★ MOVING TO MINNEAPOLIS, opinions? ★

[chrisroane]

I'm a PHP programmer, and I've worked in the web development expertise for over 12 years.

More valuable than a college degree in most web shops is experience.

So the big question is, how much experience do you have? I do understand that you have to make money to survive....but also keep in mind that if you graduate college, it is going to be hard to get a job in this field that makes very much, unless you have experience. This seems to be true for both web programmers and web designers.

If I was in your shoes, and didn't have much real world experience, I would try to get any kind of web design internship/job.....even if I only would make $8/hour, and try to figure out a way to survive while going to college. Just my opinion, though.

[Kebinminn]

Aldi also hires at a good rate, they're owned at the same company that owns Trader Joes.

Waiting tables is also a good idea. I would assume your school has an internship program, I'd use that as well as look for freelance opportunities.

[Aims'89]

I'd say don't expect to get a job paying around 11$ an hour; minimum wage is what most jobs I see around here paying; if you're lucky you might find something slightly past that.

When applying, make sure your job resume is in the right format, without spelling errors and arranged in a presentable way. From what I hear mistakes tend to be made on handed in resumes; turning in one without any flaws certainly won't hurt. A cover letter probably wouldn't hurt either.

If you want big, and I'm guessing you mean lots of people and things to do, I'd say Uptown. From what I gather it's pricey but if you have a roommate and budget that can probably be doable.

MCTC. I attended this college for my AA degree- aka "generals" (or vice versa, haha,) and am currently completing my degree elsewhere. It's a technical college. If you want to get generals done before moving on to your degree, check that the specific courses you take will qualify as transferable if you want to go somewhere else afterward. Yes, it's accredited, but it doesn't hurt to check. The class sizes are small, the proffessors know their material and are really involved and passionate about their subjects and it's cheap. Seriously cheap, and that's a hugE advantage to getting your generals done. If you're looking for extracurricular that section's pretty small. Involvement is pretty low. The theater program for example is tiny.

At any rate, back to the jobs. If you want to pay rent on your own, I'd say tackle it strategically and go for two jobs instead of one. I've seen some of my peers at MCTC work 2-3 jobs while in school among other ongoings in their lives. Craigslist, the Mall of America, Southdale, the Work Study program at MCTC, Downtown, Uptown....there's a lot of places to look and apply.