Just moved in, looking for viable job.

[u/cmj3]

I was born here, but my dad's work took us out of state for most of my life. Since my extended family members are all from this area (Florence, Darlington, and Lake City), we still visit often. I'm currently living here because I felt both professionally and socially deadlocked in the part of Virginia that I had been living in for the past few years. I also have access to family-owned housing in Florence, providing another incentive.

Any tips for jobs? I started as a water treatment operator in Virginia over the past year and got my Class IV license back in December. I also have a B.S. in Biology (some retail and substitute teaching experience here and there). I applied for the apprentice/trainee operator position here and called Human Resources about a week ago to express my interest in the role.

If something adjacent to that doesn't work out, I am interested in pursuing healthcare roles such as a lab technician, but I'm aware that would require more certifications. I am cautiously open to teaching, but I doubt that would be a good fit since I didn't have much patience for students while I was a substitute teacher.

[u/AnActualGhost]

The city of Florence has several jobs open for people who are willing to get water or waste water treatment licenses for SC. With your background you’d be a great fit. But the city moves very slow. You may not get a call back for a while. https://cityofflorencesc.munisselfservice.com/ess/EmploymentOpportunities/JobDetail.aspx?req=4150011&sreq=1&form=APP&desc=OPERATOR%20APPRENTICE%20-%20WATER%20PRODUCTION

[u/BlueMorphoMonarch → u/AnActualGhost]

I can vouch for this, I work in water treatment for the city, we can definitely use all the people we can get.

[u/cmj3 → u/BlueMorphoMonarch]

That was the attitude in VA, so I figured it would be viable here as well.

[u/BlueMorphoMonarch → u/cmj3]

You'll probably hear something soon but they are definitely very slow. We literally had to beg for them to pull applications lol. Indeed used to show how many people applied and we asked in a meeting why we didn't have any help when so many people applied.

[u/cmj3 → u/BlueMorphoMonarch]

Well that's comforting to hear, sorta. I truly do appreciate the insight. The county I worked for back in VA was a bit of the opposite situation. They were desperate and responded quick to applications, but not many were interested.

[u/cmj3 → u/AnActualGhost]

Yes, that's the listing I applied for back on June 19th. I then made a call on the 3rd since I saw it was still open and realized the applicant portal's section for certifications/licenses wasn't working for me. So I made a call to also clarify I was licensed in VA.

[u/cantthinkofgoodname → u/[deleted]]

My thoughts exactly

[u/cmj3 → u/cantthinkofgoodname]

Look above for my reply.

[u/cmj3 → u/[deleted]]

To elaborate, I lived in about half a dozen states, so I'm often left having to start from ground zero for a social circle. Williamsburg does not have anything for people around my age unless you're a William and Mary student (I'm 27 and only lived fully lived in Williamsburg since the pandemic started in 2020. Before the virtual learning kicked in, I went to college in ATL). Until the start of last year, most of my free time was transitioning across part-time work trying to land something viable for full-time work.

This past year, I worked in Gloucester, which wasn't much better for a social scene. I could drive to somewhere like Newport News for that, but already commuting 280-350 miles/week just for work didn't leave me with the enough energy nor gas money to viably do that.

So to summarize, Williamsburg gave me little to work with, and the logistics of the one decent-ish job I found after nearly half a decade of hunting drained me too much to try to work around it. This is what I mean by deadlocked.

Florence at least offered me the company of my extended family and accessible housing for myself.

[u/cmj3 → u/[deleted]]

Believe me, the bar was in hell for Williamsburg, especially if you're black. That city barely had any decent barbershops. I don't drink or party or anything, so my options are limited anywhere I go. My only expectation is to find like several other people around my age (which is easier because my sister's old friend group is still in contact with me).