West Michigan IT community is booming - but struggling to find talent (Detroit: find a job, college)

[IAmEverywhere]

This thread actually makes me more interested in looking for tech opportunities in Grand Rapids than I already was.

Even if compensation were 20% lower in Grand Rapids, this would be a bargain compared to working in a tech city. The average tech job is not in a place with an average cost of living. Instead, tech jobs are concentrated in expensive places. The San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, and DC are all very expensive. Seattle, Austin, and Boulder are no bargains either.

Someone may also prefer Grand Rapids to the tech cities from a lifestyle standpoint. In the tech cities, it's the norm to live and breathe tech. Some developers actually have interests outside of tech. Most tech cities are dominated by the Far Left and are not even that accepting of moderates, let alone actual conservatives.

I like Pittsburgh too, but isn't it known for low salaries?

Chicago has Midwestern salaries...which is fine if you're in an affordable Midwestern city. But the cost of living is similar to coastal cities. So are the quality of life issues.

You wouldn't expect Ann Arbor to have high growth because most of the locals are against growth. Frankly, Ann Arbor is not very open to outsiders, excepting U of M students sticking around after graduation. This works for startups and boutique white collar firms which only need a handful of highly educated people. It's not the best fit for most real economy firms.

Visiting GR a few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised at how much it has to offer for a city its size. I also found the housing stock I saw to be visually appealing.

As for independent contractors, the tech industry normally has the opposite problem. The industry tends not to offer independent contractor positions even if someone wants one. And why would it? If you ask an independent contractor to work a 60 hour week, they get to bill 60 hours.

As useful as Stack Overflow Careers is, I'm not sure why it's relevant here. If a recruiter wanted to post a job which they do not intend to fill, they could do so as easily there as on any other job listing site.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by IAmEverywhere

This thread actually makes me more interested in looking for tech opportunities in Grand Rapids than I already was.

Even if compensation were 20% lower in Grand Rapids, this would be a bargain compared to working in a tech city. The average tech job is not in a place with an average cost of living. Instead, tech jobs are concentrated in expensive places. The San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, and DC are all very expensive. Seattle, Austin, and Boulder are no bargains either.

Someone may also prefer Grand Rapids to the tech cities from a lifestyle standpoint. In the tech cities, it's the norm to live and breathe tech. Some developers actually have interests outside of tech. Most tech cities are dominated by the Far Left and are not even that accepting of moderates, let alone actual conservatives.

I like Pittsburgh too, but isn't it known for low salaries?

Chicago has Midwestern salaries...which is fine if you're in an affordable Midwestern city. But the cost of living is similar to coastal cities. So are the quality of life issues.

You wouldn't expect Ann Arbor to have high growth because most of the locals are against growth. Frankly, Ann Arbor is not very open to outsiders, excepting U of M students sticking around after graduation. This works for startups and boutique white collar firms which only need a handful of highly educated people. It's not the best fit for most real economy firms.

Visiting GR a few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised at how much it has to offer for a city its size. I also found the housing stock I saw to be visually appealing.

As for independent contractors, the tech industry normally has the opposite problem. The industry tends not to offer independent contractor positions even if someone wants one. And why would it? If you ask an independent contractor to work a 60 hour week, they get to bill 60 hours.

As useful as Stack Overflow Careers is, I'm not sure why it's relevant here. If a recruiter wanted to post a job which they do not intend to fill, they could do so as easily there as on any other job listing site.

There are some REALLY good tech companies in Grand Rapids, that are hugely involved in the community (doing non tech things like advocating for parks and bike lanes).

These are some of my favorites:

https://atomicobject.com/

Open Systems Technologies (OST) IT Infrastructure Solutions

IT Consulting and App Development in Michigan - Springthrough

GHS: SDS & Label Document Management System - Trivalent Data Systems

A Digital Agency - UX, Technology, Strategy - Universal Mind

Spectrum Health has a huge IT department and just moved a bunch of people (500 I think?) into a downtown building that was recently renovated.

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-m...employees.html

They have 34 IT openings on their jobs board:

https://careers.spectrumhealth.org/a.../categories/10

[IAmEverywhere]

Thanks for the job leads.

I'd been operating under the assumption that I had to be in a tech city to get the kinds of opportunities I'm looking for. It seems like that's not the case, at least in Grand Rapids.

[Lockdev]

Originally Posted by IAmEverywhere

Thanks for the job leads.

I'd been operating under the assumption that I had to be in a tech city to get the kinds of opportunities I'm looking for. It seems like that's not the case, at least in Grand Rapids.

Don't have to be in a tech city at all.

I remember working for a company in Caledonia(country-like area outside of Grand Rapids) as a Software Developer.

Hiring tech people was always difficult! There's a lot of opportunity for a person with the right skills.

[mjlo]

Switch opens 'most advanced data campus' in former Steelcase pyramid | MLive.com


As Switch's data operations come online does anyone think, or have any insight as to whether this will drive more Tech sector growth for GR?

[beachmouse]

The key would seem to be showcasing the area's good quality of life at a very reasonable price for the people who come in to do a 2-3 week work rotation at the pyramid. Plant a seed that if you can make the winters work, you can buy a literal mansion in GR for the cost of a one bedroom condo in the SF Bay area, have a stupidly minimal work commute, and easy access to good schools for the kids, recreation, decent nightlife etc.

The fishing line is out- time to fgiure out a strategy to reel them in.

[Serious Conversation]

I've been to Holland and the various lake towns over the past few years quite a bit. I was pretty impressed with GR. I stopped somewhere on the way back in Holland to eat, and a man and a little boy sat down beside me at the counter. He is a local IT recruiter.

I casually browsed job ads up there before I moved back to TN from IN last year. I was surprised to see the amount of jobs available for a metro its size.

I definitely think the winters and the "Michigan stigma" are going to drive people off. When people think of MI who have no experience there, they just think of Detroit, Flint, decline, cars, etc. - bad stuff. A lot of the natural beauty and QoL gets lost in the shuffle.

[walker46]

Originally Posted by mjlo

Switch opens 'most advanced data campus' in former Steelcase pyramid | MLive.com


As Switch's data operations come online does anyone think, or have any insight as to whether this will drive more Tech sector growth for GR?

Better than the Mlive article, here's the Switch promo video. Wear headphones for the dramatic sound track:

https://www.switch.com/pyramid/

[Indentured Servant]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

I've been to Holland and the various lake towns over the past few years quite a bit. I was pretty impressed with GR. I stopped somewhere on the way back in Holland to eat, and a man and a little boy sat down beside me at the counter. He is a local IT recruiter.

I casually browsed job ads up there before I moved back to TN from IN last year. I was surprised to see the amount of jobs available for a metro its size.

I definitely think the winters and the "Michigan stigma" are going to drive people off. When people think of MI who have no experience there, they just think of Detroit, Flint, decline, cars, etc. - bad stuff. A lot of the natural beauty and QoL gets lost in the shuffle.

That is my Michigan's comeback is tied at the hip with Detroit's comeback. Detroit is not the Detroit of 10 or even 5 years ago. In other words, the countries image of Detroit is a decade old.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by walker46

Better than the Mlive article, here's the Switch promo video. Wear headphones for the dramatic sound track:

https://www.switch.com/pyramid/

That video's pretty dang sweet.

beachmouse is right though, Switch itself will probably only employ a couple hundred people for the next 3 - 5 years but the thousands of people who are "badged" to service their clients' servers may find West Michigan to be pretty cool, since they'll be here for weeks at a time on assignment. I have a family member who works in large data centers and the techs who fly around the country to do site visits like to get out and check out the local "scene" on the clients dime. These guys and gals work insane hours so they're given healthy spending accounts, apparently. Too bad GR doesn't have any strip clubs left.