "thing" is to move to these desolate places your first year or two out of college, stack up some money and experience, and then make a move to the Chicagos, DCs, and New Yorks of the world.

So how far are you willing to go for the big bucks? As the age old saying goes...no pain, no gain.

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