Where Would You Move?

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by christiangirl

However, I was pleasantly surprised to see Houston was about #4 on the list, which is ironic since it's #5 on my personal list

Thanks for the advice everyone (esp you EE-Bo, that was a good point, I'm looking into it). How would I go about finding out what the market's like for my field? I'm in psych and it's so broad--how do you find out stuff like that?

Houston is actually a pretty amazing city. The fine arts scene is one of the best in the country, and there are many large communities with very distinctive character such that just about anyone could move there and find a place much to their liking. The cost of living is also very low, and the job market is amazing.

As for finding out about the market for your profession, I think asking around is the best first step. Talk to professors and graduate students in your field. They will understand what specific areas you are looking at and might have some good input. Also, figure out where the top grad schools are for your chosen line of work. That can help you narrow the scope of your research.

Not knowing anything about your field, my thought process would suggest NYC as a top prospect for two reasons if you want to go into counseling. First, there is a large affluent population and so there would be a good market for counseling services for people who can afford to pay top dollar. In addition, in a city so large there will be a LOT of underprivileged people living in very dire conditions- and you could do pro-bono work on the side (or even work for a government agency) and get exposure to some very tough cases which can be a great experience for your resume and also put you where you can do a lot of good for people who really need every bit of guidance they can get.

However, even if I am right in my assessment (the above is just my guess), there might already be a flood of people in your field in NYC trying to land the cushy private jobs or get into government work.

If you are interested in counseling specifically, another good thing to do would be to look up on monster.com plus city employment sites to see what kinds of jobs are out there, what the pay is, and if you watch regularly you can see how quickly jobs are filled. This will all give you important info on how hard it might be to find a job at a salary you want.

Look also at the experience requirements for those jobs. If most of the better jobs seek 2-5 years experience, you might be better off staying in a place where the market is less competitive, the cost of living lower and you can find a good entry level position that gets you the experience you need to hit a market like NYC with more success. Houston is a big enough city that I think it could be a good prelude to NYC- plus your cost of living will be a lot less. NYC is incredibly expensive- and you have little room for error in your financial planning. You can live in a decent apartment in Houston for 1/3 of what you would pay in NYC.

I know this is a lot to digest, but if you ask these questions- then they will give rise to more questions and suddenly you realize you have a pretty good handle on what you want and need. Most people don't consider the kinds of things I have listed above- they just pick a city and go. So do this and I think you will be ahead of the curve. You won't get any sure answers, but you will feel comfortable moving ahead- and that will make a difference.