Wanting to Move...Looking for a Job (Madison: 2010, public school)

[Wi_Girl]

I was born and raised in WI and moved to VA when I was 18. Well, I've been down here 8 years and HATE it and have finally convinced my husband to move back to Wisconsin. We've both realized this is NOT a place where we want to raise our family and we both love everything Wisconsin has to offer. (plus he has family that lives up there as well so he wont be away from all of his family)

We're both in school. He will be done with his Bachelors degree in programming next summer and I will have my Associates in Database Development next summer and will finish my Bachelors in Fall 2010. My husband would like to stay in VA until he finishes his Masters degree (because we get tuition assistance at work) but has found his "dream job" in Madison and wants to apply now just to see what happens.

He loves video games, everything about them. He knows alot about them and plays all the different systems. He is currently taking several IT courses and has some knowledge of programming, just no actual experience. He found Raven Software company and HumanHead and wants to apply. I feel like his chances are slim to none to get in. Does anyone know anything about these companies? Any recommendations on trying to get an entry level IT job? I'd like to move ASAP to Wisconsin but understand that if we have to wait that's ok too.

Any input would be very helpful. Thanks!

[Megan1967]

Hey there,

I'm the little cloud of disappointment this week.

There is tons of competition for entry level jobs like the ones you are describing. The university has a great computer science program, but more than likely they'd be looking for someone just out of the Madison Area Technical College. They have a killer programming department and many UW grads take their programming courses after they get their BA so that they have more practical experience with programming.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of such jobs available, but the pool of people with advanced skill sets is pretty large too. Starting salaries have been in the mid 30's.

[MidwesternBookWorm]

My daughter's sig-other is majoring in computer art at Herzing College and trying to get into Human Head, with very little luck. He's a gifted artist who knows computer design programs well and is sort of the "star student" at the local Herzing campus, but getting a foot in the door in that industry is damn hard.

That said, I'd also comment that nothing ventured, nothing gained; your husband may not get his dream job if he applies for it, but he absolutely won't get it if he doesn't apply. There's nothing wrong with dreaming big, as long as you keep your feet firmly planted on the ground while doing so.

I wouldn't advocate that you both pull up stakes, quit school and jobs, and move based on the assumption that he'll get a job here. But I also wouldn't advocate doing nothing. Tell him to give it a try; if nothing else, it gets his name out there in the industry, and worse case scenario, a year or two from now when his credentials have increased, he may be more successful.

Good luck to you and your husband; I hope your dreams of returning to Wisconsin soon come to pass!

[Megan1967]

MWBW is right. Sorry I wasn't more encouraging.

[Drover]

Here's a tip: have your husband use his Wisconsin relatives' address on his resume, and tell him to give them a heads-up for anything that comes in the mail addressed to him. A common complaint from non-local job-seekers is that no employer in Wisconsin will give them the time of day unless they actually have a Wisconsin address. If he gets any questions about the area code of his phone number, have him say, "eh -- just a cell phone number. I don't have a land-line."

[Wi_Girl]

Thanks everyone for all of your advice!!! I figured it would be a long shot right now, and may be the same way in the future. He is going to apply probably just to throw it out there and see what happens, however, in about 1-3 years we will be seriously looking to move, as our daughter will be starting school and we can NOT send her to a public school here.

I've heard from others to use a Wisconsin telephone number, etc. to get employers to think you are a local. Only problem is we'd be having to fly back and forth and that could get quite costly. When it gets closer to us moving, we may try both techniques of applying with a VA address and applying with a WI address and see what happens.

Thanks again for all your input! I appreciate the honesty!

[Drover]

Well, you're going to have to fly to the job interviews anyway, aren't you? That won't change whether the resume has a WI address or a VA address. It seems the only alternative to that is to actually move to Wisconsin first, at which point the "they won't hire non-locals" issue becomes moot.