Working IT in NYC or Albany etc?

zxbane

Hey all,

I am curious if anyone works IT in either NYC, Albany or any of those areas. I am currently working as a DOD contractor in Virginia with a TS/SCI clearance and looking into the possibility of moving to NY to be near my fiance's family since we are about to have our first child. I know the move would likely mean moving from the Contracting realm into the private sector, and I am a little apprehensive about that or my clearance fading away..

Anyone have any insight on working in IT in either NYC or Albany or in NY in general? Or making the move from public to private sector? I am not the biggest fan of NY as a state but looking into it for the purpose of being closer to family for my families sake..

I have 6 years of IT experience and 4 years of that is from being in the Air Force, been contracting since 2012. My certs are listed on the side as well.

Thanks for any insight or help!

dpjackal89

What exactly don't you like about NY?

zxbane

High taxes (from what I've heard), and just the general overbearing nature of the government from gun control to the numerous other things like controlling what people consume etc. But I'm not interested in moving there for their government and politics so that's a side issue..

I'm looking for insight from people who work IT in NYC or upstate NY

dpjackal89

As far as taxes go. About 25% is usually taken off the paychecks. I work in manhattan, nyc for an ISP doing entry level networking and it's great. As far as pay goes, expect to be paid more in nyc than in virginia.

roch_greg

Born and raised in Staten Island NY, living in Western NY currently and can say the culture differences are striking.

That said, the Tri-State area (NY, NJ, and Connecticut) is one of the hottest IT markets in the country. Look on any IT job board and search for jobs in NYS and you'll see most are located closer to NYC.

Albany (the Capital District) isn't bad. It's the seat of government for the State so there is more work there than usually found outside of the city.

I'll leave the taxes and gov't thing alone since it's not something I lie awake at night about.

Generally you'll earn more working in NYC but you'll also spend more because of the cost of living (with or without taxes).

it_consultant

I actually graduated from Albany High School some years ago. I know one VMWARE engineer based out of Albany but the market is certainly not what the market is in the NYC area or even smaller cities like Denver. If you want quick and high paying employment I am not sure the Capital Region is the best area.