IT Employment Question (San Diego: job market, school, contractors)

[Mikey88]

Hello Everyone,

I'm debating at possibly moving to the San Diego area and wanted to get a feeling for the IT job market here specifically in security. I know there are a lot of military employees here so I figured it would a place to ask.

What is a typical salary for a CISSP level security engineer with about 6yrs total IT experience. Do clearance jobs tend to pay better or is private sector better in this area? Hoping someone with experience in both markets can chime in.

I'm 29yrs old, single and currently working on the east coast.

Thanks

[NYSD1995]

clearance job all the way. Not a lot of large corps here. But should be good opp if you have TS.

[jnojr]

Originally Posted by Mikey88

What is a typical salary for a CISSP level security engineer with about 6yrs total IT experience. Do clearance jobs tend to pay better or is private sector better in this area? Hoping someone with experience in both markets can chime in.

Cleared, I'll toss out a guesstimate of around $80K.

If you have a clearance, or the ability to gain one, do it... there is a much more limited pool of candidates in that world, so by necessity salaries tend to be higher, and you face less potential competition.

If you wind up working with or for the Navy/USMC (and this goes for anyone else reading this!), PM me for access to the full portfolio of Red Hat training.

[cruitr]

I can't speak to the CISSP certification but I can tell you the wireless IT job market is hot in San Diego.

At the July 4th fireworks downtown, I met a friend of a friend (maybe 30 years old) who just quit his job at Qualcomm on Friday. I asked him where he was going. He wasn't going anywhere but he was just tired of Qualcomm. I asked him if he had any new job prospects. He claimed to have 3 firm job offers on his kitchen table and that he needed to make a decision by Friday (July 6th). I don't know what skills he had and I don't know what job he took.

[9kidsanddone]

cruitr: my 21 yr old son will be moving to CA after we do, he has his red hat cert and was wondering how the job market was there for jobs in his area.
TY!

[mixxalot]

Good for those with a security clearance otherwise not so great.

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by 9kidsanddone

cruitr: my 21 yr old son will be moving to CA after we do, he has his red hat cert and was wondering how the job market was there for jobs in his area.
TY!

I quit recruiting after the very profitable Y2K era (the 1999 to 2000 conversion). However, based on the number of new Audi's and BMW's I see on the road in the IT job areas, your son should have no problem finding an IT job here. Salary could be an issue though. San Diego pays low.

Hopefully, mixxalot answered your question. Security clearances are in big demand here because of all the gov't contracts.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

My IT shop is about 50 strong and we haven't hired anyone in a few years. The company is solvent and giving out bonuses but really going the contractor route. Benefits are very expensive for employers.

[Alabama1234]

SharePoint Developer here with a DoD Clearance. I'm moving to SD within the next 6 weeks. Jobs there generally pay LESS than other places I've lived with lost of military and contractors. They call in the "sunshine tax"


I would guess you could get a job paying around 80K-85K annually.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by Alabama1234

SharePoint Developer here with a DoD Clearance. I'm moving to SD within the next 6 weeks. Jobs there generally pay LESS than other places I've lived with lost of military and contractors. They call in the "sunshine tax"


I would guess you could get a job paying around 80K-85K annually.

Many / most IT jobs in SD pay below market for the most part, which is amplified by the high housing costs. The exceptions are some of the engineering roles, particularly on the ML, AI, hardware, wireless side. Unlike other markets SD's pay scale seems trapped in 2005 with contract rates in the 50-85/hr rate. We're essentially paying the exact same $$ for mid-level IT talent as we were in 2003!

The flip side of this is good talent is almost impossible to find. Good people get locked in at above market rates and never move around. As a result SD imports a huge amount of it's tech workers from out-of-state, the shop I'm in now is 90% H1B / offshore / out-of-state contractors. Employers in SD are pretty old school about remote work and flex time so a lot of SD companies simply can't compete in the talent war anymore.

A lot of people at I know (myself included) at the more senior end have gone to independent consultant where we can get much higher rates than an FTE or W2 contractor.