How do you get into the Tech Companies in Huntsville? (transfer, contractors)

[Jasmine1373]

My husband is an engineer and we would love to relocate the Huntsville area. It seems that it is difficult to get into the Aerospace companies such as Raytheon unless you know someone-am I correct on this? Any input would be appreciated-thanks!

[zenjenn]

It's difficult if you apply randomly. Your husband should go to Huntsville or at least southeast-regional job fairs and meet people in person. He can apply for smaller companies or, if he impresses someone at a larger company they can move his resume to the top of the queue. If he has any interest in working for a smaller company, he can research which companies are working on projects that are a match with his skills, find out the name of a project manager, and cold call.

If he is an engineer of any talent or work ethic and takes these steps, he should have no problem getting a job in Huntsville, especially if he has a security clearance. We were in the same boat last year at this time. One cold call and a day at a job fair landed my husband 3 job offers (two in writing) within three weeks. Since living here, he has made several contacts socially that have fished for his talent if he ever again looking... (i.e., "if things don't work out... give me a call.") If you are an engineer with a security clearance I don't think there's a city where it's easier to get a job. But no matter where you live, it is not usually sufficient to just send in resumes via internet job listings and wait, except maybe for entry level jobs.

If he's working for a large company now, he might also look into an internal transfer. Most of the large defense companies, and many smaller defense contractors, have work being done in Huntsville, and an internal transfer is a great way to relocate.

[Jasmine1373]

Good advice-thank you!