Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Diego
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 10-05-2008, 12:09 PM
 
3 posts, read 9,612 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

Hi,

I'm moving to San Diego within the next month and I'm currently looking for a Web related job there. I'm currently working with a great interactive agency on the east coast and although I know there are more Web jobs here than in SD, I'm still taking the chance and moving.

I'm primarily a front-end developer with some back-end experience, but I'm looking to learn more RoR and Ajax (I've got some CS background). I'll have my MS in Information Systems this December and my BS is in Bioinformatics. What's the job market like for a person with 3+ years experience & an educational background like mine?

Could you give me any advice or information about any companies that would have positions for someone like me? I've already looked through Indeed, SimplyHired, Monster, etc. and it seems like they're all looking for QA testers or software engineers and much of the opportunities seem like contract positions, which I wouldn't mind at this point.

Also, could anyone tell me about any Web groups in SD? I'd like to meet more people in the San Diego area with the same interests as myself. I've checked out startupsd.net and refreshsd.org. Anyone have experience with these groups?

Much thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-05-2008, 12:22 PM
 
9,525 posts, read 30,465,926 times
Reputation: 6435
Quote:
Originally Posted by lizzzle View Post
Hi,
I'm primarily a front-end developer with some back-end experience, but I'm looking to learn more RoR and Ajax (I've got some CS background). I'll have my MS in Information Systems this December and my BS is in Bioinformatics. What's the job market like for a person with 3+ years experience & an educational background like mine?
Much thanks!
You can do well here. I would look to leverage your programming and bioinformatics skills rather than concentrating on web. Look into the biotech and pharma if you can. The pay and benefits will be excellent and you are in one of the biggest biotech clusters in the country.

If you want to stay in front end web stuff you are mostly limited to smaller web shops that are mostly mom n' pop operations with an "agency" focus. Look at Red Door Interactive and Digitaria. Startup scene in San Diego is also fairly limited since SF and LA soak up the majority of web startup money. There are some operations here with big-name VC backing... Veoh, Active.com among others.

I have been here 15 years and have been doing web dev for 10. If there is one piece of advice I can offer you it is to either adapt to the skills San Diego is looking for (i.e. Bioinformatics) or to look beyond San Diego towards Los Angeles or SF to get your career started, especially if you want to stay in the consumer-oriented web space. As an RoR / AJAX developer in San Diego you will be not only underpaid but underutilized by companies that really don't need someone with advanced skills.

Last edited by NYSD1995; 10-05-2008 at 02:11 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2008, 01:04 PM
 
3 posts, read 9,612 times
Reputation: 10
Hey, Sassberto,

Thanks for a quick response. I figured as much about SD having more jobs for Biotech, etc. I've considered jobs in biotech before, but now that I've strayed away from Bioinformatics, how difficult would it be to get back in? I've spent 2 years in grad school for Information Systems and haven't been in a biotech research lab since 2004/2005. Since finishing undergrad, the closest to working in a research environment has been positions at the FDA, NCI, and Lockheed, but in Web - scientific Web content and a mix of front- and back- end development.

I've looked into Digitaria, Digital-Telepathy, SiteLab, Geary Interactive, JHG, etc., but it doesn't seem like they're really looking for Web devs right now. What skills should I be working on if there isn't much of a need for RoR and Ajax?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2008, 01:58 PM
 
9,525 posts, read 30,465,926 times
Reputation: 6435
Quote:
Originally Posted by lizzzle View Post
I've looked into Digitaria, Digital-Telepathy, SiteLab, Geary Interactive, JHG, etc., but it doesn't seem like they're really looking for Web devs right now.
Those companies represent 99% of the "web industry" in San Diego and maybe employ a couple of hundred people combined. They are mostly focused on the marketing / branding side of things and tend to do a lot of flash and graphic design stuff. Most of their devs are entry-level and paid way under market... salary is paid in foosball and Ikea office furnishings. I started out in a shop like that and was gone after 2 years, which is typical. I would not recommend working for a place like this when you can move to LA and work for MySpace or Yahoo or another big-brand internet group.

If you want to get into Bioinformatics you should get more into the data side, number crunching, data analysis stuff. Less front-end work there. Software work - .NET, Java, etc... even PHP is much more marketable than RoR. SQL skills and database skills are incredibly important. most software development work these days is web apps so you can leverage your AJAX skills too. You really need to be close to the startup scene if you want to do RoR, and that means SF Bay area.

I can say that all my closest colleagues have moved on from SD. One is in LA and makes a ton of cash as a contractor. He mostly does PHP and front-end stuff. Another moved back to CO and is doing the startup scene there which is surprisingly strong. She is making more than she did in SD in a very low-cost town. Another moved to SF and has a successful consulting operation there. Another is back in Atlanta mostly doing Flash / Flex stuff and is doing great. Another is in Seattle working for Google, although he is not a web guy but a systems guy.

If I had it to do all over again I would have moved to SF Bay Area and would be working for Yahoo or Google or a hot startup by now.

Last edited by NYSD1995; 10-05-2008 at 02:09 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2008, 07:11 PM
 
193 posts, read 1,143,344 times
Reputation: 88
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sassberto View Post
I have been here 15 years and have been doing web dev for 10.

Hi,

I'm just curious as to what kind of web dev you do...do you use Java, .NET, ASP, PHP, etc..? What is the best way to find a job in web dev in SD? Is there any particular website that you recommend for job hunting? Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2008, 08:05 PM
 
9,525 posts, read 30,465,926 times
Reputation: 6435
Quote:
Originally Posted by chicagoresident View Post
Hi,

I'm just curious as to what kind of web dev you do...do you use Java, .NET, ASP, PHP, etc..? What is the best way to find a job in web dev in SD? Is there any particular website that you recommend for job hunting? Thanks!
I am a development team lead for a group that does web apps in ASP.NET, but I have done ASP, PHP in the past as well as a bunch of other here and there. I have done agency / consultancy stuff, a couple of startups, and now do in-house stuff for a big corporate IT group.

Best way to find a job is through your network and word-of-mouth. School is good place to start. After that, Craiglist is better than Monster and Dice, but not much better.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-06-2008, 03:01 PM
 
Location: San Diego
50,242 posts, read 46,997,454 times
Reputation: 34045
I work for a large IT outfit and we just got done hiring a slew of Java guys. After a ton of interviews it is kind of split down the middle, hotshot guys that want 120+ and just out of school types willing to work for much less. My Company is cheap but since the market is the way it is they get away with(for a short time) hiring the newbs. What they have learned is that people use my Company as a place to hone skills and move on.
Personally I'd stick on the DB side with sql as Oracle guys are in a big need out here now. Number crunching and reporting.
All of our Java stuff is intranet.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Diego
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:11 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top