Chicago

I'm looking for a city to conquer after I graduate.

According to wikipedia: "Chicago has the largest high-technology and information-technology industry employment in the United States" and has 66 Fortune 500 companies.

Are there any Chicago residents out there that can boast for the city? Are there ample opportunities for Network/Security engineers? Any added benefits of living in this city as opposed to, say, New York or LA? Any personal experiences you'd like to share?

Thanks!

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Comments

sprkymrk

I'm not sure how the situation has been recently, but just a few years back the market was flooded with out-of-work IT professionals due to the Arthur Anderson shut down and the Lucent Technologies layoffs. My brother in law still lives in the area and he was layed off from AA. Despite having a 4 year CS degree and about 10 years experience it took him almost 2 years to find another permanent job.

moss12

2 years are you kidding me or what ?

sprkymrk

Cross my heart - almost 2 years to find a permanent job. He had a couple of temp jobs in between.

However, even his "permanent" job has been in doubt because that company got bought by another company. So far he has survived the lay offs, but his job security is never a sure thing.

Anyway, with the Lucent and AA issue a few years in the past it might not be so bad anymore. Who knows, maybe my brother in law just doesn't interview well?

keatron

sprkymrk wrote:

Cross my heart - almost 2 years to find a permanent job. He had a couple of temp jobs in between.

However, even his "permanent" job has been in doubt because that company got bought by another company. So far he has survived the lay offs, but his job security is never a sure thing.

Anyway, with the Lucent and AA issue a few years in the past it might not be so bad anymore. Who knows, maybe my brother in law just doesn't interview well?

A lot of it has to do with area of expertise and experience as well. It seems to be that every company in Chicago is asking for either developers, security, or DB Admins.

blackmage439

keatron wrote:

A lot of it has to do with area of expertise and experience as well. It seems to be that every company in Chicago is asking for either developers, security, or DB Admins.

I can vouch for that. I can't really tell you how the market is for "Tier II-III or Admin" personel, since I'm not there yet.

As far as entry-level PC technician/desktop support/help desk jobs go, they aren't very numerous, but there are openings available right now. Especially since the Chicago suburbs have an abundance of Circuit City and Best Buy stores. However, your biggest problem will be getting the pricks to call you back. I had a horrible time getting call-backs from the resumes I threw out, until I came across a job with Glenbard South High School. I didn't think anything would be produced by my application, but the guy called me back the next day and I was employed within 3 days of the first interview. I beat out at least six other people for the position, so I feel really special right now.

So, I would suggest three things when looking for a job in Chicago (well, anywhere for that matter!):

Don't ignore any offers, even if they seem hopeless. You just might get that lucky break.
Always, ALWAYS call them back within a week of sending in your resume. Keep pestering them until you recieve a response. Just don't make yourself look too desperate (this isn't "Pursuit of Happyness" afterall). Head-hunters seem to be the best people when it comes to callbacks, but all they care about in the end is filling positions.
If you do get a job with a retail store, make sure you know EXACTLY what they want you to do. I was offered a position at Circuit City that was supposed to be a desktop technician. Well, it turns out during the interview that they want me in some desktop repair and mostly sales. I told the guy that wasn't what I applied for, but he didn't even seem to care.

Good luck in your search.

garv221

sprkymrk wrote:

Cross my heart - almost 2 years to find a permanent job. He had a couple of temp jobs in between.

However, even his "permanent" job has been in doubt because that company got bought by another company. So far he has survived the lay offs, but his job security is never a sure thing.

Anyway, with the Lucent and AA issue a few years in the past it might not be so bad anymore. Who knows, maybe my brother in law just doesn't interview well?

Not just IT right?

sprkymrk

garv221 wrote:

sprkymrk wrote:

Cross my heart - almost 2 years to find a permanent job. He had a couple of temp jobs in between.

However, even his "permanent" job has been in doubt because that company got bought by another company. So far he has survived the lay offs, but his job security is never a sure thing.

Anyway, with the Lucent and AA issue a few years in the past it might not be so bad anymore. Who knows, maybe my brother in law just doesn't interview well?

Not just IT right?

In my brother-in-law's case I am only talking about IT. Is that what you meant?

garv221

Oh, I just wondering if the market alone in Chicago was like that, not just IT.

sprkymrk

garv221 wrote:

Oh, I just wondering if the market alone in Chicago was like that, not just IT.

Hmmm. Not sure. I bet they are always on the lookout for some good baseball players...

misman1982

I just heard in the news that Chicago and San Francisco is ranked #1 and #2(don't know which is #1) in highest gas prices. In some places they're over the $4/gallon mark. Hope this may be a deciding factor in your search. Some lady said she had to change jobs to cut the commute costs.

Mishra

I want to go to Dallas Texas.

My suggestion is to go on monster.com and do job searches in different areas where you want to live in (Dallas is warm! Thats what I want). You can see the type of people the area is hiring and how many jobs seem to be out there.

I live in Louisville and I see maybe 2 IT jobs per day
I searched Dallas and I see around 20 per day

Big difference

sthomas

sprkymrk wrote:

garv221 wrote:

Oh, I just wondering if the market alone in Chicago was like that, not just IT.

Hmmm. Not sure. I bet they are always on the lookout for some good baseball players...

keatron

sprkymrk wrote:

garv221 wrote:

Oh, I just wondering if the market alone in Chicago was like that, not just IT.

Hmmm. Not sure. I bet they are always on the lookout for some good baseball players...

Heyyyy!!! Cut it out man. We just won the World Series 2 years ago, and made it to the Super Bowl this year. I can't remember the last time a South Carolina sports team won anything.

sprkymrk

keatron wrote:

sprkymrk wrote:

garv221 wrote:

Oh, I just wondering if the market alone in Chicago was like that, not just IT.

Hmmm. Not sure. I bet they are always on the lookout for some good baseball players...

Heyyyy!!! Cut it out man. We just won the World Series 2 years ago, and made it to the Super Bowl this year. I can't remember the last time a South Carolina sports team won anything.

I forgot the White Sox won the World Series so recently.

My comment was really in reference to the Cubbies.

I have always been a Bears fan. My loyalty to the memory of Walter Payton lives on.

As for South Carolina wins:

We won the LARGEST Clean School Bus grant of 37 states! Yup, read it and weep!
http://www.ed.sc.gov/news/more.cfm?articleID=616

And don't go on about how that's not really a sport.
LA LA LA LA I can't hear you LA LA LA LA

snadam

Mishra wrote:

I want to go to Dallas Texas.

My suggestion is to go on monster.com and do job searches in different areas where you want to live in (Dallas is warm! Thats what I want). You can see the type of people the area is hiring and how many jobs seem to be out there.

I live in Louisville and I see maybe 2 IT jobs per day
I searched Dallas and I see around 20 per day

Big difference

If you want warm, head out to AZ. The IT job market aint so bad either, depending on your credientials.

keatron

snadam wrote:

Mishra wrote:

I want to go to Dallas Texas.

My suggestion is to go on monster.com and do job searches in different areas where you want to live in (Dallas is warm! Thats what I want). You can see the type of people the area is hiring and how many jobs seem to be out there.

I live in Louisville and I see maybe 2 IT jobs per day
I searched Dallas and I see around 20 per day

Big difference

If you want warm, head out to AZ. The IT job market aint so bad either, depending on your credientials.

Did you say warm?????? 110 degrees is a little more than warm!!!!!!!!

garv221

Funny...I have worked with ALOT of people in IT. I don't know if this spam or If I have really worked with her but this lady sends me holiday cards, calendars and leaves me voice mails. Instead of deleting her email like usual, I followed the link to these job postings which happen to be in Chicago. The lowest pay is $17.00 and the highest is $50.00/hour. Earliest post is the 2nd week in May.

1. .NET Developer
2. .NET Developer
3. Business Analyst
4. Business Analyst (2 needed)
5. Crystal Reports Analyst
6. Deployment Specialist
7. Exchange/Windows Administrator
8. Help Desk Specialist
9. Help Desk Specialist
10. Help Desk Specialist (4 Needed)
11. Help Desk Technician (3 Needed!)
12. PC/Application Support Specialist
13. Sales/Account Executive
14. Systems Administrator
15. Technical Support Specialist (2 Needed)
16. User Interface Designer/Developer
17. WAN Specialist

snadam

keatron wrote:

Did you say warm?????? 110 degrees is a little more than warm!!!!!!!!

true, I guess you get used to it. I love the heat!!! Beats the hell out of snow!

its only 110+ for about 3-4 months out of the year anyway. The rest is great.