I second bcook's response. I have a good friend of mine who moved locally from the Kansas City area. He was a union carpenter, electrician, and framer there, s

I second bcook's response. I have a good friend of mine who moved locally from the Kansas City area. He was a union carpenter, electrician, and framer there, so he approached our union hall. They snagged him up the same day, and was out on site the next. He has full benefits. 401k, insurance, vacation, sick pay, etc... And he works for the union hall. He decides the radius where he works, and gets paid 38-52k year, depending on the specifics of the job. Contracts last here from 6 months-2 years, just because there is that much work available. I've honestly given thought going down that path, purely because everywhere needs construction. It's damn useful for houses to high rises.