New job search - Opportunity to move...suggestions on CO/PNW??

O

obsessis

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Jul 2, 2009
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Background - I'm 31, earned my MS in MIS (Information Assurance concentration) in May, have been working in the IT field doing help desk, then Systems Administration and Management, to now Sr. IT Manager for the division/department of the place I work. I'd like to get a job doing IT Management, resource planning, systems integration and virtualization........but I'd be open to just managing an enterprise software application for a good company.

I figure I'm at an age where I'd be a prime hire as my experience and youth would be attractive to employers. My girlfriend is graduating with her MS in May so I am starting the job search this month.

I live in Omaha and am currently focusing on the Denver-ish area. I love the mountains and know I'd be able to do a lot of things I can't do here. I have been told I'd love the Pacific Northwest - Washington, Oregon ec...... but know nothing about it......never been there.

I've noticed some of you live in the Pacific Region / Pacific Northwest. I would be open to moving out to Oregon or Washington but have never been there. I also have no clue as to how the job markets are out there or what big companies or IT-based companies are out there.

For those of you out there, can you give me any advice? Do you know of any web resources that would help me decide which city would fit me best? Also, I don't know the differences between any of the different cities up there.....just know Seattle, Portland and whatever city Nike was started in.

There's an Off Topic prefix, and I really think you guys could help me decide if I should concentrate on a certain city or area in the region that I am unfamiliar with. I'd obviously want to do the camping, i LOVE fishing, possibly hunting, hiking, outdoors type of stuff.
 
i've only visited the NW so i can really only tell you how beautiful it is, but i'm about to say the same thing for the Denver-ish area. it's beautiful there. i lived in Aurora, Co (suburb of Denver) for 10 years and around the south east of Wyoming for 7. i have never been disapointed with the lack of things to do in this area. if it's true about the hunting and fishing and outdoors stuff you said, you won't be disapointed either.
 
I live in Bothell, WA which is just north of Seattle. I moved here 5 years ago from Vegas. I was brilliant back in 2005 and could see that Vegas was heading for a major crash in the housing market. I was a VP of construction for a housing developer so the time looked right to pack up and move north. That's where my plan stopped being so brilliant. I moved up to Seattle and started developing commercial real-estate. Needless to say, the company no longer exists and I've been out of work since.

With that said. I have a few friends who are in the IT field and they're telling me that the job market is strong. One of them just got on with Microsoft. You can just go to their employment section of the website and see how many jobs are currently being offered in the IT field.
 
I am leaning towards Denver area for a couple of reasons:

1. I spent two months there over the summer 11 years ago and had a blast. I also was there for about 10 days for New Years 1999/2000. I was surprised how mild the winter was and how fast the snow melted. I went into the mountains during the summer time and it was absolutely amazing.

2. I have family on my father's side: Two aunts.....one in Aurora and the other in Ft. Collins.

Thanks for the input! Do you know of any bigger or IT companies in Denver or the surrounding area I should target?
 
MHill said:
I live in Bothell, WA which is just north of Seattle. I moved here 5 years ago from Vegas. I was brilliant back in 2005 and could see that Vegas was heading for a major crash in the housing market. I was a VP of construction for a housing developer so the time looked right to pack up and move north. That's where my plan stopped being so brilliant. I moved up to Seattle and started developing commercial real-estate. Needless to say, the company no longer exists and I've been out of work since.

With that said. I have a few friends who are in the IT field and they're telling me that the job market is strong. One of them just got on with Microsoft. You can just go to their employment section of the website and see how many jobs are currently being offered in the IT field.
Click to expand...

That is great news to hear, man. Not that your big move didn't work out, but that the IT job market is great.

I'll check out the Microsoft employment website, but could you ask your friends for any other recommendations for businesses to look at? Also, can you give me some recommendations on parts of the city to look into for apartment costs? I'd prefer to not live among crackheads and junkies, but I don't need to live in a mansion either.

Also, is there a clear delineation between the 'good' and 'bad' parts of town?
 
I don't know jack about Seattle. I know how to get in and out of the stadiums and that's about it. I would look around the "east side" of lake washington. Kirkland, Woodinville, Remond, Bothell, etc. Easy access into Microsoft and you'll be close enough to Seattle should you find work in the city.
 
I live ~half hour North of Seattle and could be at the beach, the mountains, or the city in an hour or less. Beautiful summers (for that week or two :p) and fairly mild weather year round. Couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
 
Seattle/Portland area: rain or gray skies for most of the year. Very close to mountains, Puget Sound and ocean.
Denver area: More blue sky and sunshine as compared to Seattle. Bigger mountains, less water - more brown, more snow.
Living near Seattle: I recommend getting the job first & then worry about which community to live in.
IT Jobs in Seattle: check the hospitals - get a year of experience with them then off to a startup. You have the perfect resume and should have great success.
Best of luck!
 
check the colorado state jobs list and usajobs.gov for federal jobs.
 
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