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I do not live in NY. Looking at the web, I see conflicting reports about Rochester's economy. The famous ones closed but now there appear to be many other optics related companies. My question is are they really there and do they employ qualified people in this field? I'm considering moving to Rochester but if sites like indeed.com and simplyhired.com are to be taken seriously, these reports of economic upturn must be wrong.
I will say this. Optics and photonics is something that both Rochester and the state are very heavily focused on protecting as an industry in Rochester. Rochester is a finalist with 2 other areas for 110 million in funding from a plan by Obama to create a photonics excellence innovation center and the state has agreed to commit another 250 million to that to help guarantee that it occurs. So hopefully Rochester wins it, but if it does, that can only mean that the money will funnel down to guaranteed jobs.
Personally, if were to bet on 1 technology industry that will be very successful in Rochester for many years to come it would without a doubt be photonics/nanotechnology/etc. Again, this is based on the fact that both the state and the federal govt continue to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy for these fields. Inevitably this leads to jobs and startups.
I have no doubt that the City of Rochester is hoping to attract start ups especially with RIT and UofR cranking out highly skilled engineering labor right in their own backyard (not many are able to find jobs afterwards unless the LEAVE Rochester, that should tell you something right there). The reality is that the tax environment in the state sucks balls, and it's not a place where start ups are flocking to. It's expensive to do business in NY between labor, taxes, regulations, etc. Startups and "expensive to do business" don't mix. Unless the government directly subsidizes the tech start ups, it's probably not going to happen.
I'd look for optics opportunities in states with better corporate tax policies. Not trying to hate on Rochester, but it's not a tech boomtown.
I have no doubt that the City of Rochester is hoping to attract start ups especially with RIT and UofR cranking out highly skilled engineering labor right in their own backyard (not many are able to find jobs afterwards unless the LEAVE Rochester, that should tell you something right there). The reality is that the tax environment in the state sucks balls, and it's not a place where start ups are flocking to. It's expensive to do business in NY between labor, taxes, regulations, etc. Startups and "expensive to do business" don't mix. Unless the government directly subsidizes the tech start ups, it's probably not going to happen.
I'd look for optics opportunities in states with better corporate tax policies. Not trying to hate on Rochester, but it's not a tech boomtown.
Many may get tax incentives to stay in the state as well and the area has institutions that allows companies to pick talent from. That site shows where there is startup activity in Upstate NY.
There has also been smaller companies that have been started by former big company talent. So, those firms may be worth a look.
I have no doubt that the City of Rochester is hoping to attract start ups especially with RIT and UofR cranking out highly skilled engineering labor right in their own backyard (not many are able to find jobs afterwards unless the LEAVE Rochester, that should tell you something right there).
I'd look for optics opportunities in states with better corporate tax policies. Not trying to hate on Rochester, but it's not a tech boomtown.
This is complete and utter bologna. I have a tech degree from RIT and had ZERO issues finding a job in Rochester. And this was in 2006 when the economy is far worse than it is now. Multiple offers, interviews and had my job lined up a month before graduation. And everybody I knew from RIT who wanted to stay in the region also had zero issues finding a job.
Sorry to say we all know that the state isn't business friendly, even with the tax incentives. Not to mention anyone moving from a different state looking for work in Rochester might be unpleasantly surprised to find high income taxes, high property taxes and few jobs to pick from. I took a look at the website and it's a bit misleading. I'm not sure what they consider a "start up" to make the list of "new" companies starting up in Rochester, but some of those companies have been in business since the mid 90's, that's not a start-up to me.
I'll leave it at that, but if anyone want to move to Rochester I'd strongly suggested doing a lot of research before making the leap. I didn't hang around, and the 411 from some engineering connections I have out there is that there are not a lot of tech jobs to be had. If there are any entry tech jobs RIT and UofR grads tend to clean those up.
This is complete and utter bologna. I have a tech degree from RIT and had ZERO issues finding a job in Rochester. And this was in 2006 when the economy is far worse than it is now. Multiple offers, interviews and had my job lined up a month before graduation. And everybody I knew from RIT who wanted to stay in the region also had zero issues finding a job.
I know a ton of RIT grads who had the exact opposite experience. Many who wanted to stay just couldn't find anything because the city had no jobs for their tech niche, or 20 of them were competing for the same job. This wasn't far from the same time span you are reporting. The ones who didn't find what they were looking for in Rochester found it very easily in Cali, Texas and NYC once they moved. It's also interesting how often the get pinged by new grads trying to network with peeps from their alma mater because Rochester doesn't have work for them.
Sorry, I don't call that a tech boom. Perhaps it is "relatively speaking" compared to other areas of western NY, but how low is that bar?
I'll leave it at that, but if anyone want to move to Rochester I'd strongly suggested doing a lot of research before making the leap. I didn't hang around, and the 411 from some engineering connections I have out there is that there are not a lot of tech jobs to be had. If there are any entry tech jobs RIT and UofR grads tend to clean those up.
While you have "411", I have actual experience in the area. The company I work for has hired a good 20 developers into my group alone within the last 8 months who are transplants. There are plenty of tech jobs in the area. In fact, we currently have vacancies existing that we can't find qualified applicants for at the moment.
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