How's the IT Job Market in Michigan?

I am looking in to moving from Florida to Michigan in the next year or 2 because the wife wants to be closer to her family. Just wondering how the job market is? I know it's not great in Florida, but I have a decent job here as a Systems Admin. We're undecided on the city in Michigan so any suggestions on where the nice places are would be welcome. Where are the hot places for IT up there? How's the cost of living? I looked at some COL calculators and there didn't seem to be a huge difference. Thank you in advance.

Find more posts tagged with

SAVE $250 on Your Boot Camp — Use Code "EXAM26"

Exclusively for TechExams members for Infosec Boot Camps starting before April 30, 2026

View Boot Camps

Comments

alan2308

Michigan (at least the Detroit and Ann Arbor area) has plenty of I.T. work. Most of it though seems to be either the big 3, or the hundreds of MSPs supporting smaller companies.

traceyke

Personally, I think the Mitten is about average for IT jobs. At the very least, it's WORLDS BETTER than Florida's market.

Shdwmage

Depends on where in MIchigan and which speciality. Kalamazoo and GR aren't bad. I'd avoid Jackson. I don't think Lansing is all that bad either.

dachatman08

Really the Market in the Detroit Metro Area is good. I was going to move back home but decided on Indianapolis, IN. The market in Indianapolis, IN is booming.

Success101

traceyke wrote: »

Personally, I think the Mitten is about average for IT jobs. At the very least, it's WORLDS BETTER than Florida's market.

I agree. Florida's job market is horrible.

JoJoCal19

Not sure why the hate on Florida's IT job market. I've done very well with it and still continually get 6-8 solid emails/contacts per week for jobs. For what it's worth I work in InfoSec and you can see my credentials under my avatar. I've done targeted keyword searches for related jobs in Michigan before (GR, Detroit, Lansing, Ann Arbor) and don't see how it's better than Tampa and Jacksonville.

Success101

REMOVED UNNECESSARY QUOTED REPLY FROM PREVIOUS POST

There's no hate, that's just been my experience. Perhaps I should have went into security. Everybody's a sys admin these days.

GLaDOS11

Thanks for all the feedback. One of my friends works for one of the big three now and he loves it. I am working on finishing my degree at WGU before making a big move like that. I'm hoping that not having a degree from a Michigan based school doesn't hurt me too much. I don't suppose it would hurt me any more than not having a degree from a Florida based school here!

--chris--

I live and work in metro Detroit. Although I'm still entry level, I hear the biggest gripe from employers is finding skilled people for the mid level work.

If your looking for IT job centers there are three main areas. Ann Arbor, the novi/Livonia/Southfield triangle and the Sterling Heights to auburn hills region. If you pick a place in between Ann Arbor and Livonia you would be in a great spot to be picky with jobs. Look on google maps and draw a mental triangle between Livonia, Ann Arbor and Brighton. Pick a community and that would be a winner.

if you want to live on the west side I would say Grand Rapids or bust. Lansing has MSU and some software jobs. Flint is a possible hot bed for tech (low cost real estate and plenty of talent nearby) down the road. Onlinetech.com has a data center there and there are a couple hospitals and big GM plants.

if security is your thing, the only SOCs in metro Detroit are in Southfield and walled lake (IBM and nuspire). Warren has GMs engineering hq and lots of defense contractors that are always looking for TS clearances.

If you have more specific questions about communities let me know via pm. I drive all over this place.