i love PGH...but im going back to VA (Pittsburgh: 2013, headhunters)

[BarqCider]

sadly the job opportunites for my field in IT is so small, its not worth it. I'm majoring in Network security/admin but everything I see is programmers. I hope one day to return here to either gain employment or begin a business on my own. I see a potential services bases job here, but I lack funding and proper education.

i'll miss you all for fact. I love this city and I've learned to learn all the highs and lows of this wonderful city. this city, aside from san diego, are my top choice for a start up.

don't think this city sucks noobies.. I love this city. at first I was so stuck to the dc area ways of life, I didn't try to connect. I did now. this city has given me so much to like I wish I could learn more of it. the only thing id say dc is better at is the art museum as I dislike modern art and into more classical/old art.

im going back because in my concentration at pitt..we are the red headed step child. most people don't know what they want, but its likely program or database which is fine with me. ive been searching network jobs since I came here and found lack of it. I hope to one day to be a major employer for it since I think cloud/remote IT jobs be a nice company here. but until then, I hope this city continues to grow.

[Copanut]

Good luck!

But stick around the forum, good posters are always welcome.

[Hopes]

I'm confused. Are you leaving now or after you finish your degree?

Are you saying there aren't jobs now while you're in school or after you graduate?

Are you sure there aren't jobs in IT security? Have you checked with major corporations that don't advertise job openings?

[Caladium]

Best of luck, and don't forget that you can always go back to Pittsburgh as circumstances change. It's a great town.

By the way, have you considered Menlo Park at all? There's a lot of growth in IT security jobs out there and it strikes me as a town you might really like to try. Google in particular is looking for people--maybe you could arrange some sort of interview through the office in Pittsburgh?

[Hopes]

Look for Okaydorothy's thread on her husband finding an IT job. Once everyone pointed out the ways to find IT jobs without going by the employment advertisements, he landed interviews very quickly. Most of the areas main employers don't advertise and their openings are on their websites. Smaller companies often use IT headhunters.

[Hopes]

For example, PNC has openings in IT security and many other types of IT positions too. PNC Careers

[zman63]

Originally Posted by BarqCider

sadly the job opportunites for my field in IT is so small, its not worth it. I'm majoring in Network security/admin but everything I see is programmers. I hope one day to return here to either gain employment or begin a business on my own. I see a potential services bases job here, but I lack funding and proper education.

i'll miss you all for fact. I love this city and I've learned to learn all the highs and lows of this wonderful city. this city, aside from san diego, are my top choice for a start up.

don't think this city sucks noobies.. I love this city. at first I was so stuck to the dc area ways of life, I didn't try to connect. I did now. this city has given me so much to like I wish I could learn more of it. the only thing id say dc is better at is the art museum as I dislike modern art and into more classical/old art.

im going back because in my concentration at pitt..we are the red headed step child. most people don't know what they want, but its likely program or database which is fine with me. ive been searching network jobs since I came here and found lack of it. I hope to one day to be a major employer for it since I think cloud/remote IT jobs be a nice company here. but until then, I hope this city continues to grow.

Good luck! You have to do whats best for you.

[cooky01]

I've been doing IT Networking in the past 10 years here in Pittsburgh.
Speaking from my own experience that you can definitely find networking jobs here, even though you may not see many on Monster.

You're correct though that DC offers far more opportunities, as far as shear job postings are concerned.
I myself moved, and worked in MD/VA/DC area briefly two years ago, to take advantage of that.
However, I moved back to Pittsburgh after just four months, because I didn't like the stress, long commute, and expensive CoL.

It really depends on what you're looking for.
DC area is great for a young person who's just starting out, to change jobs, and gain experience & high salary in a very short time span by doing consulting work.
It is not so great (in my case & opinion), for someone who wants stable, relatively low stress job, and time w/ family.

Did you look at Hopes' questions?
Are you looking for immediate employment in the field, or after you graduate from school?

If your plan is to have a start-up, Pittsburgh is great for that.
You can recruit good talents from CMU, Pitt, RMU, and others for relatively cheaper cost.
If you want to work for someone before you have enough funding for start-up, there are jobs here as I said in the beginning.
CSC is building out a large presence here in Pittsburgh, w/ services in mind.
Plan is to offer 500 jobs.
If your graduation coincides w/ their building completion, you'd have a good chance getting in there.

See:
Computer Sciences Corp. to open tech delivery center in Strip District - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lastly, I don't know what kind of curriculum your current school offers, but definitely get some hands on experience, whether it's internship, or a lab at home.
Most employers look for hands on experience as first criteria, then education/degree.
If you have Cisco, Juniper, or CISSP cert, it'll help you a lot more than graduating first in class, or a 4.0 GPA.

[zip95]

Every single company over a few hundred people has an IT department and people who do networking. You haven't been looking hard enough or in the correct way.

On the other hand, it's hard to be by your self in a city away from family. Good luck.

[MathmanMathman]

A change might do you good at this point. Leaving Atlanta for Houston, best thing for me.