Good Morning - Introduction and Question

[vegasadmin]

Good morning, everyone!  This is my first post to the boards, though I've been lurking for a long time - since Andrea started this website, actually.  I'm 38 and have been working for the past 20 years, mostly - but not all- AA work.  (I've also worked as a library page in college, did proofreading and layout/design for a couple years way back when, and was the assistant to the controller at a construction company for a year.)



My husband and I moved to Las Vegas from northern Indiana last November and I've been working as the office manager for my stepdad's cabinet shop since then.  Mostly I like it, but he can be very stressful to work for (for everyone, not just for me) and there are days when I think of quitting and going elsewhere.  Right now I'm only considering it and not very seriously - haven't even updated my resume yet.  One of the things that keeps me here is money - I'm earning $13.45/ hour(but no bennies except paid holidays), which I negotiated with my step-dad before moving out here.  Since I've been toying with the idea of going elsewhere I've been doing some preliminary research and it's looking like I can't make that much anywhere else in the Vegas area.  (Preliminary research, though, only means looking on line at Monster.com and a few other online job search sites.  It seems that only temp agencies post jobs to those sites, at least in the Vegas area, and most secretarial and word processing positions advertised on those sites pay around $9-11/hour - about what I was earning in Indiana and I was being underpaid there.  And the cost of living is much higher here.  There aren't many office manager jobs listed and frankly, after doing that since November, I don't want to do it again.  I've found I don't like dealing with the bank accounts and trying to keep on top of the bills and taxes.)



My question is basically for those of you living in this area, but anyone else please feel free to give me advice as well:  how do I find jobs in the Las Vegas area that will pay at least what I'm making now?  (I'm the chief breadwinner.  DH makes less than I do and isn't likely to make more in the future so I really do need to find something with comparable pay.)  I've become very, very leery of temp agencies through the years and don't want to go through them again.  In Indiana, my experience, as well as that of other people I knew who worked as temps, was that the agencies paid below the average for the area and that companies who hired though the agencies also underpaid.



Looking at Monster.com and talking with other people (such as my mom's neighbor who works as a cocktail waitress since she earns twice as much doing that as she would being a legal secretary) can be very, very frustrating.  I guess part of that frustration is that I do miss my home and would like to move back - actually, would like to move back to Michigan where I'm originally from - but I know that's not a possibility if I want DH to have any real quality of life at all.  I can't talk about that to DH because it makes him feel very guilty if he thinks I'm unhappy.  And I'm not, actually *unhappy* - just homesick on occasion.  I'm finding plenty to like about Las Vegas!  (DH has severe arthritis in his hips and back and became unable to work in Indiana - the winters are severe and it's damp all year long.  It's because of his health that we moved out here and he really does feel guilty and look miserable if I mention being homesick.  The weather here has made a tremendous difference to him and I know we won't move back.)



As I said before, I'm not seriously considering leaving this job - at least not yet - but I want the option of doing so and right now I just don't see it.  Those of you in Las Vegas - how to you manage on the low pay here?  Or if there are truly better paying jobs in the area - where do I begin looking for them?



Hoping I don't sound too negative - it was a stressful day yesterday and I'm just getting over a mild flu (which I worked through since we have no sick days) and I'm really, really looking forward to the weekend.



Colleen in very sunny, very dry Las Vegas (the weather has been lovely!)

[countrigal]

I wish I could help you with your question, but I'm sure someone will be able to give some helpful hints sometime soon.



I would like to welcome you out of lurkdom.  We're really happy to see you posting after all this time of lurking and hope that you continue to find us a friendly and helpful bunch.



Best of luck in your search.

[adassistant]

Hi, and welcome to this great forum!  I don't know anything about Las Vegas, but I wanted to ask if you've *tried* getting a better paying job, as in sending out resumes and interviewing.  In my experience, a lot of employers post salaries, but are definately willing to negotiate at a higher rate.  I'd say, give it a shot!  I think, that since you've been in this line of work for so long, you deserve much more than what you're being paid now, especially since you have no benefits besides being paid for holidays.  One thing that you may want to try, is to call some temp agencies and/or recruiters, just to find out what someone with *all* of your experience is worth in your area.  I know that you do not want to temp, and I certainly don't blame you, I've done it once before and hated the feeling of unsecurity, but they will help you with tellin you what you're worth.



Good luck!

[whitesatin]

Welcome out of lurkdom Vegasadmin.    We're so glad you could join us and our happy family. Sorry, I can't help with your problem, but as CountriGal said, hang in there, someone will come along soon that can help.  



Happy Friday!!        



WhiteSatin  

[vegasadmin]

Hi Adassistant!



I think I remember many of your previous posts from here and from another board - you're in Troy, aren't you?  At the time I first read them, we were talking about moving back to that general area (I've lived in Rochester, Lake Orion, and Oxford and have relatives all over that area, including Royal Oak).  Michigan is such a beautiful state and that area north of Detroit is wonderful.  My cousins from England used to say it reminded them of Scotland, with all the lakes and hills.  Enjoy!



Anyway - no I haven't actually submitted resumes or interviewed; as I mentioned in my first post, I'm not really contemplating leaving yet - I just toy with the idea from time to time.  I actually have more reasons to stay at this job than to leave and most of the time I like it well enough.  But there are days!  You know those days!  And those are the days that I take yet another look at Monster.com and get discouraged at all the low-paying jobs in the area and wonder how any AA makes a living here and how I could possibly be able to leave this job even if I do get to the point where I just don't want to be here anymore.  But thank you for asking me point-blank what I've been doing about the situation; it was the prod I needed to pull all my old job information and resumes out so that I can update my resume.



Remember the mild flu I mentioned?  It was the precursor to a really, really nasty cold that just kicked my butt.  I pulled all my job information Friday night with the intention of putting it all together on Saturday - and I ended up spending the weekend in bed and basically sleepwalking through my job Monday and Tuesday.  Today is the first day in nearly a week that I've felt human and have any energy.  It's so nice not to be sick!  I don't feel quite as discouraged as last week when I first posted.  I'll be working on my resume this weekend so it'll be ready if the urge to jump ship ever becomes a serious one and not just a passing thought.



In the meantime - I'd still welcome advice from those of you who've found good jobs with good pay in any market (particularly low-paying markets).  How'd you do it?  What did it take?  Have temp agencies actually helped any of you, or is my experience in Indiana typical and my distrust of such agencies justified?  I have to admit, while my job record is bascially a good one, there are a couple of blotches on it and I never know how to deal with those when they come up.  I may start a separate thread to ask how to deal with them specifically.



Thanks to everyone who contributes to this great forum and to Andrea for taking the initiative to create it.



Colleen (so happy not to be dizzy <g>)

in very hot (116+) Las Vegas

[solargal]

You don't actually have to quit your job yet, what I would do is start sending/posting your resumes even calling job lines usually run by the city/county or institutional organizations and only to the positions that seem close to your experience.  It seems to me that $9 - $10/hour is awfully low that's what I started my job that I have now and I've been here 10 years.  I am leery of employment agencies as I found them a waste of time, but I didn't have any problems with temp agencies.  As long as you sign up to at least 2 or 3 that way you should keep working.  I found that I made $10/hour temping but when I went to work full time I made the same money, but I had a whole lot more benefits, so it didn't seem so bad that I didn't make more money per hour.  But in the 10 years I have almost doubled my salary.  I've never lived in Vegas but it seems to me that since it is the fastest growing city in the US there should be lots of jobs out there.  Good luck to you.

[dettu]

When I went back to work after my son was born (I stayed home until he was 2 and we ran out of $), we had moved to a new state and I hadn't worked as an admin in years--had been teaching college English prior to having a baby.  I went to about 5 admin hiring agencies, and went to a separate agency for temp work to get us out of the financial hole.  One nice thing about temping is they understand you're looking for full-time work, so they can arrange for you to get time off for interviews, etc.  The assignment I got actually asked me to stay on, but it paid too poorly.



At each of the hiring firms, I said, I must make $X for a salary, I need full bennies, I won't take anything less, don't send me to an interview for a company that doesn't pay this amount.  Also, no suits--I didn't want to spend my new earnings all on a wardrobe.  I went on several interviews and at each one, they'd ask me what I wanted to make and I answered truthfully.  Then I wouldn't hear from them again.  However, the last one I went to *did* pay the salary, *did* have the benefits, and *did* have the semi-casual environment I wanted.  That was 2.5 years ago and I'm still here.  Being an admin isn't the perfect job for me, so if I'm doing it I have to be in an environment that suits.  Temping gave me the financial leeway to search slowly and not take the first rotten low-paying position I was offered.  I'm satisfied with this experience and recommend this.  BTW: the agencies with the biggest newspaper ads sent me to the worst jobs.  I chose this one because it was near the part of town where I wanted to work--and it got me a job exactly where I wanted to be geographically.

[sungoddesslv]

Vegasadmin,

The market has been sluggish in Las Vegas for about a year.  Companies right now don't have to pay.  There are a few out there though just not very many.



Although you may not be able to find something that will pay 13.50/hr, consider a pay a little less but with a company that offers medical/dental, etc.  



Check with Clark County and the City of Las Vegas/Henderson/N. Las Vegas.  (All have job postings on their websites.) Clark County admins/secretaries usually start at $30,000.  Check with IGT, EG&G, or if you're interested look at the casino/hotels.  Merke Medco advertises often as does OX Communication.



It is unfortunately that you have had bad experiences with temp agencies that have turned you off.  If you change your mind, I have found OfficeTeam to be quite helpful.  The OT staff is very knowledgeable and helpful.



It is just a tough market for applicants right now, and companies know that!

 

[countrigal]

Sungoddess... it's so nice to see you again.  When VegasAdmin posted this originally I knew you'd be able to give some insight.  Glad to see you again!

[vegasadmin]

Thank you so much, everyone, for all your great advice.  I plan on putting some of it to use right away and saving the suggestions I won't use for later - because they're all good.



I'm sorry, I forget who mentioned that LV is the fastest growing city in the US.  I think you're right.  I remember reading a newspaper article before we moved here about that - but it mentioned that the fastest growing class of jobs is low-paying service jobs.  (Though as I mentioned in my first post, a good service job can pay more than a clerical job - for example, if you're a cocktail waitress in an establishment that tends to bring in good tippers.)  I think Sungoddesslv is right that the market is just sluggish here right now.  Still, I think that following the advice people have given here, I could get another good job should I decide to leave this one.  I've never been good an getting the jobs I want and the pay I'm worth, at "going for it", but I believe I've come to the right place to learn how to do just that.  I've always, and I mean always!, been a real weinie, the type that doesn't stand up for herself because I hate conflict or making waves.  I guess it's time I learned not to be that way.



Sungoddesslv, thanks for all of your suggestions.  Since you've had good experiences with temp agencies here, I'll definitely keep them in mind.



Thanks again, everyone.



Colleen