Any work in Iowa?

[Hedgewood]

Checking to see if anyone knows about the job market in Iowa. I own a small tree service in Johnson City, TN that has grown quite quickly, but my wife is from Iowa and would like to get back there, Souix City area to be exact. There is also a possiblity of the southeastern side of Iowa near Mt. Pleasant, and New London or Burlington where she has an Aunt and Uncle. I just want to see if there is enough work or if I need to look for a second profession. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

David

 

[Jason Bex]

Checking to see if anyone knows about the job market in Iowa. I own a small tree service in Johnson City, TN that has grown quite quickly, but my wife is from Iowa and would like to get back there, Souix City area to be exact. There is also a possiblity of the southeastern side of Iowa near Mt. Pleasant, and New London or Burlington where she has an Aunt and Uncle. I just want to see if there is enough work or if I need to look for a second profession. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

David

Hello David, I can't speak for the Western part of the state but, as far as Iowa City and Burlington area. It's pretty saturated with tree service companies. I think Iowa City has over 10 or 12 companies itself. I worked in Burlington for a short time with a company called Boughton's Tree Service and he is probably the top dog in that area but there are 4 or 5 other companies there as well. What shocked me was in Burlington you could get 2 to 3 times the money for a tree removal. I suppose a lot has to do with the competition and others willing to do the work cheaper. But, anyhow, I hope this helps.

Jason

 

[ATH]

I know nothing of the Iowa market, but will offer a couple of random thoughts/encouragements:
1) If you know what you are doing and work hard and show up (sober), I'm confident there is just about always work.
2) A market "saturated" with tree services should be a good thing for a job hunter...only so many people willing to do this work and they are all looking for you. It may be harder to establish your own company there, but the OP sounded like you are looking to be hired on?
3) There are some small population pockets who won't pay for good work and for some reason persist in supporting the hacks/toppers/uninsured/etc... As you get into cities with more professionals/white collar jobs, the appreciation for quality (professionalism within our industry) seems to increase rapidly. If I had to move and start over again, that would be the first demographic work I'd do.

If you built your company up, the hard part won't be finding work, but learning to play by somebody else's rules and schedules...

Good luck!

 

[DSW]

This thread is over ten years old.

 

[ATH]

LOL...I just saw the reply from today and jumped in.

Wonder if he ever made it?

 

[DSW]

Good info regardless.

Just sure that guy already made his decision.

Personally I would move from Iowa to Tennessee but not the other way around.