Jobs and Culture In Farmington NM

Farmington is #20 on the list of the Top 30 Cities for Jobs in the US, with very good reason.

New Mexico is one of the four states comprising the Four Corners Region of the American Southwest and one of the most economically successful in the region. Colorful in scenery and history, this state is a mix of nationalities that have included the Spanish and Mexican, Native Americans, Caucasians, Asians, Blacks, and others. Native Americans from South and Central Americas have migrated into this region as well for centuries.

A neverending array of cultural events and commemorations are scheduled year around to keep live interesting while the population and new businesses continue to grow even after 50 years of increase - see Visit Farmington. Bull riding events, rodeos, Pow Wows and other events create heavy incoming tourist traffic on the weekends in Farmington.

Each fall, the well known Four Corners Storytelling Festival is held to honor 1,000 years of the oral tradition in the American Southwest. Story tellers from western, Native American, Hispanic and even Japanese cultures share their stories. Cowboy poetry is a special regional treat, as is the Navajo and Choctaw tradition of the story.

The population of Greater Farmington and San Juan County is over 36% Native American, with Navajo accounting for 33%, while 37 other nations make up the other 3%. The Apache, Pueblo, Cherokee, Sioux, Ute, Choctaw, and Chippewa make up the bulk of those numbers. The presence of the Navajo Reservation and other Tribal lands in the Farmington area is the reason for such a high concentration of Indigenous People in a single US State. Whites make up 46% of the total population of San Juan County. Hispanics and others fill out the remainder of 18%.

The largest age cohort by far in this area is the huge child & youth cohort, boys and girls being equal, at ages birth through 19 years. The second largest cohort is 35 - 49 years old, with about the same numbers of men and women. The large numbers of children account for the growing numbers of jobs available in Medical & Health, Special Education, and Social Services noted below.

The Desert Rock Energy Project of Sithe Global Power, LLC, is on the land owned by the Navajo Nation. Dine Power Authority of the Navajo Nation and Houston's Sithe partnered to build the $3 billion, 1500 megawatt Desert Rock plant in 2004, based on coal-burning technologies.

Desert Rock is forecast to contribute 17% of the new energies required to serve the projected growth in Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern Nevada by 2015.

Navajo reservation lands cover portions of Utah , Arizona, and New Mexico across a full 27,000 square miles. this is Diné Bikéyah, also known as Navajoland, and covers more land size than 10 of the US States. It is the largest reservation in the US, with smaller reservations located nearby.

The industries employing the greratest numbers of workers in Framington and San Juan County include:

1. Healthcare and Social Assistance
2. Mining - especially new projects in Navajoland.
3. Construction Trades
4. Retail Trade
5. Accommodations and Food Service (all types)
6. Other Services, except Public Administration
7. Wholesale Trade

Farmington companies and agencies employee nearly 51,000 workers within the city limits, with open jobs available.Short-term hiring trends show an expected jobs increase through 2010, particularly in the following employment sectors:

1. Local Government jobs
2. Manufacturing positions
3. Services of all kinds
4. Healthcare and Social Assistance
5. Professional, Scientific & Technical Services
6. Finance & Insurance

1. Network Systems and Data Communications Analysts 60%
2. Food Preparation & Beverage Service & Related Jobs 51%
3. Fast Food Cooks 45%
4. All Levels of Food Service Supervisors 45%
5. Transportation Workers 44%
6. Medical, Personal Care, and Public Health Social Workers 40%
7. Nursing, Psychiatric, and Home Health Aides 37%
8. Pharmacy Technicians 36%
9. Social and Human Service Assistants 33%
10. Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, etc. 33%

A list of Additional Fast Growing Jobs includes

1. Licensed Practical (LPN) and Licensed Vocational (LVN) Nurses 33%
2. Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary (college level) 32%
3. Physical Therapist Assistants 32%
4. Special Education Teachers: Preschool, Kindergarten, and Elementary 28%

1. San Juan Regional Medical Center - among Top 50 companies in New Mexico
2. San Juan College - Also among the Top 50 companies in NM.
3. Northern Navaho Medical Center. Shiprock NM.
4. Farmington City Govt
5. Key Energy
6. BHP Minerals and BHP Billiton - Coal mining and shipping
7. Arizona Public Service - electricity, utilities. Fruitland NM.

• Navajo Preparatory School- 1220 W Apache St, Farmington NM 87401
  Phone (505) 326-6571. -- A residential college-prep school for Native American students at the high school level, this institution offers focused curricula in mathematics, sciences, computers, and all core academic courses. Navajo Language is also taught in order to preserve the Indigenous languages of the American Southwest. This school prepares college bound youth for practical success in academics and the workforce.
• New Mexico Highlands University - Campus at Farmington.
• New Mexico State University at Aztec NM
• San Juan College
• University of New Mexico, Farmington - Campus also at nearby Gallup.
• Westbrook University, Aztec NM

New Mexico State's Fabian Garcia Research Center in the College of Agricultural and Consumer and Environmental Sciences dedicated resources, time, and manpower to the creation of green technologies for business and a Sustainable America full of related high paying jobs.

This particular center works with greenhouse, orchard & crop design and research to increase the health and quanitites of foodstuffs. It hosts a botanical garden and a turf demonstration plot for examining new planting methods, Classes are offered in landscaping, ornamental design, and related maintenance. Garden and demonstration plots are fully open to the public.

A famous chile pepper grower, Fabian Garcia, spent a 50-year career at this university. He designed and grew the first pepper with dependable pod size and heat level and helped establish new Mexico's $400,000,000 yearly chile pepper industry. Many recipes call for only New Mexico Chiles.

Chile Field Day is a half-day seminar sponsored by the university and the NM Chile Association.