General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: This, my friends, is far too typical for my generation. [View all]haele
(12,681 posts)I live in San Diego where there's a shitload of engineering companies that cater to either the military, the universities, or telecom. However, being in the process of finally getting my own degree, I know that the's an additional "engineering college fee" on the upper level courses that kick a $36K BS degree into the $75K level if the student wants to get a degree that actually means more than a technical certification.
Also, (anecdotally) people tend to apply for work within two/three week seasonal periods; Mid-January, May/June and September. I know that when I've applied during those periods, I've gotten jobs.
Don't know why, but that's the application trend I've seen over the past 30 years I've been working. I suspect it has to do with when most people get out of school or the military, finish their vacations, and start looking for work, and these periods are also at the one-month point before most contracts and projects are scheduled to begin, so companies are looking to fill in worker gaps with new people.
Another thing I've noticed is that rhere's always job openings around here at companies that aren't competitive with their wages and benefits; most of them are entry jobs requiring either a technical cert "with experience" or a BS and start at $14.50 - $16 an hour and are usually temporary or linked to a specific contract or project that usually lasts only a year or two.
A high percentage of the advertised openings are also resume collection drives for companies to use to bid on a contract, so applicants are not really serious about the resumes or applications they send in.
Very few engineers with a degree above a BS around here get hired for a permanent position on a blind hire or job fair.
The good jobs that require advanced degrees or experience, the ones that start at $25 an hour, require the applicant know someone or worked on a project the people that have the final say on who hires knows. The idea that "everyone has a chance" at the position is usually a polite lie. If the company doesn't already have someone in mind and has to advertise because that's the law, one's reputation and network is far more important than education or experience in the field.
Now, this is in San Diego, where the people getting jobs here already live within a 60 mile radius. Go over the mountains almost a hundred miles to El Centro, or Brawley, and that BS or MS in engineering that can be a foot in the door at Qualcomm or Sony is not going to find you much more than perhaps a Dish or Cable installer or as buyer or materials handling position at a local construction company or as a member of the Geek Squad at the nearest Best Buy.
I'm sorry your husband can't find any applicants right now. If he started advertising early November, he would have missed the September/October job seeker's rush.
However, if ya'll are in/near a college or military town, or a high-tech hub, he should be seeing some applications starting the second week of January.
If you aren't located near an engineering job hub, it might be a bit harder; you'd be looking at the majority of your qualified applicants who are still working in the field being re-locators that can afford to move and/or feel they can take the chance that your business will need them for more than a year or two, and it would be a good investment to move.
Over the years, I've passed on applying for quite a few jobs that looked like they were project jobs that, while good paying, would require that I pick up and move quite a distance from my "home base", and would then leave me stuck in the middle of BFE when they were over.
Good luck to your husband on his applicant's search. I hate to say it, but LinkedIn might be a cheap way to spread out the net a little wider and find people in your area or people willing to move to your area.
Haele