So what the hell is Portlands issue anyway? (Beaverton, Redmond: apartment, foreclosure)

[EnricoV]

I had a good friend who twenty years or so ago, moved from her small town in Michigan to Portland. She was in sales, and had a very good position in her area, and thought she'd easily find the same here. She got to Portland, and couldn't get anywhere near that job. She just didn't have the education, or the qualifications. The competition was much too stiff. And that was a many years ago. She stayed for a few years, and loved the city, but eventually moved back to her home town where she could be a bigger fish. Or, at least feel like one.

It's very deceptive to be a big fish in a smaller pond. That just doesn't mean you will be a big fish everywhere.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Originally Posted by AT-AT28

Haven't decided fully yet based on this new info, but I do know im only gonna slug along the resume and job searching merry go around for Portland until I just finally decide its not worth slaving away hours and hours on end for a town that seems to have a pretty bleak outlook in the job market in general, let alone IT. If it turns out that way, looks like i'll just have to suck up the crap weather and look into the Seattle area which does have a higher chance of me getting transferred with my current company then Portland.

The next few months will be crunch and decide time, one way or another. Just really sucks, Portlands been on my radar for so long, but I have my patience and time limits with what I wanna accomplish with my life in the coming year and if Portland can't offer me that, I'll have to look elsewhere as times short enough as is, I got personal goals I won't put off forever, even for Portland.

Do what it takes to get transferred to Seattle with your current employer. That's your ticket. I'm not sure why you're stuck on Portland anyway. Seattle is better in just about every way and I've spent most of my life in one or the other.

I don't blame you for wanting out of Montana though. Not my thing either. Missoula is okay. Otherwise, blech.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Two things leap out at me after reading AT-AT28's posts.

The first thing is he is defeating himself before he even tries, blaming others for his failure,

and,

All I can say is welcome to the grown up world. Sure is different from what you expected, I bet.

BTW, people grow up at different rates than others. I guess it's your turn for that bucket of cold water, buddy.

[Minervah]

Well, like I said, he has lost all hope of doing any networking here with that attitude. Hopefully he had learned a lesson from this.

[hwolf62307]

This may seem obvious, but it seems to me the best way to move is secure a job first and then pack yourself up and leave ... it sounds like, from what others are posting, there are a lot of IT jobs available. Why not look into and interview for some, if you haven't done that already? It may not be as hard as you think ... it seems most people on this particular thread are pretty positive you could find something.

Keep yourself optimistic! If it's your dream to move to Portland, you'll make it work.

[GeekOfTheOzarks]

Have to say that I'm surprised by all the negativity about the IT job market here in Portland. I'll be back on the market soon, have been closely watching the postings and I've definitely noticed they have steadily increased during the past six months or so.
However the future for IT is going to be a lot different than the past. Without a doubt the hardware support jobs, especially desktop support, will be losing their value as hardware becomes both more reliable and lower cost, and there are also too many people with A+ certs chasing these jobs. If you think desktop systems are cheap now just wait a year ... they'll likely be giving one away with every tablet you buy!

It won't be long until corporate desktop support is basically a do-it-yourself activity. Just unplug your tower and toss it in the recycle bin, go to the supply closet and pick out a new one, carry it back to your desk and plug it in. They will be the size of a paperback book (has anyone seen the Raspberry Pi?) and will cost your company around $50. Even if these cheap PCs only last a year (although they are sure to last much longer) the company will have saved money on maintenance costs.

As far as network and on-premise server jobs, those are quickly being replaced by cloud services so they will become less valuable over the next couple of years too.

From what I'm seeing, IT is about to see a huge shift. As companies finally start to realize that IT departments that are pure cost centers will no longer be needed as cloud service providers can replace 75% of the services for 25% of the cost. That's simply a no-brainer and any CIO that wants to keep their job will be heading down that path sooner or later.

For IT departments that act as both support and product development (mostly software) they'll get to keep their jobs a while longer but only as long as they are generating revenue. As open source and cloud service providers continue to drive down the cost of software, companies that sell software that needs to be installed on a desktop or a client-server installation are going to see stiff competition moving in to their markets.

Yes these are indeed interesting times.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

...
It's very deceptive to be a big fish in a smaller pond. That just doesn't mean you will be a big fish everywhere.

I'm a medium-sized fish in a big pond, which is a nice balance.

[emathias]

Originally Posted by GeekOfTheOzarks

...
It won't be long until corporate desktop support is basically a do-it-yourself activity. Just unplug your tower and toss it in the recycle bin, go to the supply closet and pick out a new one, carry it back to your desk and plug it in. They will be the size of a paperback book (has anyone seen the Raspberry Pi?) and will cost your company around $50. Even if these cheap PCs only last a year (although they are sure to last much longer) the company will have saved money on maintenance costs.

In the places I've worked, the majority of desktop support has always been software support. And in any office with more than a dozen people, you'll need people to maintain the network - contrary to popular belief, networks don't just magically administer themselves especially if you're interested in security.

Originally Posted by GeekOfTheOzarks

As far as network and on-premise server jobs, those are quickly being replaced by cloud services so they will become less valuable over the next couple of years too.

You can't replace desktop networks with a cloud. Maybe at some point in the future you could replace every wired network with an IPv6 mobile VPN network with central administration, but I think for a variety of reasons we're still quite a few years from that being a workable model for most companies.

Originally Posted by GeekOfTheOzarks

From what I'm seeing, IT is about to see a huge shift. As companies finally start to realize that IT departments that are pure cost centers will no longer be needed as cloud service providers can replace 75% of the services for 25% of the cost. That's simply a no-brainer and any CIO that wants to keep their job will be heading down that path sooner or later.

It depends. Smart CIOs don't administer cost centers, they manage an integral business unit that reduces costs, expands profitability, and enhances revenue growth. In other words, CIOs who know how to leverage technology may actually grow technology in their firms and help keep or improve their firm's competitive advantages.

Companies for which IT is only ever a cost center are a dying breed anyway, and those who could use IT to enhance and expand profitability but don't will die off due to mismanagement and the misidentification of IT as only a cost center.

Originally Posted by GeekOfTheOzarks

For IT departments that act as both support and product development (mostly software) they'll get to keep their jobs a while longer but only as long as they are generating revenue. As open source and cloud service providers continue to drive down the cost of software, companies that sell software that needs to be installed on a desktop or a client-server installation are going to see stiff competition moving in to their markets.

Yes these are indeed interesting times.

There will always be a desire to keep data in-house for certain classes of companies, which means in certain industries and in certain sizes of corporations for security, legal or corporate espionage reasons. Some things can be put on the cloud, but not everything should be. There are advantages to the cloud, but it's not the be-all, end-all of IT.

[GeekOfTheOzarks]

Originally Posted by emathias

There will always be a desire to keep data in-house for certain classes of companies, which means in certain industries and in certain sizes of corporations for security, legal or corporate espionage reasons. Some things can be put on the cloud, but not everything should be. There are advantages to the cloud, but it's not the be-all, end-all of IT.

You can replace desktop networks with the cloud. If you need to be convinced just ask any major ISP to give your boss a proposal. How many millions and millions of people log on to the internet everyday? I think that pretty clearly shows the potential for "the cloud" to replace any corporate network.

Any decent ISP can easily replace (outsource) the networking and security piece of a corporate IT department, co-locate all their servers and replace the server (hardware) administration team, and partner with a software as a service provider and completely replace a company's internal IT department in a few short weeks.

http://www.earthlinkbusiness.com/abo...ud-desktop.xea

http://redmondmag.com/articles/2011/...oud-vs-it.aspx

Of course remnants of the "old guard" IT will remain for a long time to come. Just as some segments of our society still ride around in horse and buggy, some IT departments will simply refuse to acknowledge future technologies and business models along with all the advantages they have to offer.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by GeekOfTheOzarks

Any decent ISP can easily replace (outsource) the networking and security piece of a corporate IT department, co-locate all their servers and replace the server (hardware) administration team, and partner with a software as a service provider and completely replace a company's internal IT department in a few short weeks.

And a lot of companies are insourcing their IT departments again because it makes financial sense to do so in the long run. In fact my business group is looking at that right now, we outsourced our developers because of someone's lack of understanding of what IT was and who just saw it as a cost center to eliminate. In just one project our costs over ran so far due to time lag, training (and retraining because of attrition,) and the vendor not understanding the requirements that we would have saved money by retaining the developers at 150% of their salary. And that is one of eight projects we have.

You're right on some points, but it's going to be a company by company decision.