Why people are leaving our state

[Patrick]

From my experience in helping my fiancee find a decent job, I've discovered why people are leaving our state: there just aren't any good high paying jobs in our state. She has a degree in ultrasound. You'd think since it's a medical field, she'd be able to find a job easily. Nope! Not an opening anywhere in the state. The only opening right now is in Chickasha and they require several years of previous on-the job experience. So, instead, we switch to looking for non-ultrasound jobs. Hmmm, let's see...we have customer service jobs, more customer service jobs, and even more customer service jobs. All pay around $9.50 an hour. Not a bad salary, but seems like one could do better than that with a college degree. very other jobs seems to require tons of experience....they could care less whether you have a degree or not.

Anyways, there are tons of ultrasound openings in Texas......yet, we don't have any here. In fact, the job to applicant ratio is getting so bad around here, Texas hospitals are starting to advertise in our paper for ultrasound techs because they know there are several graduating from OU and unable to find work. Hmmmm...and we wonder why so many graduates are leaving our state? Duh, there just aren't any opportunities here. My fiancee could have an ultrasound job with up to a $15,000 sign on bonus tomorrow. They're begging for ultrasound techs in Texas! We've given some thought to oving to Texas, but there's no way I could transfer! I'd have to drop out of med school.....so as you can see, it hasn't been easy.

I was reading through an ad today....this company was wanting a Receptionist/Bookkeeper....someone proficient in MS Office (Excel/Word), type 65 WPM, 10-Key 10,000 KSH, 10 years of previous office experience, experience with tons of different book keeping computer programs, a bachelor's degree in business, accounts receiveable/accounts payable experience, payroll experience, etc. etc. etc.....the list went on and on forever! Then at the end, they try to hide in....$7.50 an hour! I'm like...WHAT IN THE WORLD? They're expecting all that for so little pay. You've got to be kidding! I was thinking...who in the world would do all of this for such a sucky salary....ahhhh, a dumb Okie, that's who!


I have a friend that just recently accepted a job as a CPA in Los Angeles, California. Why? She couldn't find a job here. The company in LA was extremely happy to get her! They showed their gratitude by helping with moving arrangements and even finding her a decent apartment. Her salary to start straight out of OU Accounting school: $120,000. Pretty nice starting salary. She told me that with cost of living adjustments, that would probably amount to about $75,000 a year here. Starting out, she said there was no way a firm in OKC would've payed her that!

Anyways, some great examples of why people are leaving our state.

[okcpulse]

Well, Patrick, you are correct, however... don't take those ads at face value. Seriously. I've always gotten jobs through people I know, and they were good jobs.

I am a semester away from my college degree, and I have a job working at a supermarket that pays more than the jobs you mentioned on your post. That is no lie. Whenever I job hunted in the past, I avoided the job ads. I have and always will.

[mranderson]

Patrick basically said what I have been saying for years.

It is not only the lack of well paying jobs that causes me to want to leave. It is also the negitave environment. A lot of people are tired of the "can't do" metalitaly of the typical Oklahoman.

Major league sports "It won't work here." Major theme parks "Oklahoma City is too small." Major airport hub "we're too small of a city." Back to sports. "Not enough big business." (DUH!) More business, more jobs, more people.

Patrick is also correct on pay scales. My job is in line with what he said. Benefits are wonderful. It also seems to be very casual. I can even wear jeans and a t-shirt if I want.

However, the point is simple. Yes. We need to lure better paying jobs. How can a person buy a house and a car plus maintain life on $10.00 an hour? No way. We also need to erase those brainwashed tapes in the minds of the nay-sayers.

Positive attitudes bring people and jobs. Just think. If you went someplace and thought about moving there, and you heard people talking among themselves with negitive thoughts about progress, would you still move there? Not me.

[OUman]

At the same time, the city leaders did manage to bring in Dell. Kudos to them for taking on that challenge and getting a great outcome from that. Also, if you read the Oklahoman a week or two ago, there was an article that mentioned how city leaders are trying hard to get more nonstop service between here and major cities. Atleast they're trying harder than the airport trust is.

And we don't have to just look at the negative comments that are flying around in other parts of the nation. There are also lots of positive comments about how we're improving as a state. Heck, if Dell didn't see anything good happening here, it wouldn't have decided to put a huge call center here in the first place.

Oklahoma has low pay rates, accepted. But where you get more, you also have to spend more. The further out you go from OK, the more your expenses go up.

[mranderson]

At the same time, the city leaders did manage to bring in Dell. Kudos to them for taking on that challenge and getting a great outcome from that. Also, if you read the Oklahoman a week or two ago, there was an article that mentioned how city leaders are trying hard to get more nonstop service between here and major cities. Atleast they're trying harder than the airport trust is.

And we don't have to just look at the negative comments that are flying around in other parts of the nation. There are also lots of positive comments about how we're improving as a state. Heck, if Dell didn't see anything good happening here, it wouldn't have decided to put a huge call center here in the first place.

Oklahoma has low pay rates, accepted. But where you get more, you also have to spend more. The further out you go from OK, the more your expenses go up.

About Dell. Exception. Plus, I think I will start a seperate thread just to keep you updated on what is going on. What is not propriatary I can share like what the center is going to be like and our perks.

However, if you research, you will find a lot of the country, the only difference in the economy is real estate prices.

Example. In Eureka, California where I was for a time in 1995. The house we had cost my cousin around $300,000. That same house in Oklahoma City would cost about $200,000. It was a bit over 2,000 square feet in a new area. The elecrticity for that house was less than the $200 a month I pay here for my house. The gas was less than the roughly $100 to $150 I pay. The water the same thing. Phone for basic rates in line with Oklahoma City. Cable. Same. Partly because Humboldt county is provided by Cox. Internet was not what it is today, so scratch that one. Food. It cost me exactly the same to feed myself as it does here. If I bought a new car. The price was very close to this region.

Things higher. If you move to California, at least at that time, they required a $300 pollution tax when you registered an out of state vehicle. Other things, including sales tax were in line with Oklahoma or lower. Income tax was slightly higher. By the way. How do I know? I was my cousins book keeper while I was there. I saw the bills, which also included a wattage, etc. breakdown.

No. It is a myth that other areas of the country have higher across the board cost of living. Oklahoma City is very close. Where it is behind, it is catching up.

I do not buy this excuse that we have lower cost of living, therefore our wages are lower. At my Dell salary and the salary I had a Lowe's (we will forget about Batteries Plus), I was/ am able to buy a nice car or truck, but I can not buy a house.

Low wages is why we are losing people. But also because the negitave views expressed by some of the people who live here.

We need higher wages and to change the attitude of the people here. THEN we can grow. Places like Dell are just a snack. They are not the meal.

[Patrick]

mranderson, you bring up a point I brought up in another point....sure it's somewhat cheaper to live here when compared to California, but not enough to offset the pay decrease here.

Case in point....I mentinoed this already, but will mention it again. I have a CPA friend....jsut recently left Okalhoma because she couldn't find a job here. She just graduated from college and got her license. She found a job in Los Angeles...they were exceptionally glad to have her.....they're short handed out there.....they offered her $120,000 a year. She said, that would be equivalent to about $80,000 a year here, when you figure in cost of living adjustments (only because property costs more like you said).

Anyways, she said there was no way she'd ever be offered that much here to start out, fresh out of school.....most CPA's starting out shere get anywhere from $40,000 a year to $60,000 a year (if you're really lucky).

Anyways, mranderson, that backs up your point. We do get payed less here, even when you figure in cost of living.