[TriLUG] North Carolina Market Prospects..

[spain at ncssm.edu]

John.. 

Not to long ago.. I was in your same situation.. .. I attended NCCU (college
here in Durham) , graduated in 1999, and moved to Long Island, NY... For 3
years.. after the towers fell, and I got laid off from a dot com making
50k.. I did some consulting for about 1.5 years.. It was a tough environment
to survive in... And when I tried to apply for other jobs.. For any given
opportunity, there were close to 4k to 5k applicants for one position... I
was looking to come back asap to good ole Research Triangle Park.. .. Well
during March of 2002 last year, I finally came back.. It took me nearly til
October to get a solid gig.. There will always be temp jobs around to get
depending on your background.. Took me aobut 1.5 months to get in with a
good temp agency.. I'll share my formula for success with temp agencies.. 

Register with them all and call them daily.. Tempagencies get a "pool" of
applicants that they rotate on the gigs that become available.. The smaller
your skillset, the more mundane and "remedial" your temp assignment..  So
the real goal is to get in the pool of certain agencies.. Once you get in,
you'll be on different opportuinities .. And see that companies are trying
to get the most for their money.. Instead of paying for a help desk person
and engineer, they will pay one person to handle both responsibilities.. And
may supplement the work load with other temp workers (whom they don't have
to pay insurance and other benefits too).  So my advice is that if you're
seriously thinking about moving back to the area, then take a honest look at
your skillset.. And see where you can improve or expand your knowledgebase..
A solid networking background while being famaliar with windows, or linux
and being comfortable with web server and other internet technologies is the
basic norm nowadays.. 

And I've worked a few 1 month or 2 week gigs just to put cash in your
pocket. If possible, best option is to get on with the state or education
(NC has a high concentration of colleges and universities with 16 state
supported major universities with many other private institutions.. )  

http://osp.its.state.nc.us/jobtitlesearchresults.asp?category=INFORMATION%20
TECHNOLOGY,%20RESEARCH,%20AND%20STATISTICAL  (here is a listing of current
opportunites available in the area.. I would keep an eye to see what the
current skillset is like )

These are sectors that will always keep a qualified staff and most people
don't necessarily look to get into.. Personally I thinik the odds are much
more favorable than other metropolis's... Charlotte has a plethora of
opportunites available.. This area, yes has too many qualified people.. 

However, there are a great deal of people specializing in certain areas..
Not a great deal of multi talented, and resourceful techies.. Let me clarify
this by saying that you'll either find dba's, novell engineers,
webdesigners, nt folks.. Etc..   That have been with a company for 6 to 15 +
years doing that one job task..  The paradigm has shifted , what peaks
interest now and is important to the employers are the applicants that have
engineer background (linux or microsoft), some web programming, and dba
experience..  Not to put preference on certain skills, but a diverse
portfolio of skills will get you in the door, it 's then up to you to prove
your worth and you will get paid more..   This strategy is useful for any
city at any given time.. You'll have to put your analytical hat on for a
second and evaluate what a particular area is going through..

 I was relieved because when I was applying for jobs here in RTP and the
average applicant pool being 400 to 500 instead of a whopping 4,000 to 5,000
applicants in NY.. Of course NY  is a much larger area, but there are still
better odds here.. Security skills like are paying the 70 to 80 k dollars
now.. Engineer jobs windows will get you in at mid 30's to high 40's..
Wan/Cisco experience will jump you in the 50's.. Linux engineer, dba's are
pulling frm 50's to 60's..  Any combination of the above skills can get you
an right to name you price.. But you may have to sacrifice to get in the
door.. Luckily, this area has a pretty low cost of living depending on where
you wish to reside.. 

But definetely if you are working.. Keep working.. Develop a plan to make
yourself stand out.. If you need any more info, let me know.. I still have
list of good recruiters who need to place good qualified people to keep
making their range rover and mortgage payments.. I've been through the
dispair of being unemployed and wanting to move back to being securely
employed and looking for the next higher paying opportunity.. 



Jamil Hassan Spain