Five States to watch for growing tech employment

Bokeh

For those looking for new tech jobs, here are the states that are projected to have a lot of the IT jobs, besides the normal ones of CA, NY, DC area, etc.

Five states to watch in growing tech employment | TechRepublic

After a slight lull, I am seeing more and more openings here in MN, with the insurance companies and large healthcare/medical device related companies.

ptilsen

I've always seen a lot of openings in MN. I had some trouble in 2008, both for the obvious reasons and because I was at what I would call the least-needed career level.

I really have to say MN is a great place for tech employment. From the salary samples I've seen on this site, glassdoor, job sites, etc., I've come to believe we make a little bit more here relative to the cost of living as a result of the high demand for and low supply of IT professionals.

Devilry

Interesting read. I have heard many of the past few years that MN is growing and growing with tech and finance jobs.

Tackle

Let's not all move to MN in hopes of the stellar jobs. Leave some for the locals

Iristheangel

Well... I could move to Utah... but then I'd be living in Utah.

Cisc0kidd

Iristheangel wrote: »

Well... I could move to Utah... but then I'd be living in Utah.

LOL! There is that!

Hypntick

Shame none of those states have climates that are in line with what i'm looking for. Not gonna freeze my butt off during the winters living up north, and I agree with Iris on the Utah thing.

Iristheangel

The SO and I have actually put a lot of thought into moving to Oregon during her residency. It all depends on where she matches but we LOVE the rain and the house prices are AWESOME. We've literally spent hours looking at houses for sale in Portland on Craigslist. I mean... 200-300K for a 3000 square foot house built in the last 5 years and plenty of job opportunities? Yes please! Sadly, it's not completely in our control where she ends up so it might just be a pipe dream anyways.

matt333

YAY MASS is on there.

Cisc0kidd

Iristheangel wrote: »

The SO and I have actually put a lot of thought into moving to Oregon during her residency. It all depends on where she matches but we LOVE the rain and the house prices are AWESOME. We've literally spent hours looking at houses for sale in Portland on Craigslist. I mean... 200-300K for a 3000 square foot house built in the last 5 years and plenty of job opportunities? Yes please! Sadly, it's not completely in our control where she ends up so it might just be a pipe dream anyways.

Portland and Eugene are pretty progressive but the rest of the state is politically conservative. Housing prices are pretty good now but I expect them to rise before long. We do get less rain than Seattle!

Iristheangel

I used to live in Provo, Utah for 2 years. After that, I can deal with most other states versions of "politically conservative."

Cisc0kidd

Iristheangel wrote: »

I used to live in Provo, Utah for 2 years. After that, I can deal with most other states versions of "politically conservative."

I can imagine!

biggene

Iristheangel wrote: »

I used to live in Provo, Utah for 2 years. After that, I can deal with most other states versions of "politically conservative."

LOL,
You should try living in the South. I was born in Alabama, but raised in Dallas, and I was amazed at how much difference there is now that I am an adult. You cannot do anything at all in Birmingham without someone playing the racism card. It amazes me how much people hold themselves back because of their own skewed mentality.

Gene

Hypntick

I'll second the south comment biggene. I think if I can get back to NC i'll be considerably happier. About to hit the 1.5 year mark where I am now, may consider a change soonish.

sratakhin

Is Provo really that bad? I thought there were many students...

Iristheangel

Provo isn't bad as long as you're married, white, blond-haired, blue-eyed, a non-smoker, a non-drinker, heterosexual and LDS. If you're missing any of those key elements, it's one of the most uncomfortable places to live.

Roguetadhg

Provo? What state is this?

Iristheangel

Provo is in Utah. BYU is located there. It's a little south of Salt Lake City. There's a lot of IT jobs out there as well as in SLC

sratakhin

2 Roguetadhg - Let me google that for you
2 Iristheangel , ok, I do not belong to the LDS When I visited the state, I didn't really feel uncomfortable, but I guess living there is a different story.

Iristheangel

@Sratakhin, Don't get me wrong. LDS people are delightful people and I have no issue with anyone's religious beliefs but people like me aren't afforded the same kind of protections in that state against job discrimination and I saw people turned down for jobs due to religious differences. It's a beautiful state and I still have a lot of dear friends that live there but I couldn't see myself living there long term.

sratakhin

Iris, try Colorado, it's even more beautiful! I'd love to move to Boulder some day...

TLeTourneau

Iristheangel wrote: »

The SO and I have actually put a lot of thought into moving to Oregon during her residency. It all depends on where she matches but we LOVE the rain and the house prices are AWESOME. We've literally spent hours looking at houses for sale in Portland on Craigslist. I mean... 200-300K for a 3000 square foot house built in the last 5 years and plenty of job opportunities? Yes please! Sadly, it's not completely in our control where she ends up so it might just be a pipe dream anyways.

Iris, if your SO is looking at residencies the Mayo clinic is in MN (and AZ/FL/GA). They also offer full benefits to same-sex couples. Just saying.

Iristheangel

@TLeTourneau - A lot of states make it mandatory for employers to offer same-sex benefits. She's decided this week that she wants to specialize in OB-GYN (Yeah yeah, tons of jokes right there) so she's looking into the top 10 programs and we'll try to get in. I already assume that I'm going to be the breadwinner for the next 4 years since medical residents make anyways from 35-45K a year and most have to start paying off their loans. I'll probably have insurance through my own employer during that time

ptilsen

TLeTourneau is right, and I'll have you know Minneapolis was declared the "gayest" city in the country, using a motley collection of arbitrary metrics. General Mills also offers same-sex health benefits. There are no state laws about it yet, but I see things headed that way.

Besides, the climate here isn't so bad. We had less than three months of what I'd call winter this year, compared to the normal five-and-a-half. It's definitely worth enduring to get to work for companies like General Mills and Mayo, IMO.

bdub

I agree, there are some great companies in MN. Sometimes I wish I had gone into software side as even some of the software giants have offices here such as Microsoft, Adobe and VMware.

Winter here last year was actually sort of a joke. But even normal winters at least in the twin cities metro are not bad. Its usually 1 month of really cold weather and the rest of the winter is usually not so bad. My wife is from here but lived out in the LA area for about 6 years and though she thought she'd never move back (she hated the winters) she doesnt mind it too much now.

We've thought about moving to Oregon as well though. We have friends out there and being that we are pretty into the outdoors/camping, it would be pretty awesome out there. I'd probably be hitting the trails up in the mountains every weekend

snokerpoker

I'm interested in moving to Portland but I don't think I will ever be able to convince my wife to move from the SF Bay Area.

Forsaken_GA

Location has recently become something of an issue for me as well. My girlfriend works at a nuclear power plant in South Carolina, about an hour north of Greenville. As far as network related jobs, there's virtually nothing in the area. Greenville isn't a huge tech base. Atlanta and Charlotte are the closest areas with lots of network type jobs. She likes the company she works for, and unfortunately, they only plant they've got that's anywhere near one of my locations is Charlotte, so we've been discussing looking into having her transfer out there down the road.

This is why my end game is going to be consultancy as a full time career. The ability to not be tied down to a single location is a big motivator, not to mention the entire being my own boss thing. It's just a matter of how quickly I can reach the tipping point in my consulting work so that I no longer need the base income of the big corporate type job.

Personally, I want to move to Tennessee. Low cost of living, beautiful area, and no freaking state income tax.

Cisc0kidd

snokerpoker wrote: »

I'm interested in moving to Portland but I don't think I will ever be able to convince my wife to move from the SF Bay Area.

Much cheaper cost of living and more teprid climate but might seem tame compared to SF.

Hypntick

@Forsaken_GA Might I suggest not moving to west TN. Just personal opinion...

Forsaken_GA

I was thinking more along the lines of Chattanooga hehe

Hypntick

Yeah i've been out there a few times, it's a pretty nice town. Not sure of what job opportunities there are available however. Would be nicely located to drive to a number of places for the weekend as well. I wouldn't mind being closer to the mountains myself, get some good camping in.