Work in St. Croix

You must be here in order to get a job. It would be extremely hard to find an employer here to hire you from stateside unless you have some extremely desirable skill. And even then they will try to find someone here first. How do they know you will really come? People always say they are going to move down here and then dont. Its a fun place for people to dream about. Wouldnt it be safer to rent out your house and rent a place here for at least 6 months to make sure you will at least like living here? The Settler's handbook is a decent starting point but if you would take the time to research this board you will find alot more info here then in the book without a doubt.

Bring at least enough money to get through 2 to 3 months of unemployment. I have seen many people take longer then that just to find a get by job so please be prepared. To rent a place you usually will need 3 months rent...first last and deposit...sometimes its only two but better to prepare for the worst.

Thank you Betty for your input.

What we want to know, is if it is realistic to hope for a job at the oil refinery, docks or doing forklift work at the airport, or is there a waiting list for these types of jobs?

I would think he would have a fair amount of competition for forklift work. But is it more then that? Is he highly qualified in it in some way? What type of work will you be doing? Like other posters have said if you are willing to work hard you can make it here. Take what job you can while you look for your ideal job. I'm just saying don't throw away your life at home til you are sure you will like it here. You have not even visited stx yet.

I can do anything from wait tables to supervisor, for me I think that is not a problem. He is certified as a forklift operator and very good at what he does. We are both hard working. We have not visited yet, that is true. We are just trying to get all the information that we can before we do.
Thank You

There are often jobs availble at the refinery, many of them require a specific skill set or education. Thise poistion we would think of as unskilled, the refinery has a fairly ambitous local training program to develop the employees from local citizens. This is an island of 50 -60 thousand people, so there are frequently jobs available, but you need to be here to get them.

The VI Government is the single largest employer, by a big margin, in the territory. It can be tough to get a job with the government if you don't have an "in" with them. Having said that, my wife and I both work for the VI Government, and have done so since we moved here (going on three years now). Additionaly, my wife was hired by the Govt from the mainland befoer either of us set foot here, so it can be done.

I wouldn't sell your house until you know you are gong to stay here for a while. In regards to an earlier post, this is not "small town america". Come on down for a good extended visit (3 weeks if you can swing it) and live like a local before you commit to moving here. I moved here from the upper midwest (Iowa), I seem to recall you saying you are from Minnesota. The weather is the smallest difference you will encounter, this place is nothing like where you are now. That is not meant to be good or bad, it just is, and probably needs to be experienced first

Joy - what type of jobs would you be looking for? As you will see expressed often on this board, most employers won't consider you as a serious candidate for a position they need to fill until you are physically on the island. However, you can do some research and brainstorming about potential employers before you get here. With info on the type of jobs you would be seeking, people on this board can give you some ideas about companies to include on your list.

We are more concerned about finding a place to live where he is fairly close to getting a good job at the refinery(Hopefully), and then with my experience, hopefully it wont be hard for me to find a job.

Unless your husbandhas a particluar skill they are looking for at the time of your arrival here, I wouldn't count too heavily on the refinery. It probably has one of the lowest tunrover rates of employers on the island. If your husband doesn't have a particular skill or background in petroleum refining, entry level operator jobs are tough to get.

I would agree with bnk1227...don't count on a job unless you have been offered one before you get here....my tenant works at the refinery and jobs are gone before they ever get posted on their web-site and I have never seen one offered in the paper....... locals tend to be hired ahead of new comers...most times

Most large employers in the VI will hire residents (those who have lived on-island for one year) over newly-arrived because of tax implications.

But mature people with varied skills can find work. I know because I did it. But it may take a while, 3 months is not unusual.

Ric and I came withour jobs or a place to live. We had savings and my pension. We found a house to rent within 3 days of arriving. Ric found a job in 3 months. The HR director where he worked called me and asked me to come in and fill out an application. I found my job within 2 months of starting to look. We are both still with the same employer 3 years later.

The only way to find out is to come and try.

Thanks for all the info.

We hope it wont take to long to get working. He is a certified forklift op. with Bobcat experience. He is a very handyman kinda guy. There's not much he can't do. We look forward to our PMV, and then moving down there.

Take care everyone, and maybe we'll see some of yous when we get there.

My husband works at the refinery but he is a contractor that was hired via a "head-hunter" employment agency prior to us coming to the island. He is working for a company named Universal Personnel, but there are quite a few different employment agencies who do placements within Hovensa. My husband found out about his job from a guy who retired from the same company as my husband did. Since he had the experience, training & certifications they were looking for, along with 30 years of working in an industrial job setting, he was hired after submitting a resume to Universal and going through a job interview via phone with his future boss.

From what I understand, many contractors are hired for a relatively short period of time (like 3-12 mos.) depending on the job. We have been here since early July 2006 and at this point, he has no end date in sight (his contract was open ended), but this is somewhat unusual. Most of the other contract employees that he worked with that thought they were here for a long-term period, were dismissed early last month. There are no guarantees about how long they'll keep you working here if you're a contractor. You would definitely be better off being hired directly by Hovensa if you intend to stay on STX long-term.

Here are a couple links that may help your husband land a job at the refinery:

http://www.hovensa.com/hr/hrjobs.htm (current job postings of jobs working directly for Hovensa)

http://www.tonsojobs.com/ (Universal Personnel's site, just in case you want to go that route)

Good luck! 🙂

Thanks for the Info Debralu

We'll look into that when we are ready to come down.

Thanks again
Kel & Joy