Lists are subjective but this list does point out what careers are hot in these particular cities. Seattle is on the list and of course we could have all guessed that Tech rules there. Atlanta, LA, Denver, Houston, Boston, Seattle, Washington DC, San Fransisco, NYC and Chicago make up the top ten.

What’s interesting to me are some of the comments the list writer makes about each place. One thing they check for is cost per month for an apartment. Houston came out at $778/month, all other places were over $1,000 with San Fran topping the list at over $2k/month for a one bedroom apartment!

They mention that LA is home to entertainment industry (DUH!) also that ‘car culture rules’ there. Boston was listed as walkable, no car culture mentality there (except for maniac driving, but I digress….).

It made me think: Cleveland will be home to a larger portion of the entertainment industry than ever before if the tax credit passes.  In fact, two movies are scheduled to begin work here and they are advertising for jobs to locals. Here is a ‘whatever happened to’ thought I had when browsing this story. Wound up back on Aaron Marshall’s August 2008 PD article about proposed tax credits to keep Ohio grads in Ohio. Included the link in case your brain goes where mine did.

Advance NE Ohio did a poll regarding this issue and over 70% of those who voted said yes to the idea of a credit. Best way to keep grads here? Provide jobs!

Back to the ‘best places to live’ ideas. You can easily rent a one bedroom apartment in our area for $600 or even less in places. Graduation month is such an exciting time, all the promise and hope of the future, I get excited for the grads every year. And of course it’s complex, trying to figure out where you want to start your new career. Reading Grad Spot was fascinating. Today’s home page featured a column on top ten graduation speeches. And survival guides, everything from understanding STD’s to handling your finances.  Check it out!

Peace Out – 3C

1) if monies are given directly to Governors, will monies within the states go where they can create jobs and fix infrastructure or could they wind up being (essentially) state deficit bailouts?

2) The article implies we are not ready to fix the Inner Belt Bridge. Monies need to be spent in a certain time frame to be helpful yes? This quote from the Post article.

But Mayor Frank G. Jackson is focusing on his four biggest priorities, most notably a new Inner Belt highway bridge with a $350 million price tag.

“If we don’t tend to it soon, we’re facing the prospect of closing it down for a year to repair it. That’s unacceptable to us,” said Ken Silliman, the mayor’s chief of staff.

Yet Silliman said preparations are incomplete and no dirt could be turned for at least two years, much slower than Obama has in mind.

Does this mean we can’t get anything done on the Inner Belt Bridge more quickly? Why is that? Is there a technical reason? And does it mean we could miss out on monies to do this very expensive project, when ‘missing out’ is something we seem to do way too frequently in NE Ohio? Did it take Minnesota two yrs to start rebuilding their bridge once it collapsed?

3) PD article outlining Governor Strickland’s budget released today. I’ll have more on that in another post but thought you’d want to read it here.

Peace Out – 3C

What exactly does having an Urban Agenda mean? The Detroit Free Press  covered the issue  (and featured Mayor Jackson’s ideas) back in September.

Fortunately, U.S. mayors are leading the call for a national urban agenda — a set of policies and investments that, after decades of neglect, will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and make the federal government a real partner in rebuilding cities. The U.S. Conference of Mayors will put an action plan on the next president’s desk within 100 days of taking office.

The Mayor’s initial proposal is pretty well outlined in the Free Press piece.

If you had an infrastructure wish list, what would be on it?

Peace Out – 3C

What do you think? Is your job fairly recession-proof?  Kiplinger did a list of their own in March of 2008. They included working for the Federal government, being a math or science teacher or a bilingual teacher; police officers (maybe true but NE Ohio is proof that you may not necessarily keep your job when city budgets are tight even if you’re a police officer); jobs involving environmental issues; health care (and as I’ve posted before, always lots of health industry jobs on career board).

They say if you don’t have a four year degree, the hospitality and health care industries can be your most stable bet.

When I googled, I came up with a site called godlikeproductions. In their header they deal with things like UFO’s and  conspiracy theories and what they call ‘the lunatic fringe.’  What does a site like this consider to be a stable career? Well they add mortician (yep, death does not care about recessions); utility company workers; soldiers (sad but true);  plumbers (and if you get into the plumbing trade you could be lucky as Joe the Plumber  was lucky  and get offered a job covering the War In Iraq. lol); sex trade workers and auto mechanics are also on the list. Their list is a list of 21 so check it out.

Just some fun linking, I hope, for a snowy weekend.  Peace Out – 3C

Manufacturing assembler for Advanced Research. You can use your machine shop of soldering experience and if you have a high school diploma or GED, check it out.

Technology Trainer at the Cleveland Heights/University Heights public library. $16.29/hour to start. The job involves helping teach library patrons how to use computer technology.

Teller with First Merit bank. Starts out at $9.80/hour and they offer benefits and monthly training.

Part time Life Guard at the Shaker Heights Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation. Need some extra income? This is listed as a 6 to 8 hr a week job.

There were over 100 nursing jobs listed, half of them RN’s, but also LPN’s, nursing assistants, etc. Nursing is still a field in need of workers, at least in our area.

This only scratches the surface of the jobs listed on Career Board today. Take some time to browse their site, see how it can work for you. And if you need a job, put them on your ‘must check daily’ list. Peace Out – 3C