Top places to work in Santa Fe? (Albuquerque, Rio Rancho: real estate market, credit)

[southernjedi]

I've been doing research on the internet and have visited Santa Fe. I've checked and re-checked websites for jobs until I'm sick in the head. However, there is nothing like getting help from the locals, right? Any companies I should steer away from applying? Or what companies do you suggest I should try to get a job in?

Thanks for any help you can send my way!

[Towanda]

My husband and I are retired, so I am not the best source of information on this topic, but here are my observations after living here for two years:

The main employers in Santa Fe are the government and the tourism industry.... and to a lesser extent retail stores and health care.

We don't have any big (or even medium-sized) companies here that hire large numbers of people.

I don't believe the government is eager to hire more people, as they are in debt and hopefully trying to get out.

The real estate market which seems to employ a lot of people here, really wouldn't be a good choice, because the market seems to still be in a slowdown with not as much inventory on the market as in the past...or potential buyers looking for homes and property.

There may be more opportunities to find employment in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho or Los Alamos.

People move to Santa Fe for various reasons, but the job market here based on the nature of the city, is not usually one of them.

I don't think my observations are very encouraging. Maybe others from Santa Fe can give you a more hopeful picture.

Good luck in your search for your niche in New Mexico.

[bongo]

Originally Posted by southernjedi

I've been doing research on the internet and have visited Santa Fe. I've checked and re-checked websites for jobs until I'm sick in the head. However, there is nothing like getting help from the locals, right? Any companies I should steer away from applying? Or what companies do you suggest I should try to get a job in?

Thanks for any help you can send my way!

What training do you have? What field? What skills? Medical field? Computer technology? Administrative Assistant? Restaurant Management?

[cynanthus]

Originally Posted by bongo

What training do you have? What field? What skills? Medical field? Computer technology? Administrative Assistant? Restaurant Management?

I was just going to ask the same questions! In addition to the above, what type of job do you want? Desk job? One with travel? Working with the public? Retail?

All that said... no matter what you respond... I don't actually know any great places to work here. My husband is self employed and I kept the same job I had on the East Coast when we moved here (now I work from home). I thought about trying to find something in Santa Fe, but haven't seen any corporate/business jobs advertised.

[jaxart]

The easiest answer is STATE GOVERNMENT jobs. Or local gov. jobs. If you stay in a state job long enough to retire, you can even double dip by retiring then hiring on somewhere else with someone who knows you and your work history.

[TKO]

Originally Posted by jaxart

The easiest answer is STATE GOVERNMENT jobs. Or local gov. jobs. If you stay in a state job long enough to retire, you can even double dip by retiring then hiring on somewhere else with someone who knows you and your work history.

They recently changed the law regarding the double dippers. Your PERA stops if you go back to work.

[jaxart]

Originally Posted by TKO

They recently changed the law regarding the double dippers. Your PERA stops if you go back to work.

The facts here:

RETIREES RE-EMPLOYED AFTER JUNE 30, 2010
SB 207 makes the following changes for members retiring and returning to work effective July 1,
2010:
· To be eligible to return to work with a PERA affiliate, a retiree must complete a 12-month break in service.
· To be eligible to return to work with a PERA affiliate, a retiree cannot be retained as anindependent contractor with the employer from which the employee retired during the 12-month break in service.
· The retiree has two options upon returning to work after the 12-month break in service:
1. Suspend his or her pension and elect not to contribute to PERA and not earn service credit and/or the option to recalculate his or her final average salary; or
2. Suspend his or her pension, become a PERA member and contribute to PERA, accrue additional service credit and be eligible to have their final average salary recalculated.
This option was available under previous law.

[Vinegaroon]

and there is currently a hiring freeze on state jobs. I just spoke to a contractor the other day who has lived in Santa Fe for 35 years. One of the things that kept him in Santa Fe is that during every economic collapse, Santa Fe was unaffected. Not so with this economic crisis. Santa Fe and New Mexico in general have been hit hard, and most folks think it will be a long time before we recover. I would look elsewhere if I were in my 20's and trying to find employment.

Your best bet for employment right now are larger cities such as Dallas, Chicago and Denver. More industry = more jobs.

[GreatSantaFe]

Here are, perhaps, a couple of out-of-the-box ideas:
An increasing source of jobs is the film industry. More pre- and post-production work is being done here in addition to crew opportunities during filming. If the film studio campus overcomes short-sighted opposition and ever gets built, that will become a jobs magnet for our town. The College of Santa Fe, and perhaps the Community College, offer excellent training in film trades and from what I've read in a variety of reports, Hollywood studios are effusive in their compliments about the quality of our local film trades workers. You can contact the colleges and see what they have to say about their programs and career opportunities.

Another opportunity would be in the alternative energy manufacturing and installation fields. Once the loan program gets going in Santa Fe County, a variety of existing firms will need to expand their workforce by quite a bit. Getting trained in photo-voltaics, solar-thermal and geo-thermal systems should produce good employment opportunities in the not-too-distant future. There are several good companies in Santa Fe and Albuquerque doing this type of work. You can contact them and see what their prospects and advice is.

Good luck!

[gtbguy]

To get a job in either local or state government, you really need to know someone. Lots of more job opportunities in Albuq. although there is some work here but you won't probably find exactly what you are looking for and may have to settle.