Posted: 8/12/2013 1:15:52 PM EDT
| I graduated with a BS in Mathematics in June and have been applying to jobs since. I have yet to find a Job here in Oregon... Is Oregon no good for Math degree holders or am I looking in the wrong direction? Please weigh in. :D |
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I too have been looking for a new job for some time. I do see a lot of accounting type jobs on craigslist.
Have you had any interviews? I've interviewed with 4 different companies in the last 2 1/2 ish months but no job offer yet. Interviewed 4 times with one of the companies. Each company seems to make me want to bend over backwards during the interview process. So needless to say I feel your pain. |
I have been referred to hiring managers but as of yet no interviews. I have mostly applied to state and fed jobs since I can't seem to find much for jobs that seek math related degree holders unless you have extensive experience in computer science of some sort. I am waiting to hear back on a few jobs, but the government side of application processing takes a long time. Good luck to you! I am concerned that I may have to move out of state to get a decent job  Not something I really wanted to do.
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I have been referred to hiring managers but as of yet no interviews. I have mostly applied to state and fed jobs since I can't seem to find much for jobs that seek math related degree holders unless you have extensive experience in computer science of some sort. I am waiting to hear back on a few jobs, but the government side of application processing takes a long time. Good luck to you! I am concerned that I may have to move out of state to get a decent job Not something I really wanted to do.And here is the sickness of our economy. At some point there are not enough horses to pull the cart. |
| Its hard out there. In math. Most places are looking for applied applications. Computers, CPA's, Or engineering. Possibly teaching if you have the credentials. You might have to look out of state if you want something in your field. Or go back to school for one of the above. Sorry I cant be of more help. Oregon keeps shooting it self in the foot when it comes to high paying high teck Job's. Or Industry in general. To many "Not in my back yard". Types. High tax rates and lack of leadership. They only want Pie in the sky Solar energy company's that rely on government hand outs. Etc. We really could use a couple of Oil refinery's, or Steel mills here. Send the keystone pipeline down to hear from Canada not all the way to Texas. |
| Are you just looking for jobs specific to your degree? If so be prepared to wait it out, go over the top in an interview or just be plain lucky. I see a lot of the "go to school, get a degree and the employers will just line up to hire you" mentality out there. Frankly in a lot of places you may end up having to take a crap job in order to get on a career path and work your way up. But really, what field(s) is a degree in math good for other than teaching? Odds are you are going to have to move out of state to find what you seek or lower your expectations quite a bit. Employers in many fields around here (OR) have a lot of people to choose from when positions open thanks to our wonderful unemployment rate. If you have nothing unique to offer, lack experience or otherwise don't stand out, odds of you getting a job are probably going to be slim. My wife is a nurse and with all of the nursing schools in the area there is a huge amount of new grads in town. Her hospital opened up like 5 new grad positions recently and got over 400 applicants. Most either go out of state for employment or take a job at a nursing home until they can score a job at a hospital. Same is probably true with a lot of places, especially in the high-tech industry. In all reality, from my limited perspective, a math degree isn't going to get you where you need to go. If you had a degree in engineering or something, then you'd have a lot more potential opportunities out there. |
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I noticed with private sector jobs they put a majority of the emphasis on experience and thus I don't qualify since my experience is not in the field that I am looking... I am applying to jobs that are both in and out of my degree field. I mostly apply to state and fed jobs since they seek people with math related degrees with minor amounts of experience (a couple years). I am wondering if Oregon has a private job sector where they employ recent math graduates... my degree focus is applied math... I have considered going for a Masters in Engineering...
I know part of an issue in Oregon is many are over educated here. I am concerned I will have to go out of state and/or bide my time to find a job. Just seeing what you all had to say since you live here in various areas. |
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I think a huge problem is that to many people are going to college now days. When I was a kid only rich kids could go to college, now welfare moms and anybody else gos to college. Every 30 something single mom I meet is a "student". I know 2 women that have teaching degrees, 1 is a secratery at a law office, the last time I saw the other one she was selling rain gutters PT at Costco. A guy I know who also has a teaching degree, he's driving a log truck.
The world needs ditch diggers to. 
ETA: Oregon does suck for jobs. It took me about 3 years to land a $10/hour no benifits job. I stuck with that job for 2.5 years and I was applying at other jobs and wundering what the hell do I have to do to get a better job. I finally got a $11/hour job with benifits. |
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I'm in my 50's and very thankful to be employed.
My son is getting a degree in Chemistry. I suggested that he focus on water purification/ion exchange and seek employment out of OR. Pure water, for manufacturing, and clean water, for life, will always be needed. The state unemployment rate just bumped up to 8% and the actual U6 rate is 17%. If you're young, single, and educated, then think outside the box......and the state. Just thinking out loud, not telling anyone what to do. |
| Since you mentioned state and fed jobs ill weigh in. I work for the Feds and know our office has a hiring freeze along with most any department in this sector. The furlough/sequester going on is a nightmare and will most likely keep you from any LE federal job or anything in the court system. Hopefully for all of us it will turn around. |
| thank you all for weighing in. I have promising leads and am not trying to complain. It gets frustrating to go through all the work of obtaining a degree and then sitting on your hands for a job. I am glad I didn't go for a teaching degree which was my original plan... it would be a lot worse I believe. |
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thank you all for weighing in. I have promising leads and am not trying to complain. It gets frustrating to go through all the work of obtaining a degree and then sitting on your hands for a job. I am glad I didn't go for a teaching degree which was my original plan... it would be a lot worse I believe. Many school districts are not hiring. When PERS changed a few years back, many older teachers retired making a high number of vacancies. These were filled with new teachers for the most part who, because they had less experience, cost the districts less money than the outgoing teachers. Now it's six to ten years down the road from that time and at many schools the newest person has been there for around five years. Add to this the fact that new hires are now required to have a masters and the fact that school budgets in many instances did not account for this (masters degree-holders get paid more) and schools are finding themselves short on money to pay their employees. Further complicating this is the fact that many schools offer unbelievably generous health insurance plans which each year over the last five years have increased drastically, due mostly to the changes stemming from Obamacare. Schools are not hiring in many districts unless they have someone retire or die. Also, many school districts have employees who are part-time and have a teaching certificate who are in line first when a full teaching position opens up. Now, think of how many education majors the colleges and universities have churned out in the last five years just here in Oregon. If even half of those move out of state for employment, that's still the other half you're having to compete with for the non-education jobs out there. |
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Since you mentioned state and fed jobs ill weigh in. I work for the Feds and know our office has a hiring freeze along with most any department in this sector. The furlough/sequester going on is a nightmare and will most likely keep you from any LE federal job or anything in the court system. Hopefully for all of us it will turn around. Most people who aren't federal employees or who do not get a benefit from the federal government that I talk to don't even remember that there is a sequester going on. Hell, I forget it unless someone brings it up. So far it's had zero impact on me. |
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thank you all for weighing in. I have promising leads and am not trying to complain. It gets frustrating to go through all the work of obtaining a degree and then sitting on your hands for a job. I am glad I didn't go for a teaching degree which was my original plan... it would be a lot worse I believe. Let me ask you a quick question, Diaper/Wiper, when you steered away from the teaching degree and went for the math degree, was there something specific you planned on doing within the area of applied mathematics? |
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I think a huge problem is that to many people are going to college now days. When I was a kid only rich kids could go to college, now welfare moms and anybody else gos to college. Every 30 something single mom I meet is a "student". I know 2 women that have teaching degrees, 1 is a secratery at a law office, the last time I saw the other one she was selling rain gutters PT at Costco. A guy I know who also has a teaching degree, he's driving a log truck. The world needs ditch diggers to.
ETA: Oregon does suck for jobs. It took me about 3 years to land a $10/hour no benifits job. I stuck with that job for 2.5 years and I was applying at other jobs and wundering what the hell do I have to do to get a better job. I finally got a $11/hour job with benifits. Do you have a degree? |
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Do you have a degree? Quoted:
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I think a huge problem is that to many people are going to college now days. When I was a kid only rich kids could go to college, now welfare moms and anybody else gos to college. Every 30 something single mom I meet is a "student". I know 2 women that have teaching degrees, 1 is a secratery at a law office, the last time I saw the other one she was selling rain gutters PT at Costco. A guy I know who also has a teaching degree, he's driving a log truck. The world needs ditch diggers to.
ETA: Oregon does suck for jobs. It took me about 3 years to land a $10/hour no benifits job. I stuck with that job for 2.5 years and I was applying at other jobs and wundering what the hell do I have to do to get a better job. I finally got a $11/hour job with benifits. Do you have a degree? No. But Like I said, I do know numerious people who do and they aren't doing any better. |
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No. But Like I said, I do know numerious people who do and they aren't doing any better. Quoted:
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I think a huge problem is that to many people are going to college now days. When I was a kid only rich kids could go to college, now welfare moms and anybody else gos to college. Every 30 something single mom I meet is a "student". I know 2 women that have teaching degrees, 1 is a secratery at a law office, the last time I saw the other one she was selling rain gutters PT at Costco. A guy I know who also has a teaching degree, he's driving a log truck. The world needs ditch diggers to.
ETA: Oregon does suck for jobs. It took me about 3 years to land a $10/hour no benifits job. I stuck with that job for 2.5 years and I was applying at other jobs and wundering what the hell do I have to do to get a better job. I finally got a $11/hour job with benifits. Do you have a degree? No. But Like I said, I do know numerious people who do and they aren't doing any better. I was not trying to make a point but a degree would only help the cause in the long run. |
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ETA: Oregon does suck for jobs. It took me about 3 years to land a $10/hour no benifits job. I stuck with that job for 2.5 years and I was applying at other jobs and wundering what the hell do I have to do to get a better job. I finally got a $11/hour job with benifits. Right now in the Portland local, a general journeyman electrician makes $38.05 an hour plus benefits and thanks to Intel, there are jobs available. |
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Most people who aren't federal employees or who do not get a benefit from the federal government that I talk to don't even remember that there is a sequester going on. Hell, I forget it unless someone brings it up. So far it's had zero impact on me. Quoted:
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Since you mentioned state and fed jobs ill weigh in. I work for the Feds and know our office has a hiring freeze along with most any department in this sector. The furlough/sequester going on is a nightmare and will most likely keep you from any LE federal job or anything in the court system. Hopefully for all of us it will turn around. Most people who aren't federal employees or who do not get a benefit from the federal government that I talk to don't even remember that there is a sequester going on. Hell, I forget it unless someone brings it up. So far it's had zero impact on me. This, unless you're a 2nd- or 3rd-tier .MIL supplier. Depends upon the exact product... but work there dried up virtually overnight, for us, anyway. The secret to the .MIL work in our sector is to enjoy it while it lasts, but never count on it. It's gravy, not bread and butter. Though truth be told, if the .GOV is going to blow my tax dollars on anything... I guess I just don't mind defense spending that much. But whatever... we're doing OK so far. Diversification... Bottom line... private-sector orders have taken up much of the slack. Business is good, not great, but solidly good. Anybody who thinks Washington bears any responsibility for the economic "recovery" is deluding themselves... including most pols in Washington. Private enterprise is bumping along in spite of the .GOV, not because of it. Hard to convince the statists otherwise, though. |
I was still intending to teach when I made the change but during my undergrad I realized I desired to stick with Analysis and Research type jobs. I can still make a difference and I can still teach/train in these positions. I chose to focus in the applied side of math instead of the theoretical to help get a job. 
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This, unless you're a 2nd- or 3rd-tier .MIL supplier. Depends upon the exact product... but work there dried up virtually overnight, for us, anyway. The secret to the .MIL work in our sector is to enjoy it while it lasts, but never count on it. It's gravy, not bread and butter. Though truth be told, if the .GOV is going to blow my tax dollars on anything... I guess I just don't mind defense spending that much. But whatever... we're doing OK so far. Diversification... Bottom line... private-sector orders have taken up much of the slack. Business is good, not great, but solidly good. Anybody who thinks Washington bears any responsibility for the economic "recovery" is deluding themselves... including most pols in Washington. Private enterprise is bumping along in spite of the .GOV, not because of it. Hard to convince the statists otherwise, though. Quoted:
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Since you mentioned state and fed jobs ill weigh in. I work for the Feds and know our office has a hiring freeze along with most any department in this sector. The furlough/sequester going on is a nightmare and will most likely keep you from any LE federal job or anything in the court system. Hopefully for all of us it will turn around. Most people who aren't federal employees or who do not get a benefit from the federal government that I talk to don't even remember that there is a sequester going on. Hell, I forget it unless someone brings it up. So far it's had zero impact on me. This, unless you're a 2nd- or 3rd-tier .MIL supplier. Depends upon the exact product... but work there dried up virtually overnight, for us, anyway. The secret to the .MIL work in our sector is to enjoy it while it lasts, but never count on it. It's gravy, not bread and butter. Though truth be told, if the .GOV is going to blow my tax dollars on anything... I guess I just don't mind defense spending that much. But whatever... we're doing OK so far. Diversification... Bottom line... private-sector orders have taken up much of the slack. Business is good, not great, but solidly good. Anybody who thinks Washington bears any responsibility for the economic "recovery" is deluding themselves... including most pols in Washington. Private enterprise is bumping along in spite of the .GOV, not because of it. Hard to convince the statists otherwise, though. One of the pols on the left (sorry I don't remember who) was quoted at the time of the sequester debate as saying, "the worst thing that could happen is for the sequester to go through and no one notices." |
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One of the pols on the left (sorry I don't remember who) was quoted at the time of the sequester debate as saying, "the worst thing that could happen is for the sequester to go through and no one notices." Quoted:
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Most people who aren't federal employees or who do not get a benefit from the federal government that I talk to don't even remember that there is a sequester going on. Hell, I forget it unless someone brings it up. So far it's had zero impact on me. This, unless you're a 2nd- or 3rd-tier .MIL supplier. Depends upon the exact product... but work there dried up virtually overnight, for us, anyway. The secret to the .MIL work in our sector is to enjoy it while it lasts, but never count on it. It's gravy, not bread and butter. Though truth be told, if the .GOV is going to blow my tax dollars on anything... I guess I just don't mind defense spending that much. But whatever... we're doing OK so far. Diversification... Bottom line... private-sector orders have taken up much of the slack. Business is good, not great, but solidly good. Anybody who thinks Washington bears any responsibility for the economic "recovery" is deluding themselves... including most pols in Washington. Private enterprise is bumping along in spite of the .GOV, not because of it. Hard to convince the statists otherwise, though. One of the pols on the left (sorry I don't remember who) was quoted at the time of the sequester debate as saying, "the worst thing that could happen is for the sequester to go through and no one notices." LOL that's OK, they're all pretty much interchangeable. "Insert talking sphincter HERE". What's the mantra, "never let a good crisis go to waste?" |
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LOL that's OK, they're all pretty much interchangeable. "Insert talking sphincter HERE". What's the mantra, "never let a good crisis go to waste?" Quoted:
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Most people who aren't federal employees or who do not get a benefit from the federal government that I talk to don't even remember that there is a sequester going on. Hell, I forget it unless someone brings it up. So far it's had zero impact on me. This, unless you're a 2nd- or 3rd-tier .MIL supplier. Depends upon the exact product... but work there dried up virtually overnight, for us, anyway. The secret to the .MIL work in our sector is to enjoy it while it lasts, but never count on it. It's gravy, not bread and butter. Though truth be told, if the .GOV is going to blow my tax dollars on anything... I guess I just don't mind defense spending that much. But whatever... we're doing OK so far. Diversification... Bottom line... private-sector orders have taken up much of the slack. Business is good, not great, but solidly good. Anybody who thinks Washington bears any responsibility for the economic "recovery" is deluding themselves... including most pols in Washington. Private enterprise is bumping along in spite of the .GOV, not because of it. Hard to convince the statists otherwise, though. One of the pols on the left (sorry I don't remember who) was quoted at the time of the sequester debate as saying, "the worst thing that could happen is for the sequester to go through and no one notices." LOL that's OK, they're all pretty much interchangeable. "Insert talking sphincter HERE". What's the mantra, "never let a good crisis go to waste?" Yeah here we just had to take a few unpaid days before the fiscal year end. AKA "Range Days"
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