Software Engineering job market in CO (Denver, Colorado Springs: apartments, lease, how much) - City-Data Forum

rarog · 05-15-2014, 09:44 AM

I know this question has been asked a few times here before, but the old threads may contain some outdated information, so I'm asking again. Is there a pretty decent job market in CO for software engineers/developers/programmer analysts?

I'm in Ohio now, no job, and my lease is about to expire. I've come to realize how important being a local candidate is, and since I've had no success in even securing interviews around here, there's just no point in me staying here (also haven't had much success here applying to other things with my Math degree, like financial analyst, actuarial analyst, etc.). As far as phone screens go, I've gotten a few in CO Springs and a couple in Denver, but they really want local candidates. Also a couple in St. Louis and one in AZ.

I know for these types of jobs, CO is no San Francisco or Seattle, but those places are too expensive for me to live with no job. I'd also prefer to live somewhere with cold weather and snow, not somewhere like Texas (though if I had an offer, I would likely move to TX anyway). I know with no job, finding an apartment would be a bit of a pain, but I have enough that I could pay the whole lease up front if I had to, or I could probably get a co-signer. I'd either be looking at Denver or CO Springs (which is quite a bit cheaper, and that would be nice). They're also not too far apart and I wouldn't mind commuting temporarily if I ended up getting a job in the other city, though I'm not sure how far would be considered local as far as getting a call back goes.

otterprods · 05-15-2014, 01:13 PM

How are you getting feedback that they only want local candidates? If it's clear that you're looking to re-locate and don't expect them to pay for it, it shouldn't be a big issue. If it is an issue, then that's probably not the sort of discriminating employer you'd want to work for anyways

I could understand if you were running for town council or perhaps designing local maps, but in software dev (which I am in too) where someone resides has nothing to do with their ability to write, test or analyze code.

davebarnes · 05-15-2014, 01:31 PM

Jobs in Denver outnumber those in Colo Spgs by at least 5:1

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...tions/messages

rarog · 05-15-2014, 02:00 PM

Because they always bring up the fact that I'm not local (and I tell them I'd self-relocate right away). They probably think I'm someone who would jump ship ASAP and go live in some more desirable location. I always get asked what connection I have to the area, whether CO or AZ or anywhere else. Having an OH address doesn't mean I have ties to the area via work or family.

otterprods · 05-15-2014, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rarog

Because they always bring up the fact that I'm not local (and I tell them I'd self-relocate right away). They probably think I'm someone who would jump ship ASAP and go live in some more desirable location. I always get asked what connection I have to the area, whether CO or AZ or anywhere else. Having an OH address doesn't mean I have ties to the area via work or family.

Just tell them that you have no ties to Ohio and that you want to live in Colorado, or specifically the Denver area, assuming that's where the job is at and that it's true. Also it helps if you find a company/job you care about so that you can focus on how you want to work for them instead of just wanting to move. If your qualifications are good and they still won't seriously consider you at that point then the problem is theirs. In any case I strongly recommend finding a good job before you move unless you have a bunch of cash to finance yourself indefinitely.

rarog · 05-15-2014, 05:04 PM

Well that's what I'm trying to do. But if I don't find anything soon, I'm certainly not going to renew my lease here where there's nothing for me. Part of the problem is some of these conversations are with HR folks... the same ones who ask me such great questions as "what were your SAT scores?"

trharris78 · 05-15-2014, 10:06 PM

I've been occasionally visiting the Colorado forums for years now, but your post kinda hit home with me so I finally made an account...

Anyway, I was in a very similar situation to you a few years ago. I'm a SW engineer and not from Ohio, but I was living in Dayton and wanted to move here. I had a few interactions, particularly with DigitalGlobe in Longmont and RT Logic in Colorado Springs. The DigitalGlobe HR guy told me that if I'm really serious about relocating, I should put my house on the market and try again. Then that was it from him. So yeah, HR folks definitely do prefer local candidates. It makes business sense... relocating across the country can cost tens of thousands depending on how much baggage you have.

RT Logic was nice enough to fly me out for an interview, and would probably have paid relocation. But they chose somebody else for the position and nothing else came of it.

By this point, my current employer (Ball Aerospace) got wind of my job search (I openly admitted in my interview that I would be moving to Colorado someday) and found me a position here. (Luckily their HQ is here and there was an opening.) So I lucked out that way.

Depending on where in Ohio you're talking about, I would say the tech industry is pretty strong here in comparison. Boulder is full of tech startups, there are lots of larger companies with offices here (Ball, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, Oracle, Google, Trimble, etc.), and the economy just seems to be doing better here, at least compared to Dayton.

Do some searches on Monster, Indeed, Dice, etc. If you see lots of interesting positions, it might be worth taking the plunge and moving. Although they have mentioned on the news that rent prices are high here because of high demand and low supply.

Another potential option... I was in contact with a Red Hat HR rep that mentioned a lot of Red Hat engineers can work remotely. She also said they're looking for Python developers. So you could land a gig like that, save up some money, then relocate. Which brings up another idea... if you have a LinkedIn account, it's great for schmoozing your way past HR to a real hiring manager. HR can be lousy at screening resumes.

Sorry for the stream of consciousness, but I can relate to your situation so I thought I would ramble on for a bit. One thing I can say for certain, moving here was probably the best decision I've ever made. I'm healthier, there's stuff to do outside, the weather is (usually) awesome, everybody's skinny (at least in/near the foothills), and things are just generally better here. I was pretty miserable in Dayton, but that totally changed once I got here.

otterprods · 05-16-2014, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rarog

Well that's what I'm trying to do. But if I don't find anything soon, I'm certainly not going to renew my lease here where there's nothing for me. Part of the problem is some of these conversations are with HR folks... the same ones who ask me such great questions as "what were your SAT scores?"

Yeah I guess if you have a lease expiring I could see just making the move job or no job and doing whatever you have to to make ends meet until things come up. I've known people that did that and it worked out fine in time, it was just really hard at first. Too bad those HR people are asking such dumb questions; I've never thought too highly of HR as a group anyways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by trharris78

Another potential option... I was in contact with a Red Hat HR rep that mentioned a lot of Red Hat engineers can work remotely. She also said they're looking for Python developers. So you could land a gig like that, save up some money, then relocate. Which brings up another idea... if you have a LinkedIn account, it's great for schmoozing your way past HR to a real hiring manager. HR can be lousy at screening resumes.

I moved here on remote status 6 years ago without having to find a new job and it's a gig that can't be beat as long as you don't mind being at home all the time. But I would not plan on something like that happening though, especially not as a new hire. It's something that just has to work out over time. Fortunately my company is really good about it, but it's always a risk.

I came here from the SF Bay Area, so there were some tradeoffs (like giving up nearly perfect year round weather, and of course the water) but overall it's been a MUCH better place to start and raise my family compared to what I would have had out west. And that was after living in several other desirable spots on the Pac coast for many years. Honestly, if I were in Ohio, you couldn't pay me enough to stay more than a couple weeks, regardless of job prospects elsewhere. No offense to any Ohians on here.

rarog · 05-16-2014, 10:34 AM

Thanks for registering and posting your experience.

No matter what, I'm going to continue applying for jobs. Unless I land a decent job here but nowhere else very soon, I'm not going to stay here. I could go live with family basically for free, but that would be terrible for me for various reasons, and they live in a town on the East coast with even worse job prospects. Money isn't an issue right now. I could support myself for at least a couple years, likely much longer if I took any old low-paying job after relocating.

I understand that relocation makes HR people nervous, but it's frustrating for that to keep me from getting a job. I'd of course pay for it myself. I'm young and entry-level, and it wouldn't cost much for me to move.

Colorado is one place that came to mind because I've seen a fair number of software engineering positions there throughout my job search, it has reasonably low apartment prices (and for those prices, the apartments are way bigger than my current place), I think it has suitable weather for me, and traffic is easy compared to the East coast. There are also a decent number of companies in the Denver area that employ actuarial analysts if I ended up in that type of job. I've also seen a good number of job openings for financial analysts, data analysts, energy analysts, etc., if I ended up getting into one of those fields. Maybe there are other areas I could move to that meet these criteria, but I'm sure most of the people here would put in their vote for CO.

otterprods · 05-16-2014, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rarog

Money isn't an issue right now. I could support myself for at least a couple years, likely much longer if I took any old low-paying job after relocating… I'm young and entry-level, and it wouldn't cost much for me to move.

In that case, ask yourself, "How much to I have to lose by just moving to wherever I want to be and getting a career going there in time?" Because if I remember correctly that's the best part about youth, being able to try things that would be more risky when you have family and a bunch of other obligations. The only remaining word of caution I'd have is that most people spend a lot more time at work than they do enjoying wherever they live, so you need to decide what's most important. No reason you can't eventually have both though.