With an unemployment rate of approximately 10 percent nationwide, the job market is a frustrating and unkind place for job seekers today. The national decline in employment has touched nearly every major city and market area in the country equally. The city of Pittsburgh is no exception. For job seekers in Pittsburgh, it can be difficult to find new jobs and hard to tell which companies are worth working for and which aren’t. Even in the current sour market, the following businesses are some of the best places to work in Pittsburgh.
Google – Google is consistently ranked as one the best companies in the country to work for. The company, currently almost unaffected by the economic downturn, provides higher than marketplace average salary, a comprehensive benefits package, and has remarkably laid back policies regarding hours and dress code. Google has recently set up a facility in Pittsburgh and it is actively hiring. Competition for a job is fierce and aspirants need a bachelor’s degree, and a master’s degree or PhD is preferable. Anyone lucky enough to get a job at Google will find amazing job security and a pleasurable work environment.
University Jobs – Between Carnegie Mellon University, University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne, and Chatham, Pittsburgh is home to universities that teach nearly 50,000 students a year. Providing full teaching and staffing for that many students, leads to a plethora of jobs. The majority of university jobs are mandatory for the university to function, giving these jobs a high degree of job security. The pay at universities is usually about average for industry standards, but benefits are usually excellent, and most universities offer same-sex or non-spousal partner benefits. Job seekers should be aware that the majority of these jobs will require a bachelor’s degree.
PNC – As of January of 2010, PNC has approximately 200 job openings in the Pittsburgh area, ranging from simple high school diploma requiring clerking and staffing to high level management positions that require an advanced degree and at least a decade of experience. Rather than reeling from the collapse of the mortgage industry, PNC is one of the few banks that has actually added positions to deal with the new banking landscape. Dozens of new jobs become available at PNC almost every day, making it a great company for job seekers to keep an eye on. As an old and established company, PNC pays by salary, not wage and provides benefits to all employees, while maintaining a casual and communal work environment.
Westinghouse – With new energy initiatives by Obama, Westinghouse, one of the premiere nuclear power energy companies in the U.S., may very well be on the verge of a financial windfall. Even without this windfall, Westinghouse is a solid company with a solid economic profile. The Pittsburgh offices have existed for over 100 years and Westinghouse is still one of the biggest companies in western PA. The majority of jobs for Westinghouse will require an advance mathematics, science, or computer science degree, though Westinghouse also hires technical writers and administrative staff. The company is currently hiring and is more than willing to hire candidates with little or no experience in the field.
With the collapse of the steel industry, blue collar jobs are significantly less abundant in Pittsburgh than even 30 years ago. Instead, a new trend of white collar, research and banking related jobs has become the market standard in Pittsburgh. Even in the competitive job market, a bachelor’s degree is enough to stand out among most of the job candidates and should allow job seekers to more easily find a job and work up through the company ranks. Anyone lucky enough to get a job at one of these companies or businesses has likely found a lifelong career.
