IT Jobs (Los Angeles, Orange: headhunters, moving, money)

[JayWatson]

Any IT jobs in Los Angeles?

[smokingGun]

It's just a fraction of the jobs that you'd find up north in the Bay area or Silicon Valley. There used to be a lot more when LA was the hub of the defense industry. But those days are long gone.

[bhcompy]

Originally Posted by smokingGun

It's just a fraction of the jobs that you'd find up north in the Bay area or Silicon Valley. There used to be a lot more when LA was the hub of the defense industry. But those days are long gone.

IT != Computer Science

There are IT jobs here. Do they pay well? Arguable. If you're highly qualified and certified, you can easily find work. If you're one or the other or neither, it will be harder. There are tons of people looking for less than tons of jobs.

[JayWatson]

I've been looking for an IT job for the past year (was out of the country for a while) and have not seen anything. Most people I do end up talking to want somebody who is a coding god who will work as a codemonkey (IT is not programming, although I am skilled in that area) who will make miracles for 15.00 per hour. I got one job on Wilshire working for some French idiots who were so rude and unprofessional that I quit after three days. I'm actually looking at either taking jobs that I am overqualified for, or moving down south--the only other place in the country that I have connections.

As for certifications, I don't see them as necessary. Skills are more important than the paper, and I study for the skills and knowledge, not for the paper. I don't know why employers want certified experts willing to work for peanuts.

[obscure reference]

Originally Posted by JayWatson

I don't know why employers want certified experts willing to work for peanuts.

Because they're cheap, and would rather spend a lot of money down the road when things go wrong than spend a little more to do it right the first time. (I never said it made sense...)

Anyway - the jobs are out there, but if IT's like any other corner of the tech world, they're probably using recruiters or headhunters to find candidates.
Have you tried signing up with any tech agencies? Posted your resume on dice.com or monster.com? It might also be worth it to hook up with some creative agencies - I can see people who aren't familiar with what an IT person does calling up Aquent or Creative Circle and asking if they have anyone on their rosters.

[JayWatson]

I am registered with Robert Half, Job Spring, and a few others. My resume is on DICE. I'm in the middle of updating my resume now.

I wish I didn't have to go through a head hunter, because they always make you work for little money.

[bhcompy]

I found work in Orange County. There were plenty of openings that I applied for an interviewed for(mostly in OC and South Bay), but my resume lacked the qualifications to pass the HR filters(cert requirements and such). Ended up getting my job because the HR person was tired of the bad candidates and started looking at DICE/Monster/etc themselves. They emailed me.