The job market in LA
December 12, 2013 12:29 PM Subscribe
I'm making plans to move to Los Angeles and I very likely will have someone else accompanying me who is also feeling the desire to move to Los Angeles with me as well (he went with me on a week long vacation - please note the previous AskMeFi for better reference
We have living arrangements with my aunt (at least in the short term she will let us stay with her she says until we get settled).
He has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Community Development and a Minor in Sustainable Urban Development. He's natively fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. He currently works with wholesale operations for a travel company where his skills in coordinating issues that arise between clients and company management. He's worked in a few other companies where his language has come in handy.
Is there anything jobwise in Los Angeles where urban planning can come in handy or where languages can be crucial? I already have a resume sent out with cover letter for mobile developer jobs in Los Angeles, but I haven't been able to find as many multilingual or urban development jobs online which are full time with a living wage.
Are there any good resources for this? I plan to be there before the Spring semester begins at the beginning of February and I'm really really hoping that things work out well.
We have living arrangements with my aunt (at least in the short term she will let us stay with her she says until we get settled).
He has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Community Development and a Minor in Sustainable Urban Development. He's natively fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. He currently works with wholesale operations for a travel company where his skills in coordinating issues that arise between clients and company management. He's worked in a few other companies where his language has come in handy.
Is there anything jobwise in Los Angeles where urban planning can come in handy or where languages can be crucial? I already have a resume sent out with cover letter for mobile developer jobs in Los Angeles, but I haven't been able to find as many multilingual or urban development jobs online which are full time with a living wage.
Are there any good resources for this? I plan to be there before the Spring semester begins at the beginning of February and I'm really really hoping that things work out well.
Being bi-lingual (well, tri-lingual, but the utility of speaking Spanish here is an order of magnitude more valuable than Portuguese here) is certainly a plus in LA. I am not sure it is a huge differentiator but it definitely cannot hurt.
I don't think you said in your last note where in LA you want to live, or where you are schooling, or where your aunt lives. All of those things are going to be relevant in trying to find a gig that isn't going to make you miserable with a commute.
It sounds like that kind of gig is going to be either government adjacent or in land-development/construction. LA has a weird government situation where there are areas within the county/city that are incorporated and separate in their administration. Any of these incorporated areas are sources you might check.
If he willing to venture out of that tight focus, being educated, bi-lingual, and motivated qualifies him for all sorts of good-enough-for-now jobs to get started with...
posted by milqman at 12:45 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
I don't think you said in your last note where in LA you want to live, or where you are schooling, or where your aunt lives. All of those things are going to be relevant in trying to find a gig that isn't going to make you miserable with a commute.
It sounds like that kind of gig is going to be either government adjacent or in land-development/construction. LA has a weird government situation where there are areas within the county/city that are incorporated and separate in their administration. Any of these incorporated areas are sources you might check.
If he willing to venture out of that tight focus, being educated, bi-lingual, and motivated qualifies him for all sorts of good-enough-for-now jobs to get started with...
posted by milqman at 12:45 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: For a short while, we'll be in Santa Monica with my aunt. At least till we get another place to live.
posted by antgly at 12:56 PM on December 12, 2013
posted by antgly at 12:56 PM on December 12, 2013
There are a lot of people in LA who speak both English and Spanish, so that may not be a skillset that really stands out. Doesn't hurt, but nobody is desperate for bi-lingual speakers.
LA is a hotbed of infrastructure development right now, with Metro having all the Measure R tax money from 2008. Check out the websites of the major engineering/planning companies (google ENR Top 400 for a list) or the local governmental agencies (Metro, LA City, LA County, Santa Monica, etc.). I would be very surprised if a planner would have trouble getting a job in LA right now.
posted by hwyengr at 1:18 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
LA is a hotbed of infrastructure development right now, with Metro having all the Measure R tax money from 2008. Check out the websites of the major engineering/planning companies (google ENR Top 400 for a list) or the local governmental agencies (Metro, LA City, LA County, Santa Monica, etc.). I would be very surprised if a planner would have trouble getting a job in LA right now.
posted by hwyengr at 1:18 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
He should contact the university he graduated from and see what kind of help he could get from the alumni association, and also look for alumni groups in LA.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:22 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 1:22 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]
i believe for planning jobs he'll want to look at gov't job listings for the city of los angeles and other specific cities like santa monica, pasadena, etc.
posted by wildflower at 5:00 PM on December 12, 2013
posted by wildflower at 5:00 PM on December 12, 2013
To add on to the other replies before me, he should also be taking a look at Idealist.org for their job listings. Lots and lots of non-profits looking for people with his background. It's a great resource that I'm sure will be helpful to him.
posted by danielcoda at 7:55 PM on December 26, 2013
posted by danielcoda at 7:55 PM on December 26, 2013
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posted by antgly at 12:32 PM on December 12, 2013