Interesting Article on Yahoo mentions Jax

[jcjohnpaint]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/financial-giants-moving-jobs-off-134806883.html

[Tacachale]

Heard this on the radio this morning. Here's the meat of it:

New York’s biggest investment houses are shifting jobs out of the area and expanding in cheaper locales in the United States, threatening the vast middle tier of positions that form the backbone of employment on Wall Street.

...

Low-level jobs have already migrated to call centers and back offices overseas, while top-end traders and bankers are secure in the New York area, experts say. Instead, services like accounting, trading and legal support, and human resources and compliance are being shifted to places like Salt Lake City, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Fla.

Particular emphasis on the local growth of Deutsche Bank.

[bankon1t]

"Cheaper" being the key word.  I know this is completely from my point of view only, but from interviewing locally, asking for 35K around here will get you a stare as if you just asked for 100k.... And in my opinion, performing these jobs were definitely worth 35k and more.... Maybe it was just the companies?  Possibly a combination of too many things to mention, but that's just my opinion and my limited experience 

[thehill]

They are about 5 years behind on this article. This trend is in full effect. As a city we need to focus on keeping the young professionals here as they move on from these entry level positions they came here for.   

[ronchamblin]

The below is from the start of an article in "The Daily Beast".

"Forget Wall Street. Cities like Jacksonville, Fla., and Salt Lake City are where the new finance jobs are these days. To save money, some of New York’s and London’s biggest investment houses are outsourcing jobs, not overseas but to smaller cities in the U.S. where lower salaries go further than they would in the expensive financial hubs. It’s called “near-shoring” and it’s a trend, but not everyone is loving it. While it may make sense for businesses as a whole to shift their operations to less costly cities, uprooting to such places after building a life in New York is a tough sell for some longtime employees"

[simms3]

So Jacksonville is essentially one step above India in this regard.  Jobs are jobs, but let's not kid ourselves, $35K salaries are typically not for college-educated young professionals, who believe it or not have a relatively low unemployment rate and are more mobile than ever.

There's entry level for undergrads, entry level for grads, and then there is entry level for 2-year college grads (or no higher ed).  Every city needs jobs for each category, but I'm pretty sure that call centers are not where you want to or where you actually do end up after spending $50K-$200K for a college degree.  For those of you reading who did end up with a call center type job or a job in a mall after spending money for college, believe me when I say there are other jobs out there for you!  I promise.  They'll put your investment in a college degree to use.

[Tacachale]

So Jacksonville is essentially one step above India in this regard.  Jobs are jobs, but let's not kid ourselves, $35K salaries are typically not for college-educated young professionals, who believe it or not have a relatively low unemployment rate and are more mobile than ever.

There's entry level for undergrads, entry level for grads, and then there is entry level for 2-year college grads (or no higher ed).  Every city needs jobs for each category, but I'm pretty sure that call centers are not where you want to or where you actually do end up after spending $50K-$200K for a college degree.  For those of you reading who did end up with a call center type job or a job in a mall after spending money for college, believe me when I say there are other jobs out there for you!  I promise.  They'll put your investment in a college degree to use.

You're partially right, but they're not talking about call center jobs here, but rather...

...services like accounting, trading and legal support, and human resources and compliance...

I think there's more than they let on, though. It's not all about cost and taxes; Jax and said parts of NC have the infrastructure for these types of jobs due to a long history of banking and finance, not to mention the fact that the local economic development agencies have their ear to the ground for these things and know how to pursue them. It takes more work than just lowering corporate taxes.

[tufsu1]

So Jacksonville is essentially one step above India in this regard.

nice spin simms, but I'll take comparisons with places like NC and Salt Lake City any day.

oh yeah, notice how Atlanta wasn't mentioned...even though incomes (and cost of living) in metro ATL is lower than Jax!

honestly, I'm sure you don't mean it, but some of your posts come across as "a bit snobby"....in this economy, there are plenty of recent college grads that would be happy to get a job starting at $35,000 a year.

[simms3]

I was halfway joking, I'm wry can't you tell?  Times aren't *that* desperate, though.  2008 was one year and NOBODY could keep a job let alone find one, but 4 years later and it seems everyone (who is young) is getting jobs.  I think it IS tougher for young people in Jax to find jobs, but there's nothing new there.  I do congratulate those who do because it's not a "young" business town.

It's not like young profs are stuck, either.  Charlotte, Austin and Richmond are each raking in young profs and paying them $50K+ for entry level jobs (they might be a little more advanced than compliance/legal support/basic corporate accounting jobs).  Someone who "feels" stuck in Jax might be greatful for the $35K support jobs, but those really looking and prepared to move are probably seeing the same jobs with slightly higher pay in more exciting big or mid-sized cities and saying "see you", and those with more "glorious" degrees/alma maters are looking for a lot more than $35K because they're looking for higher level jobs where market rate entry salary is probably between $45K and $75K depending on job, city and GPA/other credentials.

A lot of the big F500 FIRE and tech firms that have support services in Jax have actual management programs for college grads in other cities (such as Charlotte, Richmond and Austin).  These are the 2-3 year BOA, GE Capital or JLL programs (for example) that recruit heavily from a selection of schools and bring a "class" to one of 3-8 cities.

Jax needs to do more than "keep its ear to the ground for support jobs"; it needs to find a way to be a real player in the same league as its rising peers.  This is as much on the business community as it is on the city economic development agencies, imo.

[I-10east]

So Jacksonville is essentially one step above India in this regard.

I knew it that a post like this was coming, the obligatory 'Jax downplay'. 

[fsujax]

^^It's expected from Simms, no where is as great as Atlanta. I should know I left there to move to back to Jacksonville.

[fsujax]

Great more low wage jobs. Man, becoming the India of the US sucks.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-07-03/story/citibank-hiring-workers-jacksonville-offices-mandarin

[Traveller]

Two attorneys with whom I used to work are now working at Deutsche Bank's offices on Gate Parkway.  They were making six figures at their old firm, so I would imagine their salaries at DB are in the same range.  It's not just $35K call center jobs moving here.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

About, 6/7 years ago, I took an entry level offer from Fidelity - it was $30k + commission + residuals.  I was super excited, I passed the series 7, I took the 30 hours of class required to sell insurance and then I went to work - it blew.  If I had been paying attention, I would have realized from the start that it was nothing more than an outbound calling center, and I hated it. 

So finance field or not, I felt more like a telemarketer - Good Morning, Mr. So-and-so, my name is ___________ and I have some great new products to tell you about.  Who's currently managing your portfolio?  (I think I just threw up in my mouth).

Point being, entry level is just that.  If you're expecting to walk in anywhere with close to a 6 figure salary, then I think you're crazy.