Soon to be college grad from Western NY, looking to relocate to LA. Info needed!!(Apartments, jobs) (Los Angeles: insurance, credit)

[wjone005]

Hello world!!!

I'm new to this website and this is my first post. So I apologize if I'm not following the standard protocol for posts. Thank you for reading my post.

I'm currently a senior at Buffalo State University, majoring in Computer Information Systems. I will have my Bachelors degree in CIS this May, along with one year work experience as a Technical Support Analyst. I'm very interested in moving to LA and here are the things I would like to know:

Apartments
Where are some apartments in the city that are in a good neighborhood and their prices. Is there a general area where college grads are located? Do a lot of apartments offer garages or assigned parking?

Transportation
I have a car here in NY, would it be imperative that I have it shipped out there, or would I be able to get by with the metro system LA has to offer? Is the traffic a huge issue or just a myth? Would I have to retake my drivers test once I relocate there?

Finances
How much should I have saved before I move to LA and how much does it cost to live comfortably there? I hear the magic number is 60,000K. I wouldn't want to live pay check to pay check and actually be able to save every month.

Jobs
How is the job outlook for IT, or computer engineering professions? Is there a certain area where those job are located in that city? I looked on websites such as indeed.com, simplyhired.com and etc. It seems to be very plentiful, but I rather know for sure from the locals.

This pretty much covers everything.

Thank you again!!

[cal-K]

I guess it all depends on where (area wise) you going to work, personally I prefer to live within 20-30 mins from where I work.
With a salary, then you can figure out where you wanna live, decent studio/ 1 bedroom runs from $1500-$2500 depending on area.
50-60k salary would allow you to save a few bucks without going paycheck to paycheck, esp. if you consider having a roommate.to share a 2 bedroom suite.

Last I've heard, there's plenty of IT jobs/ company in the "silicon beach" section, good luck!

[BRinSM]

what is your specialty in IT? Are you a programmer? if you are, you can easily make 60k/year if you have any experience. if you only have support experience, 60k will be much harder to attain. most of the 'cool' companies to work for are in and around santa monica, but if you don't a more corporate style company, tech jobs are to be had all over the city and region. my recommendation is to find a job first. if you find an apartment first, but can only find work 20 miles away, you're going to be unhappy. demand for all sorts of tech positions is high right now, so you may even be able to get call backs with an address in NY. Make sure to mention you're willing to cover your own relocation costs.

[wjone005]

Thanks for the responses guys.

My specialty in IT would be either along the lines of being Network or Systems Administrator. I know how to program in C++, Java, Visual Basic and a couple other languages, but those being the main ones. I personally wouldn't want to have a career as a programmer, but I do know how to code if need be. More than likely I wouldn't move there without a job waiting for me. I like to be financially secure. But I'm glad to hear that tech positions are high right now.

[MordinSolus]

Los Angeles is a booming tech town right now, but make sure you have a job lined up before you move here. Once you know where you're gonna work, find an apartment nearby. The traffic woes are overblown, but the traffic can be a pain in the butt.
Depending on where you live you might be able to get a place with assigned underground parking and nice amenities on your budget. $60k would be a nice enough salary so long as you don't get too nice an apartment or party too much.
And absolutely bring your car to LA. The public transit is NOT good enough to go without a car if you plan on having any sort of social life.

[BRinSM]

If you want to score a quick job, then don't dismiss programming jobs, they pay well and there is a huge demand for them right now. My recommendation is go to Dice and look for interesting jobs in LA. Contact a few recruiters/agencies and see if they can help you out. If your resume is decent, they can probably get you interviews, possibly even over phone/skype so you don't have to fly out here. I would look into contract jobs to get started and get established. Having said that, agencies take a large cut of your earnings for contract jobs (especially if you're on an H1B), so you probably won't want to do that long term, especially if you're also looking for employer covered medical insurance. The good thing for you is that the tech sector in LA is BOOMING right now, so you should have options.

[wjone005]

I'll definitely keep that in mind. Do you know of any well known or creditable recruiters/ agencies in LA? I also always been told that contract jobs usually pay more, but lacks medical insurance coverage. I assume if the tech sector is booming right now, contract and regular jobs would be plentiful as well.

[BRinSM]

There are many, many agencies in LA. Most post openings to dice.com to lure in candidates. If you get in touch with any, you should be able to tell pretty quickly if they're good or sleazy.

[the city]

Good luck because you will need it. CA is a tough economy to break into unless you know some one. You are competing with graduates from UCLA, CSU Northridge, UC Santa Barbara, USC, and UC Irvine for jobs.

You are better off trying to find a job in a less competitive state or find something in your local area. And $60,000 a yr to start is probably unlikely. I'd imagine $40,000 to start and housing costs with eat up alot of your paycheck.

[southpaw826]

Originally Posted by the city

Good luck because you will need it. CA is a tough economy to break into unless you know some one. You are competing with graduates from UCLA, CSU Northridge, UC Santa Barbara, USC, and UC Irvine for jobs.

You are better off trying to find a job in a less competitive state or find something in your local area. And $60,000 a yr to start is probably unlikely. I'd imagine $40,000 to start and housing costs with eat up alot of your paycheck.

I preface this to say that I am somewhat in the same boat of the OP as in, living in the Northeast, in the IT industry, and trying to move out to Cal. That said, I agree that LA could be a tough market to break into, as is most new locations. I also agree that you generally need to have connections, as you would any place. But the rest is where I perceive this comment to go downhill. I can't help to feel that this reply wreaks of a person who just doesn't want anyone else moving in on their territory.

On topic of not being from local LA schools: For the most part, it isn't the late 80s-90s anymore, and although there are some companies/employers who are still all about home-grown, and in-state/in-city educated candidates, that is for the most part an antiquated outlook, ESPECIALLY in the IT field. In general, one wouldn't, or at least shouldn't, want to work for a close-minded company like this anyway. You may be just trying to give him what you believe is a realistic perspective, but quite frankly, as long as someone has the advanced education and the KNOWLEDGE, more employers DON'T care where you are from than DO.

Next, and the thing that may be most annoying, is the whole "find something in a less competitive state or find something in your local area." I'm pretty sure the OP came here because he is specifically looking for advice on moving to LA, with advice on finding jobs. By you telling him to "find a job in a less competitive state or find something in your local area," this is where my idea comes from that you are one of those, "How dare someone move into MY city!" It also gives off the impression that you believe L.A. is the MOST competitive city in the country to find work.

To the OP, there are a lot of low-ball jobs out there everywhere, not just L.A. If you are doing SysAdmin/NetAdmin work, you should easily find $60,000 work out there, and frankly, that should be your starting point - o less than $55,000. The $40,000 as the poster I quoted suggests is generally low-level tech support pay and you apparently have more knowledge than that. You should also get on LinkedIn and just start perusing the jobs on there, looking up by location. Once you start doing that, your future results will generally adjust to location as well and start feeding you more jobs in LA area.