[Fredesch]

Use indead, glassdoor and monster to get a feel for an area. Orlando has several high tech areas, Lake Mary Oviedo and LockMart. Melbourne has aerospace, Jacksonville has healthcare and banks are scattered about, Orlando, Tampa... Miami has the biggest IT job market in the state and the highest cost of living. But since you are excluding south Florida you will have to look around for the best fit for you.

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by Programmer1

Which Florida metro area (except for Miami) has the most IT jobs with the highest salary?

The I-4 corridor is ideal for recent college graduates going into programming. It's not as expensive as Miami. It's not as "southern" as the FL Panhandle (e.g Jacksonville). You would have the beaches on the Atlantic or Gulf side within easy access. The theme parks are also close (Universal, Disney, etc). There are many smaller cities close to Orlando that don't suffer from its congestion (e.g. Clermont). I would recommend living somewhere near the I-4 corridor from Orlando to Tampa. The catch is to find a place near your job.

I have generally found software jobs through dice. It has always worked for me. These days, a lot of interviews occur by Skype, webex, etc. But you should still dress up and use positive body language and eye contact assertively but politely.

South FL was too expensive for IT programming jobs. It can be done, but the I-4 corridor is better. Jacksonville can be a good choice too if you don't mind that it is more "southern" like Georgia nearby.

The "catch": do a background check on the company by reviewing anonymous reviews on glassdoor or indeed. There is a lot of data there. Was there recently a layoff? How is management? What is the culture?