wanting to move/engineering jobs (Denver, Colorado Springs: credit, house, transfer to)

[esc]

Hello all,

I happened across this website a few months ago and have found it to be a great resource for learning about other places, thanks!

I have visited CO many times and have always wanted to live there. After nearly 3 years in TX, I am now reaching a point where I can't stand it here much longer and am asking myslef "why not." Probably the last hangup I have is my career. I'm an engineer currently working in aviation. I would like to stay in this field if possible, but would not be opposed to other fields where my current skills would be applicable. The problem is that most engineering jobs I see in CO are either software or construction. Is anyone here enough aware of the engineering market in CO to know which areas would hold the most promise? Another question I have is whether I would be going "from the frying pan to the fire" by moving from DFW to Denver area? I hate the sprawl around here and would like to live somewhere more rural, or where I can easily escape to a rural area. Is this possible in the front range cities (where I assume I can find the best work), or will I have to drive 2+ hours just to leave the city like here?

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

[Katarina Witt]

I'm not terribly knowledgable about the engineering situation. There are aero eng jobs here, but I'm not in that field.

Denver is smaller, I think, than DFW. It doesn't take 2 hrs to get out of the city, but it can take that long to get where you want to go in the mtns (if not longer). If you luck out and get a job in the Ft. Collins area, you can live in some of the smaller towns east of there. Perhaps also in Colorado Springs. If you work anywhere from Boulder to S. Denver, you will be living in the metro area unless you want a loooong commute.

[Charles]

I could probably write ten pages on this inquiry.

I sort of did what you did but for different reasons. I left LA due to expensive living, traffic, and social problems. SoCal has billions of good aerospace/aviation/ee/me/it jobs but getting to them is really tough.

Yes, Denver and Colorado Springs are loaded with aero/ee/me jobs. To get an idea (and I really would think you would have done these already), go to the Boeing, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Aerospace Corporation, and Lockheed websites and do job searches in Colorado. Also, for everyone of these big guys there are many subcontractors (Sparta, BoeCore, CSC, etc.) hiring too. Colorado Springs is really big on defense. Denver is going to be a huge player on the Orion project which is slated to eventually replace the shuttle, go back to the moon, etc. United Launch Alliance is supposedly hiring (ULA is the launch version of USA with whom I worked with at JSC back in my Space Station days).

Orion (spacecraft) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now to your specifics of avoiding sprawl. If you are willing to accept a 45 minute, low traffic commute then you have hit the jackpot. Colorado Springs and south Denver (and Lockheed's huge Waterton Canyon facility) are within about 45 minutes of Monument, Colorado near where I live. Trees, prairies, cattle grazing land, ranches, foothills is the landscape. Other places are Parker and Castle Rock (which for me would be a little too far from Schriever; I like to drive no more than one bladder distance.). I researched my move for a year and chose to live where I live precisely for these reasons. You never want to be on one end of a region of jobs; Better to be the centroid.

Not sure about your personal situation but I was also looking excellent schools and a nice home and nice communty. If you are single, Monument will not be the place for you. But probably places with no sprawl won't be for you either. Sprawl also means, clubs, bands, chicks, parties, etc. Trees and prairies means quiet, decompression, boring, etc.

Driving distances from Monument, CO:

Schreiver AFB (where I work) 50 very easy scenic minutes
Lockheed Waterton Canyon 45 minutes
Denver Tech Center 35-40 minutes
ULA 35 minutes
Boeing Colorado Springs 20 minutes
Peterson AFB 30 minutes
Buckley AFB 45 minutes
Cheyenne Mountain AFB 35 minutes
Boeing Aurora 55 minutes

Start drooling:

raytheon OR northrop OR Lockheed OR Boeing - Google Maps

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lockheed martin and ULA are the big aerospace employers in the denver area. they both occupy the same campus in waterton canyon. there's also a new ULA facility in the Denver Tech Center. there's also Ball Aerospace in broomfield, just outside of boulder.

evergreen and conifer are maybe 35 minutes from the waterton facility. the drive would be significantly longer during a snowstorm. they are small, rural, mountain towns and might be what you're looking for. they get more snow than denver and its suburbs.

evergreen pics:
//www.city-data.com/city/Evergreen-Colorado.html

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by Charles

I could probably write ten pages on this inquiry.
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Charles, have you ever heard of SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) and do they not have a presence in Colorado Springs?

SAIC: From Science to Solutions®

[Charles]

Originally Posted by McGowdog

Charles, have you ever heard of SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation) and do they not have a presence in Colorado Springs?

SAIC: From Science to Solutions®

Absolutely. You are correct. I work with their guys now. And I worked with them a few years ago on FCS (Future Combat Systems). I should have mentioned them. My bad. There's probably several others that I forgot about too. Another consulting firm that is really big is Booz Allen.

[KarlaT2]

It looks like there is also a division of Goodrich in Colorado Springs area? Is that a major employer also, or much smaller than the others?
I had no idea so many aerospace companies were over there. I've been looking at Phoenix to be closer to those type of companies and be able to afford a nicer house (currently in Cal desert area). Now I may have to add your fine city to my list to research.

[esc]

Been in and out of town for a week or so, just getting back to this...

Thanks for all the suggestions! I definately have some more to research now.

I just started looking for info on the DTC, does someone have a good guide for job searches in that area?

My personal situation is 28yo, not married, no kids, steady gf, though not sure where that is going... But, schools are not important, nightlife is moderately important, being able to escape the crowds is important to me. I'd probably be willing to commute ~30 minutes. The only other consideration depends on where the gf situation goes, she will need to be near a university, preferably one with a good liberal arts college.

I was aware of the Lockheed locations in the Denver area, and a couple of the others, but will definately be checking them all out more. I have found a few jobs with smaller companies at the Centennial airport that I am interested in. It looks like that is on the edge of the metro area, true? Roughly how far does the sprawl extend past the 470 loop? Do you have to get all the way to Monument to feel like you're not in the middle of a huge city? What's Castle Rock like?

Thanks again

[Katarina Witt]

Roughly how far does the sprawl extend past the 470 loop? Do you have to get all the way to Monument to feel like you're not in the middle of a huge city? What's Castle Rock like?

Castle Rock is about the end of the line for the Denver suburbs. Then soon you get into the COS 'burbs, going south. I don't know much more about Castle Rock than that.

RE: college for the gf. For her sake and yours, please have her look in to the possibilites of transferring before she makes the move. My nephew and his wife moved out of state when his wife had one yr to go at University of Colorado-Denver. She/They found that to transfer to another college, she would have to earn 1/2 the credits in her major at the new college. That was true even though she had over 1/2 the credits from UCD in her major. This is the case at almost every college in the country.

If you are planning to live in the south part of town, she could look at UCD, Metro State (both in downtown Denver) and the U. of Denver (private and pricy). The main branch of the U. of Colorado is in Boulder, about 30 miles from Denver. In north Denver there is Regis College. Colorado Springs has UC-Colorado Springs and Colorado College, a private school.