Tossed(myself) to the sharks

Though I'm broke, I bought a ticket to LA and flew out here earlier this morning. I had a bad run-in with a couple of men claiming to be FBI(they had badges when I asked), who were looking for a man with my exact name and almost confused me for someone else(a narcotics dealer?). whew

I'm staying with a friend right now and I've only got a little to eat on. I've redone my resume and thrown it on monster, careerbuilder and every other job site I can think of. I'm also applying at a number of places each day in hopes of getting that job which will bring me out of my debt.

The situation is rather grim and I regret coming here, since I have no way to get back and my friend is only going to let me stay for a month.

I'll need to get a job REAL soon.

Any tips? Maybe some other sites worth posting my resume on? Somewhere where I can find some good tech jobs?

Oh, and LA...erm...well...the people here are wacko.

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Comments

shednik

www.dice.com

www.careerbuilder.com

Daniel333

I don't know what your background is but I saw a couple things on...

www.bankofthewest.com
under employment, and select Monterey Park.
IT Command Center Specialist I - Monterey Park
IT Infrastructure Engineer II - Monterey Park

If you are truely desperate...
And if you take the pay hit, Geek Squad is always hiring, they normally top out at $15 an hour unless you can get management.

KGhaleon

Some more jobs to look into.

I did see an opening at a Geeksquad, but I wasn't sure if it was a good place to work. I hear nothing but bad stuff from them, but I'm desperate enough...soo....

Darthn3ss

KGhaleon wrote:

Some more jobs to look into. I did see an opening at a Geeksquad, but I wasn't sure if it was a good place to work. I hear nothing but bad stuff from them, but I'm desperate enough...soo....

dude in your situation if you can get it, i'd take it.

seuss_ssues

alll i can say is congrats on taking the leap......many dream of it but few do it. Good luck on the job search.

sir_creamy_

Why do you need to be in LA in to pursue a job at geeksquad?!

networker050184

I'm sure there are more opportunities in LA, but also more competition also.....

dps

There are a lot of Tech Support and System Network jobs on Craigslist-LA.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/tch/
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sad/

Here in the OC, there are a lot of Tech jobs too if you wanna try your luck here.

Just keep sending those resumes, I'm sure you'll get a job in no time.

JDMurray

Why did you consider Los Angeles to be your Land of Opportunity? It's one of the more expensive, metropolitan, and diverse areas of the country to live in. Did you consider any other areas of the USA? Or only because you already had a friend living in LA (that's exactly how I ended up in SoCal 26 years ago).

KGhaleon

Just because of my friend living here, as I've known him since 1st grade.

He has big bills to pay too since it's his place, so I believe he wanted me to help him. I want to find a job so we can share this apartment I'm staying in right now.

Only problem is that he doesn't use the air conditioner(avoid the bill, I guess) and it's freezing. :X
I felt like I was sleeping in an icebox last night. I was wearing two sweaters.

Craigslist makes me weary sometimes, but I'll take a look at those jobs and even apply at the Geeksquad if I need too. Another day of job hunting awaits.

It's too cold for me to feel anything though.

dynamik

KGhaleon wrote:

It's too cold for me to feel anything though.

You have my sympathy for being in a difficult job situation. Your cries of numbing cold are going to fall on deaf ears though. It's currently 48 degrees there. That's t-shirt and shorts weather. Suck it up

At least it's sunny, right?

Schluep

Much of the midwest is in negative temperatures as we speak. When you factor in the wind chill effect some places in the are at -48 degrees F right now. We are at about 24 in Pittsburgh right now a bit after noon and it feels so nice and warm compared to the past few days since the sun is out and the temperature went up quite a bit from what is was yesterday. I just went for a short walk outside to clear my head.

Good Luck with your job hunt.

Claymoore

dynamik wrote:

KGhaleon wrote:

It's too cold for me to feel anything though.

You have my sympathy for being in a difficult job situation. Your cries of numbing cold are going to fall on deaf ears though. It's currently 48 degrees there. That's t-shirt and shorts weather. Suck it up

48 degrees - that's parka weather! My brother lives in Farmington, MN so I have to give him Tampa weather updates every once in a while just to be mean. You would be surprised how cold 48 degrees feels when you are used to mid 70s in January. I went to LA in March a couple of years ago on vacation and I thought it was cold. Two weeks prior to my trip I spent a day at the beach here and then, even with a wetsuit, damn near got hypothermia surfing in Santa Monica.

KGhaleon, I feel for you. Back in 2003 I moved from Kansas City to Tampa with very little money, no job and a spot in a spare bedroom in a friend's house. The tech bust lead to mass layoffs at Sprint (I was one of them) that killed the tech market in KC. After a couple of short-term contracts and no long-term prospects I decided I had to move. About a week after I got to Tampa I took a short-term contract at a company that led to a long-term contract and eventually a full-time position. Not having a job or a place to live for a while scared the hell out of me, but getting out of KC was one of the best decisions I ever made. I don't know the reasons for your move, but sometimes a fresh start in a new town is exactly what you need to get your life and career back on track. Good luck!

JDMurray

dynamik wrote:

At least it's sunny, right?

Oh please, SoCal always has the best weather in the USA. Yeah, it's a little extra hot and dry in the Summer, but not like Arizona/Nevada/New Mexico. And yes it's cold now, but nothing unusual for our rainy Winter months (Jan-Mar), and certainly nothing like what the upper-half of the USA experiences.

KGhaleon, until you are use to the mild SoCal Winter, I suggest hanging out at the beaches during the days and buying an inexpensive electric blanket for the nights.

snadam

JDMurray wrote:

dynamik wrote:

At least it's sunny, right?

Oh please, SoCal always has the best weather in the USA. Yeah, it's a little extra hot and dry in the Summer, but not like Arizona/Nevada/New Mexico. And yes it's cold now, but nothing unusual for our rainy Winter months (Jan-Mar), and certainly nothing like what the upper-half of the USA experiences.

KGhaleon, until you are use to the mild SoCal Winter, I suggest hanging out at the beaches during the days and buying an inexpensive electric blanket for the nights.

I have mixed thoughts on LA; so its tough to say one way or the other on that city. As far as weather, I love the heat, so AZ is great for me. As for a job, if you need the $$$ you will find SOMETHING even if its non-IT related. You just need to figure out the threshold of when to broaden your job search.

good luck either way man!

CRAZY story on the FBI, by the way!

KGhaleon

Yeah, I purchased a nice big blanket earlier at target. I'm lucky to have my friend and his car to rely on...though I wish I had my own vehicle. I'd probably get lost on these roads though. My friend lives here and he keeps getting lost despite the fact that he has a GPS system in his car. <_<;

Everyone says the weather is fine, but I don't know. >_>

I'm applying for more jobs today and tomorrow as well. Should I apply for jobs that I may not qualify for? I certainly can't be a network engineer or a super techy administrator...but I see a lot of need for that type of experience.

My major was in network administration, but since I end up doing desktop support all the time...I rarely touch a router or switch, so my knowledge has degraded and failed me in that area.

Problematic.

networker050184

I'd apply for everything. Tell them you are lacking a little in some of the areas but you are a quick learner and willing to learn. Emphasize your strong points as well. They can only say no. They might even say yes and you end up with a much better job than you thought you could have gotten!

SrAtechie

Well, if you ever find it tough going, there are a bunch of jobs here in Las Vegas. Of course, most of them are tech support/help desk and around the $12-18 range, but that's more than enough for you to make it on your own. Between that and the occasional lightning strike (if you're lucky enough to get hired on to work IT for the casinos without having to know somebody who knows somebody) they pay a little better, but with much better benefits. My cousin just relocated from L.A. and now he's renting my couch

and working as a help desk technician for a local area hospital but he's putting away a good chunk of change and is making plans to buy a townhouse in 8-10 months (the dropping house values are killing me, but they sure are helping him). Also have you tried looking into job placement agencies like teksystems or robert half? The terms kinda suck, but it's worth a shot at this point. Good luck, and keep plugging away.

KGhaleon

I was called about a job that pay $25/hr, moving servers for a data center...but the location was rather far away. I probably would need my friend to drive me 30 minutes to the train station every day so I can take that to my destination. I don't think it would work.

Continuing my search for jobs closer to where I'm staying. Not having a car stinks.

I'm hitting a borders later today to check out some cert books.

sprkymrk

KGhaleon wrote:

I was called about a job that pay $25/hr, moving servers for a data center...but the location was rather far away. I probably would need my friend to drive me 30 minutes to the train station every day so I can take that to my destination. I don't think it would work.

Continuing my search for jobs closer to where I'm staying. Not having a car stinks.

I'm hitting a borders later today to check out some cert books.

Uhm, can't you rent a car for $50 a day? Sure, 2 hours of your pay goes to travel, but that leaves 6 hours at $25 an hour. That's like $15/hour for 10 hours closer to home. And if it works out you can get your own place closer to work or buy a used vehicle. Then you have a $25/hour job close to home.

KGhaleon

Well, I wouldn't get a paycheck until the end of the week...and I don't exactly have the money to rent a car right now.

I'm that poor.

sprkymrk

KGhaleon wrote:

Well, I wouldn't get a paycheck until the end of the week...and I don't exactly have the money to rent a car right now.

I'm that poor.

I can understand that, and actually the first paycheck can sometimes take 3 weeks or so. You have my sympathy.

On the lighter side, here's an idea for you:

http://www.flixxy.com/millionnaire-secrets.htm

supertechCETma

It's hard to function in the City of Angels w/o a vehicle. Grab a bus schedule and join the working class. What part of town are you in?

dynamik

Did you talk to potential employers about your situation? They might give you an advance or help you make other arrangements.

garv221

KGhaleon wrote:

Well, I wouldn't get a paycheck until the end of the week...and I don't exactly have the money to rent a car right now.

I'm that poor.

Use your Capital One card.

KGhaleon

I'm in the southwest part of town, in Marina del rey which is located on a small Peninsula. I'm not far from the airport(LAX) and it seems like a nice location, but all the jobs I get contacted about are usually 30 minutes or more away. I use to drive 2-3 hours in florida...but I'm relying on my friend to get me around. He works all day though, so I could only get him to drop me off in the mornings.

I'll look into buying a car later. I may try and figure out where the buses head today.

Don_PA

KGhaleon

What part of Florida did you live previously? and Why did you move from there? Was the job market that bad down there? I remember you posting about some contract cabling job there.

I am in the same situation as I got laid off last week. I should get unemployment checks, but I also have plans to get a better job out of state in the DC area MD and stay at a friends house. I get some email offers for jobs down there. Hang in there! Keep persisting. Take the rejections, move on and keep applying until something postive comes up.

KGhaleon

All the jobs in florida are low paid. Here, pay can range from $15-25. In florida, it would be in the $8-12 range for the same job. In florida you have to drive a long way...maybe several hours to get to the good jobs because living in the city was expensive. I would drive 2-3 hours for work everyday and got tired of it.

There are a lot more jobs here and I'm trying to find some that are close to where I am staying. I've been offered jobs at Northrop, lockheed and several others already...but they were near an hour away and I only have my friend to drive me. I don't want to inconvenience him since he also has a job that goes from 9AM-midnight.

The cabling job was my worst experience...I did some other contract jobs, but it's hard to get a reference for them since they were fairly short.