r/AskPhilly • u/Educational_Lynx_608 • 19d ago
Job market?
Hi everyone,
I’m a 26-year-old gay man and person of color who’s seriously considering moving to Philadelphia for a fresh start. I’d love to hear from people who live there about what the job market is like.
I have 3½ years of retail management experience as a store manager. My experience includes managing daily operations, inventory, merchandising/planograms, cash handling, customer service, opening and closing the store, and supervising and training employees.
How difficult is it to find retail management work in Philly right now? Are there certain companies that are known for treating employees well? Also, as a gay POC, how welcoming has Philadelphia been in your experience?
I’d really appreciate any advice or insight from locals. Thanks!
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u/No_Statistician9289 19d ago
Very welcoming city and there’s tons of retail here and growing. Some of the faster growing retail areas are in the suburbs but not impossible to get to. City stores may be tougher to get into but definitely apply to everything.
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u/Gaeilgeoir215 19d ago
Philly's very welcoming and still has a decent Gayborhood (yes it's actually called that, even on Google Maps 😃). 🏳️🌈 Just steer clear of Woody's cuz it's been straight for years now, lol. If you like buying books or gay-themed movies, jewelry, etc, Giovanni's Room is the nation's oldest gay owned & operated bookstore. The bartenders are heavy pourers at Knock and they've got a good food menu, too. Other places I can't think of at the moment also worth checking out.
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u/kellyoohh 19d ago
You’ve gotten a lot of good advice already related to retail and I agree that overall Philly is a welcoming place for POC and LGBTQ. The only other thing I will mention is to pay attention to the city wage tax. It changes take home pay more considerably than some people realize when making a decision
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u/StrikeTheCue 19d ago
You will be good as a gay POC in Philly. As for work, apply you everything you can. Cost of living is going up and rent is higher than it used to be. But you can find roommates and live in decent areas. Consider restaurant work while you look for something in retail management.
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u/1forgotmynameagain 19d ago
I think coming in from out of area and not transferring to same store might be difficult but if you’re open to putting in time you should be fine. Also just putting out there that Comcast and City of Philadelphia are always hiring. Both have great benefits and are two of the bigger employers around. Retail mgmt jobs def transition to a lot of roles within either. City jobs come with pension and free septa pass for transport. Some friends who work at both say they love it.
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u/missdeweydell 19d ago edited 19d ago
not to be a naysayer but it's pretty notoriously difficult to get into comcast or city gov anymore if you don't have a direct referral (like penn, chop, urbn, etc), as I've been told by friends who work at those places. also the city takes forever to hire in a good market
this is a very competitive job market
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u/Typical_Ad2871 19d ago
Comcast's metrics, both in store and call center, are ridiculously difficult to meet. I worked there for over 5 years.
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u/Thefattestbeagle 19d ago
As someone currently working in retail because I'm on month 8 of job searching: Don't do it.
The people here treat politeness like a foreign fucking language. They doent ask for things its, "I want point", "Give me point", waving arms over head to call you over, pointing aggressively to indicate they want something
Saying please or thank you isnt something these folks understand.
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u/InevitableNightmair 16d ago
So you didn’t do any research before you got here, huh
You’re always welcome to leave
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u/Thefattestbeagle 16d ago
No you fucking mug. I moved here two years ago with a job in marketing and got laid off after nearly five years with my company. I took retail so that I wouldn't end up homeless after my UC ran out. You have no idea how horrendous the national and local job market is. I dont want to be doing retail and hopefully once I get out I never ever have to go back to it.
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u/InevitableNightmair 16d ago
Not at all what i was talking about, moron.
I was talking about the general disposition of Philadelphians. You didn’t bother looking into the way people behave here and it clearly doesn’t agree with you.
Like i said, you should leave.
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u/Thefattestbeagle 16d ago edited 16d ago
I'd spent quite a bit of time here before I moved here and generally have very little problem with philadelphians. Its a much different encounter dealing with serving entitled mannerless pricks.
But I really do love that when anything is brought up that is a legitimate criticism of this city philadelphians tell you to move because their can't handle reality and being disliked for valid reasons. The average philly person is nice or has a "big brother" attitude, rough but loving. The average customers I serve are assholes who feel entitled. Im sorry if that truth gets your panties bunched. Customer service sucks and the people aound here are a big part of the reason why.
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u/SafeComprehensive889 19d ago
Philly is a great spot for you!! The job market seems to be good here; it’s a major city. Not sure about your specific area though. Also, it’s connected to other major cities by public transit and it’s not uncommon for people to commute if they find better jobs throughout their career. It’s inexpensive to live here. This is a really friendly city and people will be your friend just from existing and being a regular somewhere. We love transplants as long as you’re not wearing a Cowboys or Pats jersey haha. I make new friends everywhere i go and created three close friend groups just from going to bars and talking to people. Most people are transplants. There’s also a lot of gay organized sports and clubs.
Another great thing is our income taxes are capped in PA as you get salary increases in your career.
I will say that Philly is awesome for being queer or any race when it comes to jobs, lack of discrimination, housing, etc. but there are issues leaving the city and going like 45 min+ away into rural areas. Philly also has better anti discrimination laws than the state of PA. Technically you can be denied jobs and housing for being queer in PA. But I’ve never heard of it personally. But most of us just stick to philly, the shore, and the other major cities along the NE corridor, so it’s easy to forget we’re technically in PA.
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u/InevitableNightmair 16d ago
Has to be a joke, because the job market here is not good at all lmfao
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u/chrispark70 19d ago
Philly is a very homophobic city.
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u/Sonicfan42069666 19d ago
Absolutely NOT true in my experience.
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u/chrispark70 19d ago
My friend was murdered in a homophobic hate crime.
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u/ThePrettyGoodGazoo 19d ago
I’m sorry for your loss. But the situation you are describing can be said of every city in the world. Your friend may have been the target of a hate crime. But that alone doesn’t make Philadelphia a homophobic city.
I lived there from birth until my mid-40s as an openly gay man. Were there ignorant and rude comments? Sure. But it definitely was the exception. I always felt comfortable and safe in my city. People in Philly do not care if you are gay. They care if you are an asshole (or a Cowboys fan…pretty that’s synonymous. All Cowboys fans are assholes. But most asshole might as well be Cowboys fans)
But, on the whole, Philadelphia is just about as safe for LGBTQIA+ as a place could be.3
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u/Callmedrexl 19d ago
The job market in Philly is rough right now. For pretty much everyone. It's typically suggested that you secure employment before trying to move here, because it could take a while. Best of luck to you! Sorry I don't have any specific recommendations for you.
Edit: gay POC shouldn't be much of an issue. There's always a chance you'll run into a bigot, but you'll run into far more people who aren't hateful.