Are there many high level IT jobs in Madison? (Middleton: insurance, employment)

[mom28sofar]

Our family is considering a move back to the midwest to be close to our grandchildren. My husband is a Director of Engineering now but can also do Lead Sr. Systems Engineer work. Are there many IT jobs there?

Thank you!

[7G9C4J2]

Well, it's not Silicon Valley by any means, if that's what you're looking for. But there are IT jobs to be found in the Madison area, certainly.

Epic Systems is a big player in the IT field, and they're based in Verona, just south of Madison. They work their people hard, but they pay well. WTS Paradigm in Middleton is a smaller but growing IT firm that pulls in a lot of top people in the field.

There's a fair number of high-tech firms of many kinds that also have IT needs, even if their main business area isn't IT. Promega, Covance, and a whole bunch of start-ups that have spun off the university in recent years.

The university itself is another big employer, and of course they have a huge IT department. And Madison is the state capitol, so there are opportunities in state employment in the area as well.

There are several insurance companies that are headquartered in or near Madison as well. American Family and General Casualty are two that come to mind, and I believe CUNA Mutual is still based here. And there are three hospitals in the area (four if you count the VA Hospital), all of whom have large IT departments.

So, yes, there are certainly options in the Madison area for an IT professional, although in the interests of full disclosure, I should also note that there is a fair amount of competition for openings in the field here as well. It seems to be a popular place to live, and with the university churning out hundreds of newly-minted IT degree-holders every year, a certain number of them seem to want to find jobs in Madison and stay here after graduating. That makes it harder to command the kind of top-dollar salaries that might be more common in other parts of the country.

Good luck, and let us know if you have more questions.

[mom28sofar]

Ok, thank you for all the tips!
We will see where this goes!