IT Job market by state/city

Hello everyone,

I want to start this thread by saying couple words about my current situation. I'm actively looking for any position similar to System Engineer, Network Administrator, IT Administrator, IT manager etc in South Florida and am barely can get any traction. I mean, I do receive random calls from recruiters and occasionally from companies' HR but it just either doesn't meet my salary expectations or skill set required doesn't match what I can offer. I'm looking for a mid level position and it seems that in this area only entry jobs are available with the pay grade of $10-13/hour or senior positions with the salaries upwards 100K. I understand that midlevel is probably the most competitive but when I tried to look for jobs in North East region I was able to schedule 3 interviews in one week, while here I only had like 1 or 2 in six month period.
Someone had already discussed the job market in South Florida in other thread. Lower salaries and huge competition is most likely related to a high number of highly-skilled transplants who tend to lower the overall compensation in IT. I believe that other states and cities may not be as desirable as SFL from the standpoint of weather, the amount of sunshine and ocean but there should be other benefits such as lower COL and better IT job market.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback from someone looking for work in other metro areas.

P.S. I have 5 years of mixed helpdesk/admin/managerial experience with BS:CS and no certificates (currently working on CCNA and LPIC-1...).

Thanks

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Comments

anhtran35

Only issue with Tampa is when I type in a zip code of the area within DICE.COM it came up with 200 jobs. Comparison to 2500 jobs in VA area.

anhtran35

IT-Fella wrote: »

Let me try to resurrect this thread...

I know we have here quite a few fine folks from DC. Do you guys have any idea about the job perspectives in Baltimore or its suburbs? I also know that it's possible (to some extent) to travel from Baltimore to DC by MARC. I might be able to relocate to southern suburbs of Baltimore sometime this year due to my current job relocation and was wondering how the opportunities are in Baltimore or whether it would be possible to live somewhere in the middle to increase the potential job opportunities if I will have to look for something else in the future.

Whoops miss out on this post. I have seen opportunities in Silver Spring, Bethesda, Annapolis and DC. I had a coworker that live in Laurel and commuted to Andrews AFB and Bolling AFB daily. Due to the traffic on 95 and 495 it is probably better for you to move closer to the outskirts of DC.

JohnnyUtah41

anhtran35 wrote: »

Only issue with Tampa is when I type in a zip code of the area within DICE.COM it came up with 200 jobs. Comparison to 2500 jobs in VA area.

yeah i know what you mean. i think i did that for Charlotte and Dallas and came up with 12 and 1200 respectively. bummer.

aspiringsoul

Kentucky here.

If you want to work in Kentucky, recommend Louisville or Lexington area. Otherwise, you probably should relocate....

ampdeck

hi guys, how about place for Voice Engrs?

GreaterNinja

I have two residences, San Francisco (Bay Area), CA and Phoenix, AZ.
I've never ever had issues living on my own for the last 10 years in Phoenix. I've been doing desktop support, helpdesk, and system engineer jobs the last 10 years. $60k/yr you can live pretty well. Jobs here go well in 6 figure realm for experienced IT engineers too.

Now the Bay Area is an entirely different animal...i get recruiters calling me 5-6 times a week to inerview, etc. The job market there is hot, but cost of living is like $1800-$2500 for a 600 sq ft apartment. Traffic and commut can really really suck. Job pay has a huge variance...you get people who offer you the same as in Phoenix, AZ to 50% more than national average.

It ultimately comes down to how well you negotiate after this. I plan to move entirely out of Phoenix AZ to up my tech game and strike it big. Also my girlfriend already lives there. Why not go? :P

Thechainremains

Im in Phoenix as well. It has been a struggle for 38 days. I am on my 8th interview today and I still have not received an offer, or callback for 2nd interview. Trying to stay positive, but it is just tough.

I also notice about 4-5 companies who were looking to fill positions 6 months are still looking. Which either means these companies just are blowing smoke OR maybe their are some other factors/motives (tax breaks) for extending job offers.

For example I interviewed for a position which had already been filled by 2 candidates, but for whatever reason they brought me in for an interview in-case one of the candidates didnt pass their background checks. Very weird.. but that's what the " climate, " has really been like for me.

beads

tjb122982 wrote: »

Does anyone have any information about how hot Chicago or Indianapolis are?

Chicago. Number of opportunities? Plentiful if your mid-career or senior. I see fewer entry level opportunities though I occasionally get calls for help desk and administration. See partial list of certs next to my name. Downtown is very competitive and generally pays the least - usually under national average. Suburbs pay more the farther out you go the higher the pay. Simple as that. Cost of living is also significantly less in the collar counties around Cook county. For instance gas can be as much a 30 cents less expensive on the other side of the road and often is. So its not uncommon for people to drive out of country to buy gasoline, cigs and groceries if they can.

Overall the business vibe of Chicago feels like Cook county is dying due to obscene tax burdens levied. Completely unsustainable. You'll find more young people working downtown (walk around downtown at lunch) but few and fewer 35+ types. The adults have left for the burbs and aren't looking back. So that part is weird to me. I work both Downtown and far out in the NW burbs on a weekly basis and will probably sell and move to Northern burbs before too long. Reason of course is the killer taxes or 12% of my gross, which is substantial enough.

I rarely get calls for Indianapolis in general but was there recently. Lots of new mid-sized buildings, office parks and residential going in. If I didn't dislike Indiana in general so much I'd consider it. When I do get calls its generally for obscure but high level positions. So I really cannot comment on the rest of that market. Plus side? Indiana has the best kept roads in America according to Trucker Magazine. Too bad their signage still sucks. Rely on GPS, alone!

-b/eads

ampdeck

I notice a lot of IT jobs in Schaumburg IL area.......