Employment in other parts of Washington

Submitted by paymeinapples t3_1000zq4 in Washington

I've recently returned to Olympia after coming home from teaching English abroad, realizing I didn't want to do it anymore since the job was giving me panic attacks.

Olympia is my hometown, but I am very aware that jobs are hard to find here unless you want to work in retail or warehouse, both of which I've done and tried several times to get out of.

Am I going to have an easier or more difficult time finding work that isn't retail or warehouse in other parts of Washington, namely Tacoma or the Seattle area? Currently, I do not have a car or money to fund a move, so I am just prospecting.

For context, I did live on the Eastside before and worked at the contact center for Nintendo in Redmond (although I was fired from the job for reasons I won't get into here). Aside from that job, I had a full-time temporary data entry gig in Bellevue.

Aside from working retail and warehouse jobs and the jobs on the Eastside, you already know that I've worked as an ESL teacher, although I'm not currently interested in teaching in any capacity.

Rent is catching up to Seattle here in Olympia, but the downside is that career opportunities are not catching up. Making it big here means getting a job working for the state. I have a BA degree from Evergreen and I've been having trouble convincing people my degree isn't useless (It is.)

So I'm hoping to hear from other Washingtonians here if it's worth considering other parts of the state for more long-term employment or to stay put and try to make things work. I do intend to humble myself once again by working a minimum wage job in retail or warehouse for the time being, but after recently turning 31, I feel like I can do better, if only I knew what other options I had.

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Comments

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DiscoBegonia t1_j2fgqbo wrote

Careers.wa.gov

So many state agencies have massive vacancies right now.

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istriss t1_j2eujjd wrote

Used to work for gov in another state, so I'm not sure what WA/Olympia gov is like. But the pay is better than retail!

https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington

In my personal experience, the quality of the job in gov work is dependent on the people you work directly with. But the trade off is that you'll have a lot more guaranteed safety nets in other areas that you won't find in retail/customer service. For example, I got free insurance and a day of vacation + an additional day of sick leave per month at my old job.

Just avoid the DMV lol.

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lissapocalypse t1_j2f363q wrote

Try an employment agency, maybe? That's what I did after moving back from overseas.

There are plenty of generic office jobs that just want any college degree and some that specifically like employees with teaching experience.

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kevbayer t1_j2f519q wrote

Work for a local government. They pay much better than the state for anything but top-level jobs.

Have you considered a career in 911? They pay really well (at least in the Puget Sound area)and have good to great benefits depending on where you work. The hours suck tho

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GingerCatGang t1_j2f987m wrote

Definitely look on NeoGov for state government positions (not all require degrees or specific experience), the vast majority of these and most administrative level positions are based in Thurston county. I work for the state and pass up many opportunities at promotion due to not being able to move up there. Some positions are remote (very few) but most are at least hybrid now (I only go into my field office once a week). Agencies like DSHS and ESD are almost always hiring entry level positions. Starting pay may not be fabulous but the benefits are decent and with the way the pay steps go, I doubled my annual salary in 6 years.

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thekarmabum t1_j2fo8bw wrote

In the Seattle area you won't really need a car as long as you have a bus pass you can get pretty much anywhere.

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sirguynate t1_j2eu9a3 wrote

Hello!

What is your degree in?

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paymeinapples OP t1_j2fkwea wrote

Well, the first thing you should know is that Evergreen does not have majors although it is an accredited college. That being said, I have a BA degree with emphasis in Music Composition and Production, an activity I've discovered that I prefer more as a hobby than as something I want to do professionally.

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Careless-Internet-63 t1_j2fay58 wrote

If you're not looking for work related to your education you could maybe try looking for something in a factory. I always found that kind of work more enjoyable than retail or warehouse work and the pay and opportunities for advancement can be better too. My favorite job I had before I finished college was doing mechanical assembly, it was a but mindless but definitely preferable over dealing with customers all day

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Snushine t1_j2fez47 wrote

Ridgefield is growing like crazy. Check into what's going on there. My SIL just got a damn good warehouse job in a new outfit going in up there, and the Ilani casino is driving up tourism.

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