Job Market in Nashville? (Charlotte: school, income, live)
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How is the job market looking in Nashville these days with the current economic hardships that many (most?) cities are going through.
My background is in project management / analyst in the IT field with nearly 10 years of experience. I have my MBA and am PMP certified.
What are my chances job wise? I understand that income may be a bit less here than in some parts of the country, but is something around 75k a year reasonable for what I do in the current economic market?
I think $75,000 is a lofty goal. I've seen postings where employers are looking for 10 years experience and a laundry list of certs and other qualifications for a starting pay of $35,000 and in this economy they can find people to work for that. I have 15 years in programming and project management and I'm working on a career change now. I haven't worked in the IT field for about 4 years but I've been doing some contract graphics and cad-cam work.
The problem is that when a position opens up, 300 people, most of whom are qualified, show up for an interview. There was just a story on the news about Federal-Mogul who posted a few jobs. Over 1000 applicants showed up.
I think $75,000 is a lofty goal. I've seen postings where employers are looking for 10 years experience and a laundry list of certs and other qualifications for a starting pay of $35,000 and in this economy they can find people to work for that. I have 15 years in programming and project management and I'm working on a career change now. I haven't worked in the IT field for about 4 years but I've been doing some contract graphics and cad-cam work.
The problem is that when a position opens up, 300 people, most of whom are qualified, show up for an interview. There was just a story on the news about Federal-Mogul who posted a few jobs. Over 1000 applicants showed up.
Just to clarify... are you saying that people with MBAs are making around 35k in the tech industry in the Nashville area? I knew salaries would likely be less there, but that is a good deal less if that is indeed the average.
That's a pretty pessimistic view on the IT industry in Nashville. My husband is in IT with 15 years experience, is NOT an MBA, but does have quite a few certs. Starting out on the repair bench and working his way up through school and acquiring certs, he hasn't made less than 50K since 1999 and is well above that now without having to job hop. I'd say 75K is a very reasonable salary expectation, especially for someone with an MBA and PMP. Hubby is a DBA with all the necessary and proper certs and could likely do much better financially with consultant work, but he genuinely likes his employer and position and has a reasonable amount of job security. Of course, in this economy no job is 100% safe, but he does stay busy and knows his way around a database. Prior to being a DBA, he was a network engineer, programmer and web developer. In IT, you have to change and adapt or you become obsolete and somewhat bitter.
Nashville has never had the same demand for IT as Charlotte or Atlanta, but if you're really good you should do OK. Keep in mind that it'll take serious networking and legwork in this economy.
I think $75,000 is a lofty goal. I've seen postings where employers are looking for 10 years experience and a laundry list of certs and other qualifications for a starting pay of $35,000 and in this economy they can find people to work for that. I have 15 years in programming and project management and I'm working on a career change now. I haven't worked in the IT field for about 4 years but I've been doing some contract graphics and cad-cam work.
The problem is that when a position opens up, 300 people, most of whom are qualified, show up for an interview. There was just a story on the news about Federal-Mogul who posted a few jobs. Over 1000 applicants showed up.
Um, those weren't IT jobs and have no bearing on what the OP is asking about - IT jobs in Nashville. I'm aware that the horrible economy touches us all, but this is comparing apples to oranges.
Um, those weren't IT jobs and have no bearing on what the OP is asking about - IT jobs in Nashville. I'm aware that the horrible economy touches us all, but this is comparing apples to oranges.
I didn't say they were, but the same applies. For every position there are hundreds of resumes submitted. It's great that your husband is doing well, but $75,000 for someone new to the area in this economy is not easy to pull off. The job market is flooded with qualified people. all the OP can do is search the job postings and start sending resumes.
Just to clarify... are you saying that people with MBAs are making around 35k in the tech industry in the Nashville area? I knew salaries would likely be less there, but that is a good deal less if that is indeed the average.
I have no idea what the average is. I'm just saying that I've seen more than one job posting for IT/DBA positions asking for all kinds of experience and degrees offering considerably less than $75k. All you can do is search and send resumes. If you search the forum posts, you'll find quite a few posts that are job related.
I have no idea what the average is. I'm just saying that I've seen more than one job posting for IT/DBA positions asking for all kinds of experience and degrees offering considerably less than $75k. All you can do is search and send resumes. If you search the forum posts, you'll find quite a few posts that are job related.
The OP isn't a DBA - he's a certified project manager with an MBA. That puts him in a much better position than most that are out looking for jobs. The job postings looking for DBAs and other IT workers willing to work for peanuts are directed towards H1B visa holders who are willing to work for much lower wages. No certified, qualified and experienced DBA American citizen would work for 35K and employers tend get what they pay for quality wise.
Quite frankly, and I hate to come across as rude, but you say you've been out of IT for 4 years and have only lived in Tennessee since last summer. Do you really think you're qualified to answer posts regarding the current IT market in Nashville seeing that you're not really experienced with it?
I didn't say they were, but the same applies. For every position there are hundreds of resumes submitted. It's great that your husband is doing well, but $75,000 for someone new to the area in this economy is not easy to pull off. The job market is flooded with qualified people. all the OP can do is search the job postings and start sending resumes.
See my previous post. A highly specialized, educated and ceritifed IT person does not compare to the average, un- or under-educated Joe that is standing in line trying to land a $8.50 per hour temp job.
How is the job market looking in Nashville these days with the current economic hardships that many (most?) cities are going through.
My background is in project management / analyst in the IT field with nearly 10 years of experience. I have my MBA and am PMP certified.
What are my chances job wise? I understand that income may be a bit less here than in some parts of the country, but is something around 75k a year reasonable for what I do in the current economic market?
Thanks for your honesty.
Mary if you have your PMP AND your MBA 75K would be low. I'm not sure everyone posting here knows what it takes to get your PMP cert. There are many Health Care companies (middle TN is a major southeastern health care hub) that are still hiring in this area and with the population getting older as we speak I see more and more IT related health care jobs coming to the middle TN area. Is it slow like everywhere else, yes, but there are some out there and like I said I think it's only going to get better. Good luck.
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I'm aware that the horrible economy touches us all, but this is comparing apples to oranges.
