Young Techie and Pittsburgh (Swissvale, Denver: renting, violent crime, tech jobs)

[Zoness]

Hello everyone

I am a college student born and raised in central Illinois and nearing graduation. I'm currently in the internship and first job seeking phase of my career. As someone who has grown up surrounded by video games and the like. My friends and I always had a mantra for our careers: "Go West". Yes, San Jose and Seattle appeal to me very much as those are the boom cities for my industry. I love the weather and feel of Seattle especially.

However, I am realizing that it may not be realistic to live there especially out of the gate. It's hard to just move across the country (irony not lost on the fact that I am asking about Pittsburgh which might as well be just as far away haha). The only jobs or internships (internships being great because they allow me to test the waters of a certain location) in Seattle, WA are offered by the huge companies I would like to work such as Amazon and Microsoft. However, these are extremely competitive on a national level and better connected so they can streamline their students in. Combine that with nobody wanting to help with relocation costs and I am pretty much stranded. So I've turned around and started looking at some cheaper cities in the opposite direction. Pittsburgh's big appeal to me is it's cost. I know that I might be taking a huge premature step in investing my life in a city that may not have any positive return at all for me but its worth at least investigating right?

That said, do the fine natives of Pittsburgh think it might be a good fit for me? A little background to help you answer:

--I will be renting, obviously, I'd like to live somewhere connected to the downtown but I need somewhere safe. How is the overall safety of the city? What are the best "value" neighborhoods?

--I'd prefer mass transit just because driving in a big city seems really hectic to me and although I consider myself a good driver, it looks like parking is hard to come by in the city and I'm definitely going to be hit at one point. Seems like the reality, haha.

--When I mention Pittsburgh to my IT/CompSci friends they literally vacantly stare at me like I am from another planet. Often the first thing they say is (in a derisive tone) something to the effect of: "Have fun with rust belt depression" or "Enjoy breathing the toxic air". The crime question has already been asked but how is the air quality? Many sources say it has improved but is still pretty bad. Some even call it the worst in the nation. This might be a deal breaker for me because I have terrible allergies and smog is terrible on my lungs. I guess this would all vary based on where I lived and worked but where is it bad and good? How is pollution in general?

That's kind of a lot to post at once so I will answer any questions as they are posed. Mind you, none of this will happen if nobody (companies I mean) aren't willing to at least bootstrap me into the housing market. Sure if I am employed I can budget for myself but I can't just get up and move across the country. There are some jobs linked to my school that reimburse relocation costs to places like Pittsburgh, but if that doesn't last it's not attainable. Either way, thanks in advance for anyone who has any insight on this for me. I appreciate it.

[Craziaskowboi]

There is some particulate air pollution in the Pittsburgh area, but I think that the higher in elevation you go, the less you have to worry about it. As for "Rust Belt depression," the only people in Pittsburgh who still suffer it are those who have lived under a rock for the last 10 years. Anybody who has even the slightest clue of what's been going on in Pittsburgh in recent years is bullish on the city's future. It's also worth noting that Pennsylvania has never been a major player in the automotive industry the way states to the west have, so the restructuring of the automotive industry has had little effect on Pennsylvania's economy.

[BrianTH]

There is a hardy and growing tech community in Pittsburgh, anchored by CMU and related spinoffs. Generally the Pittsburgh economy is well past its post-industrial contraction days, and now has a diverse list of growth areas including eds and meds, energy, professional services, and so forth. Because we dodged the housing bubble, we also have one of the best performing economies among large metros these days--we are still recovering from a mild recession, but not stuck in a deeper hole like many places.

One of the most appealing things about Pittsburgh is that there is a long list of safe and affordable neighborhoods in the core area. What you would want to do is find out where you would be working first, then choose a convenient set of neighborhoods to look into further (you might even end up with a walking/biking commute, if you so desire).

We've had a lot of air quality discussions. In a nutshell, if you avoid living immediately downwind of one of the major local point sources (see the Post Gazette map in another thread), and avoid living in the bottom of a valley (the whole area is a system of plateaus and valleys), your air quality basically won't be worse than average for a larger U.S. metro. That said, it could be better, and various things are in the works to improve it (most notably the EPA's new cross-state rule, because a lot of our general air pollution comes from sources in other states).

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by Zoness

--I will be renting, obviously, I'd like to live somewhere connected to the downtown but I need somewhere safe. How is the overall safety of the city? What are the best "value" neighborhoods?

--I'd prefer mass transit just because driving in a big city seems really hectic to me and although I consider myself a good driver, it looks like parking is hard to come by in the city and I'm definitely going to be hit at one point. Seems like the reality, haha.

--When I mention Pittsburgh to my IT/CompSci friends they literally vacantly stare at me like I am from another planet. Often the first thing they say is (in a derisive tone) something to the effect of: "Have fun with rust belt depression" or "Enjoy breathing the toxic air". The crime question has already been asked but how is the air quality? Many sources say it has improved but is still pretty bad. Some even call it the worst in the nation. This might be a deal breaker for me because I have terrible allergies and smog is terrible on my lungs. I guess this would all vary based on where I lived and worked but where is it bad and good? How is pollution in general?

Honestly there isn't much going on downtown at all unless you have a job there. The city itself is generally pretty safe in comparison to other American cities of similar size. Although you should keep in mind there are pockets of bad neighborhoods in ever direction (north, south, east, and west). Here is the crime report for each neighborhood in 2010 which is always an excellent starting point to find out which neighborhoods are safe.


You'll need a car here man, believe me. Our public transit here is in shambles and reliable transportation via car is the best way to go. I wouldn't have been able to travel to my first 3 jobs in the IT field if I didn't have a car!


Air quality here is iffy, there's reports out there to confirm that. You can definitely feel the difference when you travel out into rural areas, it's like night and day. Then again I've dealt with it all my life and I'm ok. I'm sure you'll be fine!


If you need tips with finding jobs in the field from a fellow techie, send me a PM and I can give you a hand.

[kjtocool]

BrianTH is right, Pittsburgh is actually quite the haven for IT. There is a diverse selection of corporations to work for, for example Google has an office here, and don't forget any mid-size company regardless of industry will have an IT department these days. Of course, you still need to decide what KIND of IT you're interested in. You've mentioned Microsoft / Amazon ... but those are just companies ... to get hired by any top tier tech company, you need to bring value and expertise around a specific field within IT.

So what interests you? What do you want to do?

I work in the tech industry, I also help with recruiting for my companies open internships, which means I deal with your peers frequently. What sets one college student apart from the other? One type of student went through college and completed their classwork admirably, and now walks into the world looking for a job. The other type of student did the same, but they also dug into their field in a tangible manner outside their classwork.

The barrier to gaining experience on your own is so small in the tech industry, which is why many of today's industry leaders were started by college students messing around, or by dropouts in their garage. You should be doing the same. If not, you can kiss the Microsoft and Google's of the world goodbye, there's way too much competition around their openings for a green college student with no tangible experience.

Long story short:
- Pittsburgh IT: Hot, Diverse
- IT in General: Get your hands dirty!

[BrianTH]

Just an aside, but at this point Downtown has a lot more going on than most residential neighborhoods in the core area. There are a few neighborhoods with even more going on, but Downtown is steadily going up the list--I might well put it in my top 5, maybe top 3.

[PittsburghLlama]

I unfortunately cannot offer much insight into the realm of IT, but as far as safety, there are very few places in the city that I would consider unsafe. I am a small girl, and I've walked around, alone, at night in nearly every section of the city without blinking an eye. Sure, I've run into some wacky people a few times, but nothing that I would consider a threat. Most violent crimes commited here are not random, and if you stay out of large drug rings you will most likely be just fine, haha.

As far as public transport goes, while a lot of routes have been cut, and there are times when the bus either is late or just does not show, it is definitely a viable, reliable option for commuting (and is much cheaper than parking). If you choose to live outside of the city limits you might have a longer commute, but I work with folks who travel pretty far by bus for the exact reason that you plan to do so.

That said, I used to work 30 miles outside of the city and I definitely drove to work daily. I now work downtown and haven't driven to work once in 5 months, and do not have any future plans to do so.

I'm sure you'll get a lot of great advice in this thread, so good luck!

[kjtocool]

City to Burbs is only viable via mass transit if you live near a T line (in my humble opinion). I suppose you could do the bus thing, but it's just not for me.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

In my opinion if you are just beginning your career and breaking into your field, having reliable transportation is very important. I just looked up on Port Authority's website how I would be able to get to Carrick to Swissvale (where my first internship was years ago) and it says "Trip not possible". Also, a lot of opportunities for tech jobs are actually in Robinson and Cranberry and taking a bus to them is often not an option.

[Katarina Witt]

While virtually every city these days has some sort of IT presence, here are the cities with the most tech jobs, and the cities with the largest number of tech workers.

U.S. Cities With the Most Tech Jobs: High-Tech, High Salaries - BusinessWeek

Boulder has third-highest concentration of tech workers - Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (http://www.metrodenver.org/news-center/metro-denver-news/boulder-has-third-highest-concentration-of-tech-workers.html - broken link)