What's the temping market like in Philly?

November 12, 2009 8:49 PM

I have some time between the end of my residency and my new job. I'm not really interested in going back to the world of coffee-slinging for a few months. I'm curious about the temping market in Philly right now. Are there jobs? What temp companies do folks recommend? Is there enough temp work right now for someone to sustain a living?
posted by itsonreserve to Work & Money (7 answers total)

itsonreserve: "I have some time between the end of my residency and my new job."

When you say residency, do you mean medical residency, like the thing between school and practice? If so, have you considered---medicine? I'm not trying to be snarky here: an MD opens up all sorts of jobs with ambulance corps and local clinics that offer better pay and (sometimes) better hours than temping. The only catch is, I suspect an MD on an ambulance would present an interesting scope-of-practice question, since you're not actually EMT-certified. Unless there's some equivalency I haven't heard of?
posted by d. z. wang at 9:54 PM on November 12, 2009

A friend of mine made big bucks for little work sitting in a dialysis clinic. The lab techs, nurses, and phlebotomists did the actual work, while she had the MD.
posted by Pollomacho at 4:42 AM on November 13, 2009

Response by poster: Not a medical residency.
posted by itsonreserve at 6:39 AM on November 13, 2009

What kind of temp job do you want?
posted by The Straightener at 7:00 AM on November 13, 2009

Best answer: there is always temp work to go around if you can type, use a computer (most places have really low expectations), and show up on time.

places that i or a friend have had good experiences with in the past: randstad, careersusa, officeteam. i have heard so-so things about phillytemps.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 7:20 AM on November 13, 2009

Response by poster: Looking for something office-related if possible, but really just looking for steady, short term, non food related work for about three months after Christmas. I'm really curious about how the current temp climate is in Philly and who I should be talking to. I've never actually temped before, but all my previous experience lends itself well to typing and spread sheeting.
posted by itsonreserve at 7:39 AM on November 13, 2009

Best answer: I would recommend starting with Unique Advantage, as they do all the office staffing for UPenn. The jobs pay decent and you will at least be surrounded by intelligent and interesting people. Of any temp place I've ever used that had the lowest suicide induction quotient.
posted by The Straightener at 7:50 AM on November 13, 2009