Ok, so lets say I wanted to dissuade potential employers from feeling that my wife and I are vagabonds and will leave the city of our dreams within a short while after relocating, how would I do it?
On my resume, I've got 4 jobs in 7 years. Two were full-time paid internships. I left off any of the three part time jobs I had in Erie.
I'm two years into my current position. Not looking for more salary, just looking to do the same job someplace else.
Regarding fuel costs:
The point isn't to be driving around continuously.
The point is to stay parked for a period (month? 6 months?) while doing a short term role and learning an area.
If you don't like it, move on. If you do like it, stay for a while.
SVreX wrote: Now they call them "Care-a-Vanners".
They have a website for these folks. We'll look into this.
Yep.
I will do it full time again some day.
PHeller wrote: Not looking for more salary, just looking to do the same job someplace else.
Consider this from an employer's viewpoint.
Your job is not that rare, or unique. Typical employers would be municipalities or utility companies.
But these employers are incredibly rooted, and seek stable employees. In fact, people often take a pay cut to work for them because they want reduced stress and better benefits.
So, why would companies like that look for someone with no roots, who "just wants to do it someplace else"?
They are not calling because you represent a risk.
If you chose a mobile lifestyle (for a season), you could still use your skills, but you might have to consider more creative methods.
So, for example, you could contract to gas utilities for short term mapping projects. You could do CAD work for a HfH affiliate laying out houses and sites (which they typically pay for). You could do consulting, teaching, or write a book while traveling. "The Map of the Vagabond", or some such thing.
How about something that combined cartography, geo-caching, and your traveling adventures for a season?
Like I said earlier, you have this "need" for a "job" which is holding you back from fully being a "free spirit".
PHeller wrote:84FSP wrote: +1 for finding a decent recruiter. Get on Linkedin and get your network up and running. PM me and I can be your first contact on there.I have 81 people in my network but again, nobody outside of Pennsylvania. I need more contacts in the state I wish to move.84FSP wrote: What sort of work do you do around natural gas? O&G is tough at this second but always has a strong support network depending on what part of the country you end up.Natural Gas Utilites. Mapping and Data Analyst.
About 80% of jobs are filled through personal and professional networks. Only 20% of jobs are filed through postings on Indeed and other job boards. Building a network in the area you are going to find you work much faster.
LinkedIn is a great tool. The fastest way to find contacts on LinkedIn is join professional focus groups related to your skills and interests. Try to contribute on a regular basis. Use the advanced search function to find people doing the kind of work you are looking for in the area you are looking at. The limitation of LinkedIn is that people you want to connect with have to log in and see your connection request. Spending time in the professional interest groups will highlight who is on LinkedIn on a regular basis. It also gives you a forum to demonstrate your knowledge and competence. If nothing else you will be able to demonstrate that you can write coherently. 
If there are professional associations for your skills, you can join them and use them to locate members in the geographic areas you are targeting. networking is one of the benefits they provide.
If California were not completely off the table, I would suggest getting in touch with people at Pacific Gas and Electric. They had a ton of pipeline related GIS work for a several years. After a major pipeline explosion in 2010, regulators demanded a lot of remedial and proactive work be done on the gas transmission and distribution system.
SVreX wrote: Like I said earlier, you have this "need" for a "job" which is holding you back from fully being a "free spirit".
I guess what I'm trying to do is be a free spirit for a couple of years until kiddies come around, but not miss out on building a career while doing so. Hence the reason for wanting to stay in the industry. I don't mind a stable job, I just want to be able to enjoy my time outside of it, and as an adult, I don't feel winters are conducive for this. I don't expect to bounce around for my entire life...just the next 7 years, hopefully.
I'd love to work for PG&E but I've heard they are up there with ESRI, Google and Apple in terms of places where GIS folks want to work in California. Stiff competition.
In other news I just got a interview with UniSource Energy in Flagstaff, AZ. I must be doing something right!
With fracking gaining a foothold, I imagine a GIS tech would be in demand. I know several folks who moved from WNC to Texas a couple of years ago to work as landmen for energy companies. They do get moved around a lot and PA is another state they do a lot of work in.
Currently trying to relocate and find work... let me tell you, what people are saying here is true. Unless you're local or a rockstar you're pretty much SOL. Recruiters are a good option, but I'm finding even they are reluctant unless you're local. Or a rockstar.
Pretty sure I'm going to have to just make the jump and figure it out later. I've done it before (moved without a job) and it worked out, but that was 10 years ago. Luckily I don't need much to survive, so if I had to, I could work some basic job until something came along.
Just be sure you have a plan B or some savings in case it takes a while. If you're truly not happy where you are, you have nothing to lose.
Speaking of living out of a van between jobs:
Dan Norris is a millionare, but lives in Walmart parking lot between seasons.
In reply to PHeller:
Interesting dude. Thanks for posting that.
I agree I don't follow sports at all, never heard of the guy, but love his outlook and approach to life
PHeller wrote: Speaking of living out of a van between jobs: Dan Norris is a millionare, but lives in Walmart parking lot between seasons.
Thanks for sharing that.
I'm wired a lot like that, in fact my home was also a VW bus for a while. 1966 model. I'd camp in the parking lots of theaters I was working in. It's actually a good life, though most people don't get it.
But that article reminded me how much I'm not that anymore. I admire his commitment. I miss it.
Right, eventually desires change, you gotta hold a job, want to have kids, want to own your property, that kind of thing. I know I'll be there, and I know its coming soon rather than later, part of the reason I want to get out and experience something while I can, because there will probably a nice 20 year stretch will I will be stuck in a mostly pedestrian lifestyle.
My challenge is that I'm not endowed with great athletic skills to make million, nor did I go to school at 18-21 for education in a job that would let me work anywhere. I also don't hang with a lot of dudes who live out of vans, so I can't pick their brain about various forms of employment while being a gypsy. That's where folks like you come into play.
I appreciate the patience this forum gives me. I've been here nearly my entire adult life, long ago realizing that autocross and track days are probably something I'll pursue later in life, and living the GRM life via cheap cars, DIY mentality, and a frugal enjoyment of motorized vehicles.
In reply to PHeller:
I think you misunderstood me.
I don't think my desires changed. I think I compromised, and sold out some things that were important to me. I can't go back now, and sometimes wish I could.
And the only time I ever hung out with guys who live in vans so I could pick their brains is when I was one of them.
In reply to SVreX:
Sounds like you're not happy about that. Don't you have kids?
Yep. 5.
Why do kids matter?
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