From: jsdph@acad3.alaska.edu (Dennis P. Harris)
Subject: ALASKA JOBS FAQ
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41.UAC
Organization: University of Alaska - Fairbanks
Date: Sun, 27 Dec 1992 06:52:00 GMT

FAQ:  ALASKAN JOB MYTHS

i have received a number of queries about job opportunities in alaska 
from my correspondence on misc.jobs.misc.  here's the real story,
in spite of what you may have seen in the "send $5" or "call 900-xxx-xxxx"
classified ads in your local paper:

1. alaska's economy is seasonal, and grinds to a halt during the winter.

2. jobs in shore-based fish processing plants are mostly union jobs, controlled
by seattle-based union hiring halls, or are in plants owned by local native
villages who hire villagers during the fishing season.  pay is low ($6/hr 
or so when a 1 bedroom apt is $700-$1000/mo, and travel costs and food are
very high).  hours are long.  the work is cold, wet, smelly, and physically
exhausting.  many plants are in remote communities and you have to pay your
air fare both ways unless you work the entire season.

3. the safety records for floating processing plants are poor, pay is poor, and
pay disputes (in other words, screwed workers) are frequent.  good floaters can
find all the experienced workers they want.  with bad floaters, you are 
risking your life, literally.  a number of them have been cited for labor 
and ship inspection violations.  several have sunk with a number of lives 
lost because of poor maintenance or incompetence.

4. safe fishing boat skippers have a high crew retention rate, and can't
afford to hire inexperienced crew members (for safety and efficiency).

5. the rest of the alaskan economy is still recovering from the bust in oil
prices in the late 1980's.  there is little housing construction because of the
large number of foreclosed homes on the market makes banks unwilling to lend.
state budgets have been cut, cut, and cut again.  when state workers quit or
retire, they aren't replaced (including dp and programming positions), ditto
for university faculty and staff.  ibm staff here was cut like everywhere else.
some local economies are holding steady, but the boom of the 70's and early
80's is long over.

6. in spite of attempts by the alaska department of labor to set the record
straight, thousands of people come to alaska every summer looking for work. 
most of them come with little or no money, and are shocked to find that prices
and rent are so high.  most leave with little or no money.  most who made money
either had relatives here with connections to help them find jobs, or had a job
offer before they came.  if you do have an offer, get it in writing and 
check it with the alaska department of labor.  for 2 years running, we have 
had unscrupulous ripoffs in the lower 48 send workers here with job 
promises --- they overcharged them for air fare, took a "commission", and 
put them on the plane for a job that didn't exist.

7. soup kitchens and homeless shelters are already turning people away this
winter.  in many places you can't just camp in the woods in the summer, 
because the land is privately owned, or governments restrict camping to 
campgrounds only, and limit the number of days you can stay.

8. "job information services" prey on those that believe in the get-rich-quick
alaskan myth.  you can get the same information by writing to the alaska
department of labor, po box 3-6000, juneau, ak 99811, for free.  these
so-called "information services" don't operate in alaska because the attoney
general would put them out of business.

i suppose i should keep this message as a FAQ file and send it again in the
spring, since the topic comes up about every 3 months or so...[hope springs 
eternal... :-)].

================================================================================
dennis p. harris				  bitnet: jsdph@acad3.alaska.edu

  "The nation that controls magnetism controls the Universe." --- Diet Smith
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