OXFORD – An unexpected layoff sent an Oxford Academy graduate on a six month job search which took him from Arizona to St. Louis before finally finding a job back in New York.

After Dan Dain graduated from Arizona State University nine years ago, he stayed in Phoenix. Working as an architect in his old college town, he had a good-paying job, a nice apartment and had just bought a new luxury sports car.

That all changed on October 6, 2008 when he and seven of his co-workers were laid off.

“I never thought that would be me,” said Dain, who had worked for his employer, the Butler Design Group, since 2004.

For months there had been signs that the construction market in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area was softening, Dain said, describing the area as overdeveloped.

There was still development work, one of his areas of expertise, but less of it. For him, it meant a little more time on the golf course, but not much of a concern. Then in May, his firm laid off eight architects. In October, they let eight more go, including Dain.

With extensive contacts in the industry and a well-rounded resume, not to mention degrees in both architecture and construction management, Dain didn’t think he’d be out of a job for long.

“I thought I’d get one right away,” he said, but the reality was much different. “I couldn’t get a single interview in Arizona.”

By Nov. 1, Dain had bought out the lease on his apartment and had packed his bags for St. Louis where his girlfriend, Lindsay Poole, was finishing up her graduate studies in deaf education.

“I could completely start over,” he said. Once Dain arrived in Missouri, however, it didn’t take him long to realize the job market wasn’t much better than the one he had just left behind.