Job Choosing Essay, Research Paper

Choosing

a particular job is a hard decision. Many things have to be considered about the

possible place of employment to make the job search as beneficial as possible.

The salary, benefits, commute time, and location are among the important to

review. To further explore this question, the location will be considered more

in depth. The location of the job opportunity also includes all of the

demographic information that is needed to make a decision. This geographic and

statistical information plays a major role in selection of a certain job in a

certain area. The main demographic areas that are mainly considered are:

 Median income  Home value  Population  Cost of

Living  Crime These main statistics are the core to which the job

selection relative to choice of residency is to be considered. An article by

Donald Houston in ?Urban Studies? suggests that, ?jobs are closely related

to the surrounding neighborhoods?(Houston). This further explains the

importance of selecting the right area based on other aspects than just the job

itself. For technical careers, such as the computer and information technology

jobs, the possibilities for employment are endless. According to an article in

U.S. News and World Report, ?technical fields are booming and the career

opportunities are limitless?(Saltzman). The article goes on to explain that

?tech jobs are expected to grow by 1.4 million from 1992 and 2005, and job

openings will double in the decade ahead?(Saltzman). Because of these

prophecies made, the options that a person can explore searching for an

information technology job are endless. Because of the abundance of these jobs,

the seeker can look more closely at the geographic and demographic benefits of

the surrounding areas. Within the Baltimore and surrounding areas, many places

of interest are available that have job opportunities. The job locations that

will be considered include Owings Mills, Bel Air, Laurel, Gaithersburg,

Columbia, and Annapolis. Also, in a broader level, some aspects of the counties

in which these selected cities are located will explored. They all have similar,

yet different locations relative to the Baltimore area, which is the general

area to be explored. In addition, each employment opportunity holds true to be

relatively equal to one another by further exploration including the type of job

and the salary. This will put more emphasis on the geographic and demographic

features of the selected cities and not on the employment opportunity itself. As

mentioned earlier, the main points of interest to e considered within the

selected cities are income, home value, population, cost of living, and the

crime. This will prove to be all of the necessary information needed to select

an area that is most suitable and is the best possible personal choice in

regards to the demographic information provided in relation to the job itself.

More importantly, this information will be accessed using Arcview?s esridata

and the Homeview webpage. In addition to the basic demographic data provided,

many others will be added additionally. Crime rate, cost of living, and the

ration of blacks to whites will be explored and included with the original data

collected. Upon research of the relevant cities that the possible employment

openings exist, the following results were allocated: Owings Mills (Balt.

County)–  City pop- 33,833  Median income- $41,764 

Home value- $160,000  County pop- 722,700  Crime index- 133

(U.S. average = 100)  Cost living index- 102 (U.S. average = 100)

 15 miles from Baltimore city; 35 miles from D.C. Laurel (Prince Georges

County)–  City pop- 21,851  Median income- $44,651 

Home value- $126,000  Crime index- 109  Cost living index- 96.8

 20 miles from Baltimore city and D.C. Bel Air (Harford County)–

 City pop- 10,049  Median income- $42,994  Home value-

$149,800  Crime index- 14  Cost living index- 99.9  23

miles from Baltimore city Gaithersburg (Montgomery County)  City pop-

11,000  Median income- $55,730  Home value- $180,000 

Crime index- 237  Cost living index- 110  24 miles from D.C.

Annapolis (Anne Arundel County)?  City pop- 33,200  Median

income- $36,833  Home value- $189,000  Crime index- 154 

Cost living index- 112  30 miles from Baltimore city and D.C. Columbia

(Howard County)?  City pop- 84,986  Median income- $56,179

 Home value- $185,000  Crime index- 100  Cost living

index- 110  21 miles from Baltimore city; 24 miles from D.C. The

research and data presented above poses valuable points of interest that deals

with the analysis and search for the optimal area to both live and work. The

solution to this problem is evident upon completion of the analysis of the

evident data gathered. The solution to this will be different for everyone.

Personal opinion and background can change everything from one to another. The

final conclusion that I personally derived was based on the valuable demographic

and personal findings of each job?s city. From the income, home value, and

crime rate, I found the basic background characteristics of each city. In

addition, the population and proximity to the D.C. and Baltimore city areas were

helpful in making my decision. The analysis of each job?s surrounding city is

as follows: Owings Mills seemed very attractive to me at first, but just the

thought of Reisterstown Road traffic made me cringe. Also, the proximity to bad

areas and a relatively high crime rate turned me away. On a better note, Owings

Mills is very close to Baltimore and may have been my choice if it had a

predominate upper-middle class society. Laurel did not attract me at all. I had

no desire to live in Prince Georges county and the low home value turned me sour

completely. Also, the crime rate is above the U.S.?s average. Bel Air is a

very attractive sight to settle down. The city?s population is low, the crime

rate is almost nothing, and the majority of the citizens are of upper-middle

class descent. I had to turn away from this choice because of the fact that I

felt that I had to move away from the place that I grew up and get out on my

own.