How is the job market for IT professionals in Seattle (systems/network side) (live, move)

[Xanathos]

Greetings,

So I lived in Seattle for 2 years from 1999-2001. Have spent the last 9 years regretting I left. I'm pondering making the move back up that way, but am not sure how strong the job market is for IT people these days.

I'm on the network and systems administration side of the field as opposed to the programming/development/DBA territory. I see quite a number of jobs on the various boards, but obviously I have no way of knowing if there are 3 or 300 people applying to each one of those positions.

My background isn't in huge enterprise level corporations, so I doubt Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing or Nintendo would want to look at me. Small and mid-sized businesses are probably where my fate lies.

How's the market? Is it still pretty short supply and high demand like it used to be, or is it saturated?

[Arushan]

It's very saturated. But if you are well-versed in Linux, you may be able to find something if you are lucky.

[MattFromGA]

I'm in the programming side of IT and see lots of job opportunities for all types of IT. Its hard to get a clear birds eye view of what is really going on in the industry (even when you're working at an agency), but the fact that lots of new jobs are continually being posted is a good sign. Think about it: Agencies build up resumes all the time, and when they get a new job they will contact people they already have resumes for. The fact that they continuously post new jobs daily means that they are not filling all the jobs with candidates they already have a background for.

A truly saturated market would mean people would be staying in jobs longer too. You wouldnt see new jobs open up all the time. My theory about how things are working for this today is:

The problem comes from the internet. There could be 1000 jobs open that 500 people are trying to get, but each of the people apply for every job. So to any one hiring manager, it looks like 500 people applied for the job, but the fact is that there were 2 jobs open for each person applying. To the uninitiated person hiring someone, it looks like there are 500 desperate people in a dismal job market and that you have your pick (and in a way you do have your pick), but in reality its the power of the internet that allows someone to apply for 1000 jobs online in just a few clicks.

From what I can see so far, you can score a job, but you cant do it the old way of applying for one job at a time. You have to apply for every single job you think you are qualified to do. I did this and actually started my new job before I even arrived in Seattle. It did take me about a month to find that job, but it seems that was mostly due to people dragging their ass in the hiring process.

[AzDreamer]

I see an increasing demand for security services. If you could increase your knowledge in this area you would have more options.

[tigger865]

We are still getting saturated with well qualified and overqualified applicants in the NE space. 100+ local applicants per open position has been common for awhile now in Seattle. Don't be surprised if you get asked to foot your own bill for relocationa s well.

[MattFromGA]

Originally Posted by tigger865

We are still getting saturated with well qualified and overqualified applicants in the NE space. 100+ local applicants per open position has been common for awhile now in Seattle. Don't be surprised if you get asked to foot your own bill for relocationa s well.

I understand what you're saying, but I'm wondering if the 100+ applications is coming from the fact that every guy on the market is applying for every job on the market. If that is true, then there could be 300 IT jobs open for those 100 guys. You see it as saturated because you got 100 applications, but it could very well be that every person looking for a job is applying for it thanks to how easy it is to send your resume to a job.

Ultimately, it makes it harder for everyone. You get 100 applications because everyone looking for a job applied, and each applicant has to keep track of the 300 jobs they applied for.

[Arushan]

I don't doubt there are hundreds applying for all the jobs in sight on Monster/Craigslist/etc. But what will get you ahead of many of those people would be to perhaps set up an informational interview and drop them a copy of your resume, with your contact information on it. After that, apply and then follow up with them about every week or so. Doing so will help you out tremendously and shows the effort. Best of luck.

[Xanathos]

Just as a quick update to this thread, I tossed out some resumes in the last week, and already have 3 offers - and I anticipate a 4th. Was rather shocking how easy it was.

Seems it's not saturated in the slightest. Just need the proper certs and ability to put the proper keywords in your qualifications section.

[lab4life]

What about Healthcare IT?

[solinus]

I second the Healthcare IT question. I'm an HL7 interface developer; BizTalk/SharePoint/InfoPath specialist with seven years of experience, if anybody is interested