Job market in SE Florida? (Miami, Tampa: real estate, contractors, college)

[collegegrad92]

Hi all!

I'm new to this forum but I'm glad I found it! I'm interested in moving to Florida in a few years but who knows what will actually happen. I'm headed to Michigan in a couple months to start my career and am not looking forward to the long and cold winters. I live in Indiana right now and am used to the crappy weather, but I've had enough of it! I really would love to go back to SE Florida, specifically the Ft. Lauderdale area since I used to live there when I was little and absolutely loved it. I was actually born in India where it's hot and humid pretty much all year around and lived there for a few years as well. My body was meant for this type of weather and not the cold!

Anyways, how's the job market looking in SE Florida? If it helps, I'm in a Information Systems related field.

Appreciate the help!

[ruski]

There are IT jobs, but there aren't THAT many big IT companies or big companies with IT departments.

We have Citrix HQ in Fort Lauderdale.

There is Motorola in Boca.

There is JM Enterprises in Deerfield.

There is Burger King's HQ in Miami.

A lot of IT people know each other because they happened to work with each other at all these companies at some point in their career.

[Papillons2]

South Florida's job market is geared toward service industries, health care, retail, real estate, travel and tourism. International commerce also is an economic engine. I'd characterize the area as middle of the road for what you're looking for -- better than the Rust Belt, but not quite a subtropical Silicon Valley.

Ruski has provided a few good starting points. Citrix, in particular, is a big, rapidly growing company with a bright future.

The local paper had a very positive story a week or so ago on Ultimate Software, another Broward County-based company that specializes in HR software solutions and sounds like a great place to work, but I'm not sure if it offers the kind of work you specialize in.

Be sure you have something lined up before you move here and that the compensation is enough to offset the cost of living; high-paying jobs are not a given in South Florida (I posted in another thread about how employers here tend to "pay you in sunshine") and housing is not cheap. I can't emphasize these points enough.

[blueherons]

One of my co-workers was in the IT field in Maryland and moved down here for the better quality of life. He said the IT field in South Florida is awful.

I don't know what that means but that is what he said. He spend about 18 months in the field and is now waiting tables.

[collegegrad92]

Hmmm...definitely a good idea to have something before I move there then. Now is this just SE Florida, or is the rest of Florida like this too? I wouldn't mind switching industries, actually would prefer it because I wouldn't want to remain in the same industry throughout my career as long as it is in Information Systems!

blueherons, I hope you're just joking . But if not, good luck to your friend, I wouldn't know how to handle that situation.

[ruski]

There are some IT jobs in Tampa, but South Florida is the most active.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by collegegrad92

blueherons, I hope you're just joking . But if not, good luck to your friend, I wouldn't know how to handle that situation.

PM me and I'll give you his phone number and you can talk to him yourself.

[rdb4133]

If you are in IT stay far far away from south Florida! :-)

[night0wl]

There are jobs down here, but there is a HUGE what I call "Sun Tax". For whatever reason, Employers have completely unrealistic expectations of salaries for IT workers. For example, I've seen ENTRY level IT roles call for 4-5 years of real world experience and at least 2-3 industry certifications. With those kind of credentials, you're looking at $75-80k elsewhere in the USA...more in California. In SE FLorida, that job will likely be $55k.

What happens is that these jobs sit empty, and ultimately they get some guy to move down from out of town. The employer has to pay more, but the employee also takes less than he's worth. Then the employer gets annoyed they're paying "so much to just IT guys" and squeezes you on yearly cost of living raises. In essence, you'll get sub-3% while the rest of the IT market is giving 7-12% raises.

Eventually, the differential is so high that the employee quits. The employer blames "transient workforce" and "cant find the right skills" in their excuse to ask for contractors or H1bs. Truth of the matter is, if SE Florida employers realized that in Technology, there is effectively *zero* unemployment (some would say negative...you have to import engineers), then they would get their pay practices in line.

But its easier to blame the education system for not producing enough engineers rather than give proper raises and wages.

If you come down here to join a tech or IT department, be prepared to move around ever 3-4 years to keep up with your true market value. Typically, the lifecycle goes like this:

1 - starts at one of the cruise companies...they treat their employees the worst. Its entertainment services.
2 - move to one of the mid-size firms (Office Depot, Burger King)...get sick of their constant employee givebacks
3 - if you're old(er) you try to get to JM Family. IF you're younger, then you try and do #4
4 - see if you can get into one of the tech firms (Citrix, Ultima Software). They like to hire young so if you're over 35...g'luck getting in there

Generally speaking, co's down here treat you like they treat their bottom rung of employees...even as a corporate employee. Cruise cos just are brutal. Retailers marginally better. For example, the retailer office hq i worked at was basically run by the "loss prevention" people spying on everything you did on their systems because thats how they treat their retail staff (as expendable, $7/hour people). That's not how you treat a six-figure professional. I was lucky in bailing and getting to the tech firms...but even now, I know I could probably get 1.5 my salary in a different part of the country.