IT and Dogs (Tampa: sale, headhunter, school district)

[FloridaKash]

I spent a week in TN on vacation. We cooked most of our own food so I had to buy groceries. Food is significantly cheaper in TN. It's not outrageous here, in Tampa, but it is significantly more. TN is pretty darn cheap. You may want to look at a cost of loving

Get a hold of a head hunter. They'll find you a contracting gig, most likely. Good way to get you foot int he door at a company and get to know locals in the industry. Contract positions pay much better than permanent gigs... in most cases.. not always.

The IT Market is pretty good here.. IMO. There are many positions available... but also a lot of competition. My inbox is always flooded with recruiters contacting me about positions available (I really need to take my resume down from job boards).

I was unemployed for 4 months, from Feb - June. It sucked... I had lots of interviews but pretty sure I was frequently beat out by people that had certifications. Sounds like your education and experience will provide you with no problem on finding something.... especially if you have experience in the Financial or Healthcare industry.

[jstnthrgal]

I had heard $300 so I was prepared for it to be expensive. Insurance I need to check on. I don't think I can afford it to triple for sure. Thanks.

[floridagirl777]

Dunedin (near where you were when you visited Honeymoon Island) and Safety Harbor are both VERY dog-friendly communities. As far as the IT job market … someone else will have to help you with that as I have NO CLUE what that is like down here.

I absolutely ADORE boxers. My family has had plenty of dogs over the years, and boxers are definitely our favorites.

[jstnthrgal]

Just checked and based on the address I gave, of course it won't necessarily be our address so it could change, but with that address and our daughter staying here and moving with us would actually decrease my insurance by a third of what it is now. The more I hear the more I wish I was already there.

[Success3]

Originally Posted by FloridaKash

I was unemployed for 4 months, from Feb - June. It sucked... I had lots of interviews but pretty sure I was frequently beat out by people that had certifications. Sounds like your education and experience will provide you with no problem on finding something.... especially if you have experience in the Financial or Healthcare industry.

You don't have any certifications? You must have good experience if you were still getting interviews...

[FloridaKash]

Originally Posted by Success3

You don't have any certifications? You must have good experience if you were still getting interviews...

Yes, I did have good experience.... but I need to start getting certified so if it happens to me again I'll be better prepared.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by HWTechGuy

I work in IT and out of curiosity looked at the job market here and found the salaries are very low, at least to me. I had the great opportunity to relocate here from Pennsylvania for a job promotion with the company I was already working for. Otherwise, I would have never done it. I'm glad my job security is practically ironclad, because I'd hate to have to find something in the market down here.

The best advice I have is to just check the usual job sites and apply for what seems interesting and see how it goes. Maybe he'll get lucky and find something right up his alley and with a salary that works for your family. Best of luck.

What they said....

IT here pays easily 60-70% of what it pays farther north, such as your current area and the NE and Midwest.

I'm in IT as is my spouse, and both of came from outside the area, so we know this from direct experience.

There aren't a lot of higher level IT jobs here, so getting their "doctrine" (I suspect you meant "doctorate") won't be of a lot of value, unless they are looking at teaching at the university level. Very little high tech or research type firms here that it would have value.

Depending on the area of IT they are in will determine what is available. The market is getting better compared to where it was several years ago, but its far from booming, for sure. No matter what, expect to be disappointed when it comes to salaries.

And no, unless you're coming from the northeast, the cost of living isn't lower here. Don't fall for that lie - it's been around for years and hasn't been true for decades.

RM

[MiBriGuy]

Before moving to FL, I often heard/read the same thing regarding IT salaries. "You get paid in sunshine in Florida" was the common mantra. However (and I just replied something similar on another post), we moved from Indianapolis last year and my wife's and my salary both went up. She's an RN and I'm a manager in IT. Perhaps we were fortunate or had a specific skill set in demand but we're both pretty pleased with our decision to move to the area.

[MiBriGuy]

And I forgot about the dogs! I have two spoiled pooches and they love going to all of the parks and Fort DeSoto. The St. Pete area is amazingly dog friendly. A lot of the businesses downtown keep water bowls out since everybody brings their dog along. My favorite dog spots are Crescent Lake, Fort DeSoto and North Shore.

[Spring Hillian]

Nope. Per Kwh rates are about the same as TX.

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

housing, utilities, and food are pretty high in FL, are they not?