Job Advice Needed

adam220891

Hello All,

This site has been a tremendous resource for me, though I lurk more often than post, admittedly. I would normally keep this sort of thing to myself but I've been mulling the possibilities for a while now and after discussing with those close to me, am no closer to a decision.

Here's my brief story. I live in NJ and have 3 degrees (1 tech AAS, 1 BS degree from WGU) and some certs (2 CCNAs, been working on CCNP for a few months but still a bit to go on that). First job I was at for 1.5 years and finished at 34k. Second job I have been at for almost 1.5 years and am at 59k. I live in NJ.

I am interested in relocating to South Carolina or Florida, but have only done visiting and apartment touring in the former (2 different trips). I have 2 job offers in SC, though I don't need to take either and have been dragging my feet because my girlfriend is struggling to find an opportunity there (it seems Florida has more jobs in her field).

Job A: Government contracting, 70k, 5k relocation, 'free' benefits, 6% 401k match
Job B: Call center, 59.5k + 12-18% min-max bonus, 3500 signing bonus, 2500 relocation, 'free' benefits, 4% 401k match

Job B seems like a place I'd enjoy more. Smaller, more personable. I'd be the network guy (this is a new position) and work to 'in-source' a lot of the work handled by various MSPs. Would require late maintenance windows and on-call rotation (every other week).

Job A gets me a clearance, but seems like there would be a lack of culture.

Job B thinks the cost of living will be less, though the apartment situation seems to be pretty similar (property tax is dramatically less, but would not benefit me yet). I see limited salary increase since they have made it clear it would be their second highest paid position (they upped their offer $7k after negotiating). They do, however, have a new office opening next year with plans for 3 more.

I'm not overly familiar with either market. If I remained in NJ, I'd be seeking $75k-$80k at my next job. So I'm thinking those salaries are probably to be expected due to CoL differences (even though I'm not expecting to benefit too much).

What should I do? If I take either, I'm committed and girlfriend must make it work, somehow. She'd probably remain back home until she secured something. If I hold off, it buys me time while she continues searching, and FL might be where she finds an opportunity. Of course, if I pass, less desirable positions may be offered to me down the road and I'll regret it.

This would be my first major move and I would have no relatives close by in either state.

Input appreciated!

scaredoftests

Ugh, Florida. You won't find much in the technology field or the best health care. Go with Job B, a clearance is always nice but the lack of culture might drive you crazy.

networker050184

Cost of living is really going to depend on the city you're moving to/from. Jersey City to nowheresville SC is a big difference and vice versa with somewhere like Charleston. So definitely do some investigation there.

Florida my not have a big tech market, but neither does SC. You're basically going to be stuck with the two types of jobs you found so far for the most part. You might find something in Charlotte, or live close to Atlanta. I left SC for these reasons a few years ago.

As far as the jobs neither sound very appealing to me so just go with your gut or wait until you find something you really want to do.

adam220891

Thanks for the input. I am specifically targeting Charleston and Tampa Bay. Decent weather and a beach is relatively important to me, so nowheresville is not appealing to me. Both cities seem to have tech opportunities (I had a phone interview with a software company in Tampa Bay on Friday) but graphic design openings seems limited in Charleston.

I don't think my CoL will go down much because I live in the southern part of NJ and can expect to spend $1k on a 2br apartment (they go up from there) and it seems similar in both potential cities, albeit closer to the beach and a bit more modern units for that price.

I do understand Charlotte should be fruitful, but I don't think it's what I am looking for from a life perspective. I enjoy saltwater fishing, boating, the beach, etc. and am trying to stay close enough to make these things possible on the weekends.

TheFORCE

Why are you leaving NJ? One of the areas with the biggest boom of IT.

Dojiscalper

I've been here in Fort Mill, SC just south of Charlotte for over two years now and I also have my eyes on Florida and even the south carolina coast Myrtle Beach to Charleston. The rest of south carolina is seriously empty of people and jobs and almost completely agricultural if its not owned by the paper companies and used to grow/harvest trees.

Charlotte has some very big tech names for a southeastern city; Google, Apple, IBM, and Oracle to name a few and Facebook is moving in as well. There's also a huge banking industry presence. Lots of IT jobs posted, but I've been monitoring them for a year and many of them are reposted weekly and never filled, but from reading this board that problem is everywhere. SC has a max home sales tax of $300 vs NC's full state rate of like 7-8% so its a huge bonus to buying one of the large houses around Fort Mill, SC like the rest of us yankies.

Not a lot of jobs along the SC coast unless you are in Charleston or up near the boarder with NC and work at Wilmington or one of the military bases up in that area.

If you got questions PM me. I've been studying these area's for more than the two years I've been here and happy to help.

adam220891

TheFORCE wrote: »

Why are you leaving NJ? One of the areas with the biggest boom of IT.

I live outside the Philadelphia area. I would not say there is any sort of boom here outside of Comcast and MSPs. There are jobs, but nothing crazy.

It's cold. I hate the cold. It's also expensive. I hate expensive.

TheFORCE

Leaving because of the weather is a different story, but jersey city and hoboken area have plenty of IT jobs. Theres a huge presence of big pharmaceutical companies in NJ, and they need plenty of IT.

adam220891

For reference, those areas are 1.5 hours north of me. I would be moving to pursue those, but CoL would definitely go up over the southern part of the state.

If I was to stay, I do think that would be a wise step to take. But weather and pace of life plays a big factor for me.

joemc3

Florida has no income tax!

MeanDrunkR2D2

Downside. It's still Florida.