Are there employment opportunities in New England, North Dakota? There are very, very few job openings in New England, North Dakota, mostly because the town has a small population of just over 600 residents.

The largest employers in New England are the New England Public School, the Dakota Women’s Correction & Rehabilitation Center, Slope Electric Cooperative, West River Health Services Clinic, E.H. Schwartz Construction Company, and Fitter Oil Company.

It should come as no surprise, that with very few opportunities for employment in New England, the local residents who do have employment in town, try to keep their job. There isn’t much job-hopping, seeking greener pastures, or no-call/no-show behavior that would lead to job vacancies here locally.

Additionally, because there are very few job openings here locally, when there is even the slightest hint of a new position becoming available, current employees and managers scramble to notify and assist their family members and friends into this new job opening.

Plus, there are so few jobs and job openings, that not only do local residents try to hang on to their job, not only do local residents try to get their family members and friends into new job openings, but it is also likely that they will try to run-off a new-hire who is not from this area. Employers may seek to hire someone from elsewhere with different education, experience, knowledge, and skills, but this probably won’t sit-well with local employees. A new-hire from elsewhere can face an up-hill battle that turns out not to be worth it.

Occasionally, the New England Public School or the Dakota Women’s Correction & Rehabilitation Center will post an advertisement for a job opening. Using these two public institutions to demonstrate what can happen, by giving some examples of some situations that actually did happen, readers can get a general idea of what it could be like working for any employer in New England.

Regarding the New England Public School, three examples:

1. A few years ago, a young lady teacher graduated from college and took her first teaching assignment at the New England Public School. Before her first school-year here was completed, she applied to teach elsewhere the following school-year. In my opinion, she did not like the town of New England, or this Public School.
2. This past year I read either a newspaper article or a State Of North Dakota Investigation Report into alleged employee misconduct, about someone who I will refer to as a new “administrator” at the New England Public School. This “administrator” was accused of on at least two different occasions something like “losing their temper”, “inappropriate behavior” type misconduct. Although this individual had roughly twenty years of prior successful experience in public education elsewhere to rise to this level in administration, something about either the New England Public School or the town of New England, they just couldn’t take it anymore, it broke them, they snapped. This employee left.
3. A nearly twenty-year employee of the New England Public School was employed there until they were elderly in age. This person built-up a very nice home and property over the course of twenty years, bit-by-bit. When they retired recently, they had made plans to sell everything and move to Dickinson immediately, which they did. My question, why did they sell their beautiful home and property, to move to Dickinson to a smaller, less-nice home, more-costly home, where it is much more crowded, in their retirement? Were they that sick of New England?

Regarding the Dakota Women’s Correction & Rehabilitation Center, three examples:

1. Several years ago, an acquaintance of mine took a job as an administrator at the DWCRC. Within a year or so, this person resigned because they did not want the legal liability if something went wrong. They believed that the way things were being run, they faced substantial personal legal liability. The job was not worth it.
2. Several years ago, an acquaintance of mine took a job as a Corrections Officer at the DWCRC and within six-months they resigned because it was too dangerous & chaotic. The job was not worth it.
3. Several years ago, a male acquaintance of mine applied multiple times to work as a Corrections Officer at the DWCRC. He believed that he was being overlooked in the hiring process, because he was male. Eventually, he finally did get hired as a Corrections Officer at the DWCRC, but he lasted less than one year at this job.

My advice: Though New England has a low cost of housing, low crime, is peaceful, slow-paced, and quiet, DO NOT relocate to New England based on local employment because you will likely be let-down, disappointed, and it won’t work out. However, New England is a good place to live if you have a wide range of job-skills and are willing to travel to work within a one-hour drive radius of New England.