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Healthcare is the king here. But there has to be some growing element of software professions (will probably grow all over the world). I was wondering if any of the regulars around here were in the software field or knew someone personally who was. I feel like I need to start my move on changing careers or I'm going to be left behind on the competitive national/global workforce.
It's tough to run into these people personally when you don't go to the college, and don't work in the field.
May be willing to pay for 1-on-1 tutoring if anyone was interested. I ask here because there is slightly less anonymity and likelyhood of being murdered than on Craigslist...
Of course I appreciate advice from anyone. Thank you.
Healthcare is the king here. But there has to be some growing element of software professions (will probably grow all over the world). I was wondering if any of the regulars around here were in the software field or knew someone personally who was. I feel like I need to start my move on changing careers or I'm going to be left behind on the competitive national/global workforce.
It's tough to run into these people personally when you don't go to the college, and don't work in the field.
May be willing to pay for 1-on-1 tutoring if anyone was interested. I ask here because there is slightly less anonymity and likelyhood of being murdered than on Craigslist...
Of course I appreciate advice from anyone. Thank you.
There are such jobs advertised right now 12 miles away in the Fairmont, WV area. I'm not certain about training opportunities, but surely colleges at all levels would have software courses.
Hi, I have several friends that are engineers; two close friends are software engineers. There IS a real concern with some of these jobs being outsourced. However there are some good jobs to be had in this area starting at 40-50K+. 10 yrs experience 65K+.
My closest friend is out of town for the holiday and is a senior database administrator. He may be able to point you in the right direction for the required education for jobs that may actually be in demand locally in the next decade based on his experience. Is this close to what you are looking for? If so and if I can figure out how to private message someone (have not done that here) I can inquire with him.
Last edited by motownnative; 07-02-2017 at 09:10 PM..
I'm a software engineer at Red Hat who has been working remotely out of Morgantown for the last 5 years. The largest online gathering of local tech professionals I've seen so far is the tech304 Slack group, which is associated with the Morgantown Build Guild. There is a Slack channel there to discuss local job opportunities.
I consider the Morgantown software engineering scene woefully noncompetitive along most dimensions that matter to me personally (e.g. problem domains, salary, growth prospects). There just aren't many opportunities here, especially in the private sector. I haven't seen any serious change in the market since I arrived.
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However there are some good jobs to be had in this area starting at 40-50K+. 10 yrs experience 65K+.
Some additional perspective: I'd say 65k is on the extreme low end of entry level in most cities with any significant tech presence, with 80-90k probably being closer to average for a strong candidate. Even in those larger cities with a similar or even lower cost of living as Morgantown (e.g. Raleigh, NC).
Remote opportunities are increasingly common, but probably most difficult to find for an entry level applicant.
Hope any of this was useful. I'm @dan on the tech304 Slack.
Also wanted to add that in this field, the barriers to entry have never been lower. Check out MIT's Open Courseware, Coursera, Stanford Online, Udemy, Khan Academy, etc. For a physical classroom setting, there are all sorts of focused "boot camps" out there now. A quick Google search turned up Academy Pittsburgh, which I have no experience or affiliation with.
At this point a traditional 4 year degree is probably the least efficient and most expensive way to get started unless you're trying to pursue some sort of academic or research science career.
Thank you all for the replies. Happy 4th by the way.
motownnative, I sent you a direct message. Thanks for the opportunity.
Ironclad, I was thinking strongly about doing a nanocourse at udacity. They guarantee a job at the end of the course or your money back. I would almost certainly have to move though, so I'm a little nervous about that. I totally agree with your last sentence. I can't go to school again. I prefer the online way, if I were to go through with this.
Thanks for the resources too. I'm going to join the slack group and hang around for a while and then maybe ask some questions.
There are more software career opportunities in Morgantown/Fairmont/Bridgeport than most think. Many are government contractors (at FBI, NASA, DOE, etc), but there are a growing number of private opportunities as well.
The salary numbers being thrown around here are a bit lower than reality in the area. I'd say this area is about 5-10% below the national average for tech salaries, which really isn't bad. You're not going to get DC or Silicon Valley money here, but if you're talented and motivated you can make a really good living.
Maybe you can get a job in private industry with just some training, but if you're going to work for a government contractor, they will expect a 4 year degree in Computer Science/Engineering or related, or a lot of experience.
There are more software career opportunities in Morgantown/Fairmont/Bridgeport than most think. Many are government contractors (at FBI, NASA, DOE, etc), but there are a growing number of private opportunities as well.
My explorations of Linkedin, Glassdoor, Stackoverflow, Indeed, AngelList, etc. have left me with the perception that most, not many of the jobs are government related. I will agree that the number of private opportunities has grown since I moved here, but of course the absolute numbers are important. There were very few, and now there are perhaps a few more, which is technically growth, and while the number may be significant relative to other regions in the state, the number and quality of opportunities are dwarfed by other cities including our nearest neighbors (PA, OH).
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The salary numbers being thrown around here are a bit lower than reality in the area. I'd say this area is about 5-10% below the national average for tech salaries, which really isn't bad. You're not going to get DC or Silicon Valley money here, but if you're talented and motivated you can make a really good living.
I'm curious to know on what your claims are based. Of course anecdotes are useful, but where's the data? Glassdoor and published salary bands of institutions like WVU seem to paint a different picture. I don't mean to be argumentative: I really do want to know what companies you're talking about. When considering the % below national average, it's also important to factor in the COL of the area, which IMO in Morgantown is abnormally high compared to some cities which have higher average salaries for similar positions.
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Maybe you can get a job in private industry with just some training, but if you're going to work for a government contractor, they will expect a 4 year degree in Computer Science/Engineering or related, or a lot of experience.
This is ironic considering the expectations are almost always based on the ability of contracting organizations to bill you at rates associated with certain credentials rather than being necessary reflections of skills required to perform duties. I mention this because I don't think there should be any misunderstanding here: the 4 year degree requirement for these sort of positions is generally a factor of gaming/profit motive on the part of the contracting entities, not some sort of meritocratic norm or implication that the positions require higher average skills than private sector jobs.
My explorations of Linkedin, Glassdoor, Stackoverflow, Indeed, AngelList, etc. have left me with the perception that most, not many of the jobs are government related. I will agree that the number of private opportunities has grown since I moved here, but of course the absolute numbers are important. There were very few, and now there are perhaps a few more, which is technically growth, and while the number may be significant relative to other regions in the state, the number and quality of opportunities are dwarfed by other cities including our nearest neighbors (PA, OH).
No doubt the Morgantown - Bridgeport corridor doesn't offer the same amount of opportunities as a large metro area like Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland, etc. That's not really a comparison worth making when you're talking metro areas with millions of people vs one with a couple hundred thousand. But there's certainly more tech jobs around here than anywhere else in the state, and (no data, just my feeling) it's on par with similar sized metros in other states.
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Originally Posted by ironcladlou
I'm curious to know on what your claims are based. Of course anecdotes are useful, but where's the data? Glassdoor and published salary bands of institutions like WVU seem to paint a different picture. I don't mean to be argumentative: I really do want to know what companies you're talking about. When considering the % below national average, it's also important to factor in the COL of the area, which IMO in Morgantown is abnormally high compared to some cities which have higher average salaries for similar positions.
I've worked in the tech industry around here for 10 years. All with government contractors, but I've had interviews and gotten offers from purely private sector companies too, so, at least for someone with my skillset and experience, I know what the market value is. And I have a pretty good sense of what my market value would be in the big markets too.
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Originally Posted by ironcladlou
This is ironic considering the expectations are almost always based on the ability of contracting organizations to bill you at rates associated with certain credentials rather than being necessary reflections of skills required to perform duties. I mention this because I don't think there should be any misunderstanding here: the 4 year degree requirement for these sort of positions is generally a factor of gaming/profit motive on the part of the contracting entities, not some sort of meritocratic norm or implication that the positions require higher average skills than private sector jobs.
Government contractors are given a set of rules and it's up to them to use them to their advantage. How is providing employees with the education, experience, or certifications the government values and asks for gaming the system? I don't think that's a fair characterization. Government contracting is definitely a different ball game than private sector though, I'm with you there.
There is a group associated with WVU that has landed a contract to develop software for the Mars landing robot. I don't know whether they are hiring associates or not. There is a lot of stuff done with NASA in this area on a contract basis. Same goes with the FBI identification facility located down the road in Clarksburg.
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