[user8]

Originally Posted by rootzdread

Thanks user8, where did you move to BTW?

Here? Tampa.

Do you mean where I moved from up there? Alexandria.

[crazynip]

Whoever said Tally, that's a joke.

It would go something like this:

1. Miami / Ft. Lauderdale - Dade / Broward county metro area
2. Tampa
3. Orlando
4. Jacksonville

Tampa Orlando and Jax are all pretty close. Jax used to be better until BellSouth merged with AT&T.

Point blank though, the IT job market in Florida sucks. Many high profile companies have closed major datacenters in the last 10 years, thousands of jobs have left through outsourcing and mergers. I have been in IT for almost 20 years, mostly in Tampa, but also Jacksonville. Been laid off as a result of mergers more times than I want to admit.

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by FloridaKash

I'm in the Tampa area and am in the IT field (Business Analyst/System Analyst/Project Manager) and have been looking for a job for 1.5 months. I work on it everyday, have had ton of recruiters contact me and submit apps as well. Still haven't landed a job yet. There seems to be quite a few jobs, along with lots of applicants. It's competitive.

Unless you want to work for peanuts, you wont find a job. It's a joke here. Especially something generic and replaceable like project mgmt or system analysts. There is currently a huge surplus of these types of people after Chase, PWC and some of the other big layoffs. Most of those people never god jobs and are still looking.

I have been with my current company for 8 years, I would not want to be unemployed here now. Not at my age.

[IAm_FloridaBorn]

I thought it was Tampa and Orlando? Hmm

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by rootzdread

I feel the same way about South FL. UGH. Should I just consider leaving the state for good? I have over 4 years experience in IT, have an Associates and Bachelors degree and only make 35K as a contractor without benefits. All I get offered is contract work like every week and no one wants to hire perm down here with some decent pay.

You might also look at the Research Triangle area in North Carolina, where the cost of living is less than South Florida, the climate is milder than DC and the job market is more recovered/getting better (7% unemployment). The Research Triangle Park area is home to hundreds of major firms ranging from pharmaceuticals to software. RTP Companies | The Research Triangle Park

[chopchop0]

Maybe Melbourne, if those other suggested cities don't work out

[HeartofFlorida]

Originally Posted by crazynip

Whoever said Tally, that's a joke.

It would go something like this:

1. Miami / Ft. Lauderdale - Dade / Broward county metro area
2. Tampa
3. Orlando
4. Jacksonville

Tampa Orlando and Jax are all pretty close. Jax used to be better until BellSouth merged with AT&T.

Point blank though, the IT job market in Florida sucks. Many high profile companies have closed major datacenters in the last 10 years, thousands of jobs have left through outsourcing and mergers. I have been in IT for almost 20 years, mostly in Tampa, but also Jacksonville. Been laid off as a result of mergers more times than I want to admit.

Agreed. Tally should not be mentioned at all. You won't make any money.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Maybe Melbourne, if those other suggested cities don't work out

^^^ I agree, that could be a good option. The area seems to be rebounding from the loss of the Shuttle program with new companies moving in or existing operations expanding because of the talent pool available.

[crazynip]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

You might also look at the Research Triangle area in North Carolina, where the cost of living is less than South Florida, the climate is milder than DC and the job market is more recovered/getting better (7% unemployment). The Research Triangle Park area is home to hundreds of major firms ranging from pharmaceuticals to software. RTP Companies | The Research Triangle Park

That's bad advice.

North Carolina also taxes the **** out of you, you have to pay personal state income tax and intangibles tax on your vehicle, neither of which you have to do here, also salaries are no better than here. I did the math a couple years ago when I had a job offer in Winston Salem and it was an absolute wash.

Raleigh also has lots of companies that use almost nothing but college grads, grad students and interns and pay is very low.

A few companies like Cisco have a large presence but you have to really watch out, because a lot of them keep salaries low due to what i mentioned, they churn and churn and churn interns and college grads and dump them when they have to start paying more.

[wsamon]

Originally Posted by user8

Honestly? Yes, you should. Florida is NOT a place to nurture and grow a quality IT career. If you have a lot of experience and/or a high level security clearance, there are some pretty good opportunities but nothing on the scale of some of the other cities mentioned (especially the DC area). Meh. I left DC last year to escape the frantic pace and absurd cost. However, since these days people are getting pushed further and further out into the suburbs, there are a lot of opportunities way outside of the city and plenty of places to live that aren't an arm and a leg. Research the Dulles corridor in VA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulles...ology_Corridor



Lots of defense contractors, private firms that are constantly expanding out that way. Plus it's a stone's throw from some really beautiful parts of the state (blue ridge mountains, etc.). I'm sort of debating trying to convince my wife that we should move back up that way to be near family. Screw DC, though. Too expensive and the transients are miserable husks.

The DC area is definitely one of the better ones for a technology career. There's lots of people hiring around here paying pretty solid wages. Even if the company is in the city, you can ask about work from home privileges which many places provide.

The winters here probably aren't as bad as you think either. They're not great, but with a few recent exceptions, we only get snow for a couple days a year (none this past year!), and no one knows how to deal with it so stuff closes down anyway. That said, you're only going to get your FL weather for maybe 3 months out of the year.

If you look at leaving, make sure you do a full analysis first. Don't just jump at what appears to be a good job without looking at the surrounding area. Dulles for example, is still very suburban (this could be a plus or minus) and has tons of traffic (like most of the DC area). You will definitely need a car, and you'll probably have to drive to work (may be able to catch a bus though?) and to get to any decent entertainment options. Getting into the city itself to take advantage of what it offers is a good 30-40 minute trip with no traffic, and that's pretty rare. Depending on multiple factors, you could easily expect a 10-mile commute to take 30+ minutes around here, even in the Dulles area. The way of life here is also much different. It's more fast-paced and people frequently work long hours, weekends, etc., especially in IT.

Even if it's a purely financial decision, you need to at least weigh in the cost of living. A $60k / year job in the DC area (even Dulles) may not be a substantial improvement over a $35k / year job where you live, and almost certainly won't be in NYC.

What you could do is what a lot of people around here do: move up here for a couple of years to get a good paying job, work your butt off, network, move up the ladder a bit, get some good experience, get a security clearance, etc. Live with a couple of roommates to knock your housing costs down and save up a bunch of money. Then move back down to FL (or wherever) after 3-4 years with an extra $50k (or whatever) in your bank, a bunch of good experience and contacts at a major, well-known company to put on your resume, and a security clearance to get you in the door of lots of government related jobs.

BTW, you never mentioned what else is important to you, or what part of IT you work in. Hardware? Software? Web? Security? Project Management? Business Analysis?