Dubuque IBM (appointed, job market, school)

[jasperhobbs]

Originally Posted by zz4guy

Are there any engineering opportunities available at IBM Dubuque?

I don't believe IBM owns any trains so I am guessing no on engineer jobs.

Jasper

[BillyMays]

All the positions are SA (server administrator).
The pay is horrible cause the cost of living in Dubuque is so low. The on the job training is so bad I cannot believe it. The documentation is a joke. Its amazing that they can keep accounts with the poor documentation available. They have these dorky meetings twice a day they call huddles.
It's a job, but nothing to write home about. I can tell this is one of those places where they want you to do everything for them and they compensate you with min wage.

[BillyMays]

Just another note; there are a bunch of punks right out of college who are very annoying to work with. They still play video games in their spare time for Gods sake.

[zz4guy]

Originally Posted by BillyMays

Just another note; there are a bunch of punks right out of college who are very annoying to work with. They still play video games in their spare time for Gods sake.

LOL! Are you new to the corporate life? Nothing differnt about most of my coworkers under 30 years old. Sad, really.

[BillyMays]

Not new to corporate life at all, but larger cities do not hire people with no real world experience like they do here in Dubuque. Not sure if that was part of the deal for IBM to move here or not. I think I just have something against gamers. It's so pathetic to see grown men still playing computer games though.

[Get to Know Dubuque]

I am not sure what specific opportunities there are in Dubuque for Engineers but I do know most employers use the local website to post their positions, including IBM. The site is AccessDubuqueJobs.com Good luck on your search.

[scbrown13]

Originally Posted by billt94

Sounds good, I'm moving there myself to start in February and it seemed like a nice place to live.The town has all of the dept stores that we like, and quite a few restaurants, actually more than we thought.

Originally Posted by whatten162

I work there and it is great. The people are easy going all computers types but not in a geeky way. The town is very outgoing and it is nice place all the way around

I"m considering moving to Dubuque as well. I had first technical interview a few weeks back and they want to schedule a face to face. Now that you've been there for a few months how do you like it? Have you found that IBM pays for quality IT? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

[scbrown13]

Originally Posted by BillyMays

All the positions are SA (server administrator).
The pay is horrible cause the cost of living in Dubuque is so low. The on the job training is so bad I cannot believe it. The documentation is a joke. Its amazing that they can keep accounts with the poor documentation available. They have these dorky meetings twice a day they call huddles.
It's a job, but nothing to write home about. I can tell this is one of those places where they want you to do everything for them and they compensate you with min wage.

Have you found that IBM supplies/pays for continuing training? Besides the horrible pay, are there any perks for working @ IBM - good medical? Vacation, etc? Thanks!

[Joefan1]

They have training modules online. They do not offer tuition reimbursement nor do they recognize any technical certifications or pay for exams. There is NO networking here either. AT&T handles all of that. So if you are a cisco guy/gal then this is NOT the job for you. The pay scales are between 32,000-47,000. That encompasses all 3 levels. No raises in the 1st year either.

[stranger46]

Do not try to rent in Dubuque. I have been here for about 6 months, and ended up in the WI side. People in Dubuque got very greedy over the IBM new hires, and prices shot up about 30% for shacks I would not house my ex-wife in. Many of them became rude, and treat new IBM employees as if they were their lottery ticket. IBM itself is suffering, since people tend to stay for the minimum they have too, until things at home "get better". I doubt that IBM will stay in Dubuque longer than 3-5 years, they will never meet their hiring quotas, and will probably prefer to pay a fine and get the hell out of here. the locals are very short sighted, and do not understand why we do not buy or accept their rental prices. Home prices shot up as well, about 15%-20% in the past year, and they wonder why the inventory is so big.
As for IBM, it's IBM. an administrative cluster F..k if you ask me. 90% of the people came since they lost their job elsewhere, not because they "could not wait to move to Dubuque". As soon as the economy picks up, many of them will leave, since the salary / cost of living ratio is no longer worth the stay.
Sorry Dubuque, get get a grip or bust!