New to The Villages from PA - Advice for Seeking Employment

[robonner]

New to The Villages from Pennsylvania. 35 Years experience in Revenue Cycle Management, all facets from Admissions to back end office Billing and Collections. I have my Bachelor's in Accounting and am dual certified through AAHAM. Having difficult time finding comparable employment. Any ideas or suggestions?

[Bizdoc]

If you have not looked at the Orlando area, I would do so. The opportunities in the immediate area are pretty limited and the pay scales depressed due, in part, to the number of retirees (and spouses of retirees) who want to be here and want to have some income for whatever reason.

Be aware that pay scales in general in FL are lower than you are probably used to. The flip side is that you won't have to pay state income tax.

I would look to your professional association(s) to network and find some folks working in your specialty. They will usually know about openings before they get advertised. LinkedIn can also be helpful to find similar folks.

Good luck.

[NottaVillager]

The fact that FL has no state or local income taxes very much do not make up the slack for the abominable wages paid down here. Whatever you made up north plan to make 30-50% LESS down here for the exact same job.

[PR1234]

The Villages was listed as #2 in this article, very misleading from what I have heard?
5 cities where wages are soaring- MSN Money (http://money.msn.com/investing/5-cities-where-wages-are-soaring)

[NottaVillager]

The Villages was listed as #2 in this article, very misleading from what I have heard?
5 cities where wages are soaring- MSN Money (http://money.msn.com/investing/5-cities-where-wages-are-soaring)
Well yeah. If you were making $1 and you now made $2 statistically you had a huge jump. If you aren't being paid much it doesn't take too much of a raise to give you significant bump statistically. I'm guessing that a lot of highest money is probably going to the construction trades in and around TV and I am guessing they don't make anything compared to union tradesmen in the north. The local hospital pays terribly at all levels compared to the north and on and on and on.

[robonner]

Thanks for your suggestions, and I have explored all of the sources that you mention. As for the wages and state/local tax, what jobs I do see are MUCH lower than the combined 4.2% of state/local tax rate that I was paying in PA. I am beginning to think that if one is not ready or willing to fully retire, The Villages (and maybe Florida in general) is just not the place to live. I wish I would have realized this before I moved.

[RErmer]

Professional associations and LinkedIn are great suggestions for networking. I'm recently retired after spending 30+ years in Global HR/Compensation. Some points to consider:

1. Companies do not set pay rates based on cost of living; pay rates are set based on cost of labor, which is different. If a company has to recruit nationally to fill a position(skilled professionals), the company will more likely pay national rates. If a company can fill a position locally (like admins) then local (usually lower) rates will be paid in FL. Also, when there is a rich local recruiting pool (translation, many retirees with great skills willing to work for less or just part time) the cost of labor in an area will be depressed.
2. If you really want to get into the pay differences, go to Welcome to Salary.com! - Salary.com (http://www.salary.com) and search for your desired job title and location. You can also compare pay for the same job in various locations. Several companies I worked for used this tool. It is run by a very reputable company and generally has pretty good.

Good luck in your search.

[Bizdoc]

If your goal is to have an interesting job, do keep in mind that the theme parks (most notably Disney and Universal) are in a constant recruiting mode. You would most likely find something in treasury ops, but a job is a job. And remember, their treasury ops is dealing with billions of dollars in receipts annually, so it is a very big deal.

[mulligan]

Welcome to the anti-union right to work capitol of the country. Lack of collective bargaining is reflected in the ridiculous wages and lack of benefits. United we bargain, divided we beg.

[Bogie Shooter]

Thanks for your suggestions, and I have explored all of the sources that you mention. As for the wages and state/local tax, what jobs I do see are MUCH lower than the combined 4.2% of state/local tax rate that I was paying in PA. I am beginning to think that if one is not ready or willing to fully retire, The Villages (and maybe Florida in general) is just not the place to live. I wish I would have realized this before I moved.

oops!

[dbussone]

Give it awhile. Just like anywhere else, it takes time to find something that really interests you. Healthcare in FL is a very vibrant industry and your skills are needed.

Forget the rust belt vs sun belt crap.

[NottaVillager]

Give it awhile. Just like anywhere else, it takes time to find something that really interests you. Healthcare in FL is a very vibrant industry and your skills are needed.

Forget the rust belt vs sun belt crap.
It's NOT crap. Yes. healthcare is very vibrant down here. It just pays about HALF of what it pays up north. How jolly!

[dbussone]

It's NOT crap. Yes. healthcare is very vibrant down here. It just pays about HALF of what it pays up north. How jolly!


Not sure what you do, but at the management level (which I believe the OP is) you are way off base.

[NottaVillager]

Not sure what you do, but at the management level (which I believe the OP is) you are way off base.
Wrong-O! My wife is a nurse-practitioner and she took a 46% pay cut coming down here. As our Villages Insurance rep told us.."Any job you can think of pays MUCH less in Florida than it does up north. And she's RIGHT.

[asianthree]

Unless you can work remotely the pay is iffy

[robonner]

[QUOTE=RErmer;920139]Professional associations and LinkedIn are great suggestions for networking. I'm recently retired after spending 30+ years in Global HR/Compensation. Some points to consider:

1. Companies do not set pay rates based on cost of living; pay rates are set based on cost of labor, which is different. If a company has to recruit nationally to fill a position(skilled professionals), the company will more likely pay national rates. If a company can fill a position locally (like admins) then local (usually lower) rates will be paid in FL. Also, when there is a rich local recruiting pool (translation, many retirees with great skills willing to work for less or just part time) the cost of labor in an area will be depressed.
2. If you really want to get into the pay differences, go to Welcome to Salary.com! - Salary.com (http://www.salary.com) and search for your desired job title and location. You can also compare pay for the same job in various locations. Several companies I worked for used this tool. It is run by a very reputable company and generally has pretty good.

Good luck in your search.[/QUOTE

[Vladimir]

Unfortunately it is going to be difficult if not impossible to find a comparable job at the same salary you had before retiring especially in Florida. Age discrimination exists and if you are over 55 then your chances of landing the type of job you had before is not good.
You may want to try doing consulting on your own or if you can use your previous professional connections then try to discover a working from home scenario for a corporation.
Otherwise rethink your expectations and do a fun menial job for little pay if you are bored.

[dbussone]

Wrong-O! My wife is a nurse-practitioner and she took a 46% pay cut coming down here. As our Villages Insurance rep told us.."Any job you can think of pays MUCH less in Florida than it does up north. And she's RIGHT.


As I stated, management positions are on a relatively comparable basis. I was not discussing pay levels for nursing and ARNP positions. Sorry you have such a negative approach to things.

[Bogie Shooter]

As I stated, management positions are on a relatively comparable basis. I was not discussing pay levels for nursing and ARNP positions. Sorry you have such a negative approach to things.

I agree!

[sunnyatlast]

Welcome to the anti-union right to work capitol of the country. Lack of collective bargaining is reflected in the ridiculous wages and lack of benefits. United we bargain, divided we beg.

O.P. is a managerial accountant, so crying over unions' weakness they created with fiscally unsustainable demands is not applicable here.

The prior suggestion about looking at Disney, Universal, etc. is a good one.

[tomwed]

I have my Bachelor's in Accounting ..... Any ideas or suggestions?

Contact your alma mater's placement office and ask them for suggestions. If that goes nowhere contact the University of Gainesville.

[jnieman]

New to The Villages from Pennsylvania. 35 Years experience in Revenue Cycle Management, all facets from Admissions to back end office Billing and Collections. I have my Bachelor's in Accounting and am dual certified through AAHAM. Having difficult time finding comparable employment. Any ideas or suggestions?

Please check out Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com) It is a great website for job hunting. You type in the job title then the zip code and many jobs come up. I did a search for you and several hits in the area came up. Good luck to you.
Revenue Cycle Management Jobs, Employment in The Villages, FL 32162 | Indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Revenue+Cycle+Management&l=32162)

[MarkinMd]

That was a super nice thing to do.

[dbussone]

Please check out Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com) It is a great website for job hunting. You type in the job title then the zip code and many jobs come up. I did a search for you and several hits in the area came up. Good luck to you.

Revenue Cycle Management Jobs, Employment in The Villages, FL 32162 | Indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Revenue+Cycle+Management&l=32162)


Now you are the kind of neighbor we all hope for.

[mtdjed]

Wow! This thread brought out a lot of folks like the lady in the thread of "Angry Lady in the Neighborhood". Remember, you chose to come here. If you like it better elsewhere , that is where you should be.

I was always told not to fail at retirement. To me, that meant find the right place and be happy.

[PTennismom0202]

My husband and I came from DC last year. I have watched the Villages Sun, Orlando Sentinel, Indeed.com, Linked-In, etc. and found no jobs that we would want to do within 30 miles of The Villages. I'm lucky that I get quite a lot of work that I can do at home for my former company as a 1099 resource, but my husband is very bored. There's nothing for him here. I did some consulting work for UCF in Orlando and the state pays about 60% of mileage expenses compared with the national rate. I would recommend that you work as long as you want to where you are and come done here when you're ready to retire.

[JaniceOhio]

Hello NottaVillager:

I'm a career/job search coach for 41 years and the Career Coach for The Ohio Society of CPAs. I am a Villager hoping to retire to my Gilchrist home in the next few years.

We just helped a CPA get hired in Bradenton and she did not take a pay cut. She had a sharp resume / LinkedIn profile. We trained her to message and present. She did her research and since she was only in town for 10 days, I advised her to find out the companies who hired folks like her and then go door-to-door. Her approach did not telegraph impending retirement. Through social networking and good old door-to-door introductions she received an offer.

You needn't be a CPA to have great qualifications. I understand how frustrating job search can be in a new neighborhood but your credentials look good. There's work for you..Just make sure every organization becomes aware of your availability. It's not just who you know.. it's who knows you! That's why they call it Job Hunt.. Good luck!

[Barefoot]

I'm a career/job search coach for 41 years and the Career Coach for The Ohio Society of CPAs. I am a Villager hoping to retire to my Gilchrist home in the next few years.

We just helped a CPA get hired in Bradenton and she did not take a pay cut. She had a sharp resume / LinkedIn profile. We trained her to message and present. She did her research and since she was only in town for 10 days, I advised her to find out the companies who hired folks like her and then go door-to-door. Her approach did not telegraph impending retirement. Through social networking and good old door-to-door introductions she received an offer.

You needn't be a CPA to have great qualifications. I understand how frustrating job search can be in a new neighborhood but your credentials look good. There's work for you..Just make sure every organization becomes aware of your availability. It's not just who you know.. it's who knows you! That's why they call it Job Hunt.. Good luck!

Please check out Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com) It is a great website for job hunting. You type in the job title then the zip code and many jobs come up. I did a search for you and several hits in the area came up. Good luck to you.
Revenue Cycle Management Jobs, Employment in The Villages, FL 32162 | Indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Revenue+Cycle+Management&l=32162)

How nice ........ good folks willing to make helpful suggestions. :bowdown:

[LoriL]

I'm with you robonner. I had great expectations for a job prospect when I decided to leave N.J. The economy appears to be booming here. There are jobs, but there is so much competition. I wish I had known this before moving here too.

[graciegirl]

Please check out Job Search | one search. all jobs. Indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com) It is a great website for job hunting. You type in the job title then the zip code and many jobs come up. I did a search for you and several hits in the area came up. Good luck to you.
Revenue Cycle Management Jobs, Employment in The Villages, FL 32162 | Indeed.com (http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Revenue+Cycle+Management&l=32162)

Excellent Jnieman, AND...this from a person who has lived for awhile, do it before you move here.

You know what your mom said; "Look before you leap".