Best cities for technology jobs

According to a recent article written Joel Kotkin on Forbes.com, Seattle is the best place to go for technology jobs. Joel says that Seattle has enjoyed the highest growth of tech jobs in the US over the past 10 years! Glad I live here!

He also states that, "In the U.S. this past year technology jobs outpaced the overall rate of new employment by nearly four times". Which is deffinetly good news for all of us.

What do you guys think of his rankings? How does your city or area stack up?

The Best Cities For Technology Jobs - Forbes

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Comments

odysseyelite

I agree with most of the findings except Orlando. I left Orlando\Florida to Dallas. My phone would not stop ringing for jobs in Dallas. In Orlando there are only a few major players for IT. Universal Studios, Disney (who outsources to ACS), Seaworld and Tupperware. I didn't see how tech was growing in that area.

I'm shocked Chicago did not make the list. A friend of mine who was working in Seattle said it was booming there with tech jobs.

vCole

I would have thought Boston would have been higher up the list!

Alif_Sadida_Ekin

odysseyelite wrote: »

I agree with most of the findings except Orlando. I left Orlando\Florida to Dallas. My phone would not stop ringing for jobs in Dallas. In Orlando there are only a few major players for IT. Universal Studios, Disney (who outsources to ACS), Seaworld and Tupperware. I didn't see how tech was growing in that area.

I'm shocked Chicago did not make the list. A friend of mine who was working in Seattle said it was booming there with tech jobs.

I disagree. I'm in Orlando and I see a lot of job postings every day for a variety of positions ranging from help desk to architect level positions. As far as major players for IT go, you're missing a few more. In Lake Mary, there's a high concentration of big businesses and tech companies like Symantec, SAP, NCR, AAA, Fiserv, and Convergys (along with a dozen other smaller software companies). In Orlando add Oracle, Electronic Arts, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, FIS Global, and Charles Schwab to your list. The VA hospital is also building a new research center with the University of Central Florida. We also have the Florida hospital/ Adventist Health systems spread out all over Orlando and Lake Mary that provide a wealth of tech jobs. I know I'm missing others, but you get my point.

Also my company, who is a major player in Open Source Business Intelligence, is headquartered in Orlando (Do a google search. You'll probably figure out where I work

).

With that said I think Orlando is doing pretty good and rightfully deserves to be on that list.

erpadmin

Alif_Sadida_Ekin wrote: »

With that said I think Orlando is doing pretty good and rightfully deserves to be on that list.

I am so glad you made your point about Orlando without mentioning that awful Rodent (or his competitors...)

dave330i

DC area is very good for IT with clearance. W/out it options become limited.

LinuxRacr

Ahh, I would have thought Dallas would be higher as well.....

"Even more shocking: No. 46 Dallas, generally a job-creating dynamo, has seen roughly a quarter of its high-tech jobs go away, due primarily to losses in telecommunications carriers and in manufacturing of communications equipment and electronics."

Alif_Sadida_Ekin

erpadmin wrote: »

I am so glad you made your point about Orlando without mentioning that awful Rodent (or his competitors...)

Lol, I would have but odysseyelite beat me to it and listed them first. I did see first-hand, however, that the mouse pays his data warehouse and business intelligence analysts between the 80ks and 100ks. So if you're specialized enough, he doesn't seem THAT evil .

erpadmin

Alif_Sadida_Ekin wrote: »

Lol, I would have but odysseyelite beat me to it and listed them first. I did see first-hand, however, that the mouse pays his data warehouse and business intelligence analysts between the 80ks and 100ks. So if you're specialized enough, he doesn't seem THAT evil .

I knew people that worked for Disney (corporate, not in the rat suits.) I was left under the impression that it is a very ugly corporation to work for.

Also, in truth, when I read this thread, your post came up to me first...when I scrolled up, I saw that his ratness (and competitors) were mentioned.

I really would like nothing to do with Disney, but I know if I have kids, the wife will want to hear no talk of politicizing the rat....and also will want to perform the pilgramage that families do when the kids are old enough. I will leave it to them to see my point of view when they get older....lol. (Plus, I know I own Disney stock through my 457(b)...nothing I can do about that....)

SouthSeaPirate

I had no idea FL was doing so well! I, however, would love to work for theme parks. I used to go to Universal almost every other weekend. Nothing like hitting a coaster right after a few long island iced teas. Oh, good times, good times

I think its the atmosphere that gets me. Not sure if IT would ever let you see that side of things though. Right now I have it good in a Casino, atmosphere wise.

JDMurray

A far more useful study would be one that ranks the geographical areas that have the highest-earning-to-lowest-cost-of-living ratios. What good is making $100K/yr if you end up spending most of it just to survive? (Yes, that's very possible here in California.)

cisco_trooper

JDMurray wrote: »

A far more useful study would be one that ranks the geographical areas that have the highest-earning-to-lowest-cost-of-living ratios. What good is making $100K/yr if you end up spending most of it just to survive? (Yes, that's very possible here in California.)

Exactly. I turned down an interview at Facebook because it was only paying $120 - 130K...

dave330i

cisco_trooper wrote: »

Exactly. I turned down an interview at Facebook because it was only paying $120 - 130K...

Should have gone. Probably have stock option available as part of benefits.

onesaint

JDMurray wrote: »

A far more useful study would be one that ranks the geographical areas that have the highest-earning-to-lowest-cost-of-living ratios. What good is making $100K/yr if you end up spending most of it just to survive? (Yes, that's very possible here in California.)

+1
Here in California you can have a couple of kids, a household income of 200K, and most (if not all) of your income going to household / live on / survival costs. It's dumbfounding.

swild

JDMurray wrote: »

A far more useful study would be one that ranks the geographical areas that have the highest-earning-to-lowest-cost-of-living ratios. What good is making $100K/yr if you end up spending most of it just to survive? (Yes, that's very possible here in California.)

Fort Smith, AR has the lowest standard of living in the country (for any medium and larger city), last I read, and Walmart Headquarters is right up the road in Bentonville. I couldn't live with myself if I worked for Walmart but those $100k plus jobs are there.

Hypntick

JDMurray wrote: »

A far more useful study would be one that ranks the geographical areas that have the highest-earning-to-lowest-cost-of-living ratios. What good is making $100K/yr if you end up spending most of it just to survive? (Yes, that's very possible here in California.)

Totally agree with you there. Cost of living is low enough in Memphis that a 65-75k job is living quite high on the hog, so to speak. I'd be homeless if I made that in quite a few cities out there, which I don't make that much, but you get my drift.

IEWANNABE

Best States by far are, MD, VA, and the District of Columbia. For most folks, the big question whether to make that move. Jobs in those areas pay very well, but then there are harsh winters and an equally harsh commute to consider.

JDMurray

onesaint wrote: »

Here in California you can have a couple of kids, a household income of 200K, and most (if not all) of your income going to household / live on / survival costs. It's dumbfounding.

And it's only gonna get worse if Gov Brown and the CA State Assembly are successful in raising our taxes to pay into the deficit created by decades of massive public pensions, labor union payoffs, and general budgetary-handling incompetence.

I can't really recommend to anyone moving to California, unless you absolutely need to have 300+ days/year of both fabulous weather and God-awful traffic congestion.

cisco_trooper

dave330i wrote: »

Should have gone. Probably have stock option available as part of benefits.

Perhaps, but the cost of living at that location is almost 200% of where I am. I work in Kansas, so you can imagine how cheap it is to live here. It simply isn't worth it.

onesaint

JDMurray wrote: »

And it's only gonna get worse if Gov Brown and the CA State Assembly are successful in raising our taxes to pay into the deficit created by decades of massive public pensions, labor union payoffs, and general budgetary-handling incompetence.

I can't really recommend to anyone moving to California, unless you absolutely need to have 300+ days/year of both fabulous weather and God-awful traffic congestion.

Really though, that traffic gives some great audio book time.

Unfortunately, I fear not many cities, states, or countries are any better regarding budgetary competence.

ColbyG

odysseyelite wrote: »

I agree with most of the findings except Orlando. I left Orlando\Florida to Dallas. My phone would not stop ringing for jobs in Dallas. In Orlando there are only a few major players for IT. Universal Studios, Disney (who outsources to ACS), Seaworld and Tupperware. I didn't see how tech was growing in that area.

Orlando isn't great, but there are many other companies you left off, like Siemens, Convergys, Presidio, Embarq, Adventist Health Systems, OUC, etc. There's a Cisco office here too. Plus cost of living is pretty low.

I look at other markets quite a bit and DC (and the surrounding areas) seem to be the best place for IT/Network jobs.

SteveLord

If I were to leave Iowa, I'd go to Texas....hands down. Austin, Dallas, etc.

sieff

dave330i wrote: »

DC area is very good for IT with clearance. W/out it options become limited.

How easy is it to obtain a clearance in D.C? I had one when I was active military, but that's been over 10 years now. Also, jobs would clearance would likely be government ... Are the salaries comparable? At this point in my career I can't except any positions under the $100K mark.

headshot

Anybody know about Canada? Where tech jobs are booming? Specifically networking sector. Still in school, will probably have to move from this 200k city after I graduate. There's a CCNA in my program. So I'm assuming if he could get work he wouldn't be enrolled.

Slowhand

JDMurray wrote: »

A far more useful study would be one that ranks the geographical areas that have the highest-earning-to-lowest-cost-of-living ratios. What good is making $100K/yr if you end up spending most of it just to survive? (Yes, that's very possible here in California.)

Ain't it the truth? I live in a relatively cheap city in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I pay the low-low price of $900 a month for a studio-apartment. Around here, a one-bedroom apartment can set you back anywhere from $1,100 - $1,400 per month on average. Of course, if you want to live closer to where the high-paying jobs are - like in San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Clara, Berkeley, Palo Alto, or even Marin and Sonoma counties - you're probably looking at closer to $2,000 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. Now let's not try too hard to think about the kind of wallet-wrenching it takes to rent or buy a house out here. . .

That being said, the related costs of living are higher by virtue of the housing being so damned expensive. Places like Safeway will quite literally mark up prices in their stores for the more expensive areas, and keep them (relatively) reasonable for the outlying, less expensive areas. We also haven't been anywhere near the national average for gas prices in quite some time, it's usually anywhere from $0.20 to $0.35 more per gallon than what the news agencies are reporting as "record-highs". Bridge tolls, city parking, ultra-high grocery prices, etc. all make it feel like sometimes even a six-figure salary isn't enough to support yourself, let alone a family.

SteveLord

Slowhand wrote: »

Ain't it the truth? I live in a relatively cheap city in the San Francisco Bay Area,

One of my gaming buddies lives there. Drivers a streetsweeper, makes $60k, calls it minimum wage.

wrwarwick

I was surprised not to see Atlanta mentioned at all. I have had no problems finding jobs here since I moved here.

MrRyte

SteveLord wrote: »

If I were to leave Iowa, I'd go to Texas....hands down. Austin, Dallas, etc.

If I can't get a job after getting my A+ and CCNA next year then I'm definately moving northward to either of those places.

BTW; I DON'T recommend the Houston area. Though the cost of living is comparable to other Texas cities, the traffic is HELL just about all hours of the day....

IEWANNABE

sieff wrote: »

How easy is it to obtain a clearance in D.C? I had one when I was active military, but that's been over 10 years now. Also, jobs would clearance would likely be government ... Are the salaries comparable? At this point in my career I can't except any positions under the $100K mark.

It would be easy for you to get your clearance again unless you've had a felony charge since you've been discharged. Having already had a clearance is a big +. Most companies want someone with an active clearance, but proving you've already had one will tilt the bubble to your side... they know that you can easily obtain one, barring any criminal strikes. 100k a year jobs are a dime a dozen in that area, but along with traffic.. it's pretty expensive, but people make it happen. I knew a couple of guys who car-pooled from PA to Chantilly everyday.

wrwarwick

IEWANNABE wrote: »

It would be easy for you to get your clearance again unless you've had a felony charge since you've been discharged. Having already had a clearance is a big +. Most companies want someone with an active clearance, but proving you've already had one will tilt the bubble to your side... they know that you can easily obtain one, barring any criminal strikes. 100k a year jobs are a dime a dozen in that area, but along with traffic.. it's pretty expensive, but people make it happen. I knew a couple of guys who car-pooled from PA to Chantilly everyday.

That's a hell of a commute everyday. I grew up in Chantilly and can't imagine that drive everyday.

Psoasman

Not surprised to see Seattle at the top. There are a lot of good IT jobs available throughout this area.