OT - Jobs in the South and Southeast

[MacroGuru]

Alright,

I am doing an all call for help.

I am wanting to get out of this repressed extremely conservative state with shitty beer. We love the South, Southeast region of the U.S. and are looking for jobs down there. However, my only true contact right now is through Monster, Flipdog, Hotjobs and such.

My only true job contact in Memphis (Which is where I would prefer to move to, or close to there) is my father. Needless to say, I am not able to hire on at his company (Harrahs Entertainment Group) due to the fact he is in charge of the one area of the company I have the abilities to work in, Computer Operations.

My sister isn't much help as she is in the Medical field, and really knows nothing for the Tech Industry.

Basically I am looking for websites or contacts for Job hunting in those regions. I have over 7 years IT industry experience, with the bulk of it being Project Manager, Biz Dev and Biz Analyst roles.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Easy Mac]

well obviously, move to the southeast.

There's no conservative, repressive states down here.

[Ben E Lou]

well obviously, move to the southeast.

There's no conservative, repressive states down here.;)

Seriously, if that is what you're looking to get away from, shoot for Atlanta, Charlotte, or the Research Triangle area in North Carolina.

[MacroGuru]

LOL....

They may be conservative, but nothing like Utah...trust me.

[Alf]

well obviously, move to the southeast.

There's no conservative, repressive states down here.Are you talking about Florida here ? :rolleyes:

[Easy Mac]

LOL....

They may be conservative, but nothing like Utah...trust me. don't knock it until you live here.

edit: and as someone who has lived in either Georgia, South Carolina and Mississippi for all but 6 months of his life, I know of what I speak. (And my parents justy moved to Alabama last year, so I think I have a monopoly on residing in all the most backward ass states on the map).

[MacroGuru]

don't knock it until you live here.
I spent 2 and a half years in Memphis, loved it.

Dad wasn't able to handle me in High School, so he sent me back with my mother.

[albionmoonlight]

If you want a Southern locale that is neither conservative, nor repressive and has great beer, look no farther than New Orleans.

Of course, the economy sucks and the odds of you finding a good job are slim, but if you do manage to find one, move there in a heartbeat and don't look back.

I cannot help you with specific contacts because I am not in the field, but cities in the region that are IT hotspots are Northern Va., RTP / Raleigh-Durham area, Birmingham (more biomedical boom there, but worth checking out for IT jobs as well), and Atlanta.

[MacroGuru]

I would say California but the Cost Of Living there sucks ass....and scares the hell out of me.

Edit: No Dola

[gstelmack]

There are a ton of out of work IT people here in the Research Triangle. If you are just trying for general IT, good luck. Do you have any more specific experience? You could try this one: http://www.redstorm.com/employment/#data_man

[Arles]

Dennis,

Send me a PM, I have a pretty big network of IT resources for Arizona, but many are throughout the US and in the south as well. If you want to come out to Arizona, I can definately help you find something. But, even if you are looking for a different region, I can talk to a few contacts I have in Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia as well.

[MacroGuru]

There are a ton of out of work IT people here in the Research Triangle. If you are just trying for general IT, good luck. Do you have any more specific experience? You could try this one: http://www.redstorm.com/employment/#data_man
Thank you for the link....it helps.

[clintl]

If you're looking for a more liberal state with good beer, and California's out, the Northwest is worth a look. There are some pretty nice places to live in Oregon and Washington. And there are some great microbreweries and brewpubs.

[Blackadar]

There's a ton of IT in Raleigh, NC, but it's depressed right now.

You could send a resume to me since my company (Bellwether Software - www.bellwethercorp.com - is growing. I don't know if we have any openings, but I'm more than happy to send it around.

I've lived in: NC, SC, TN, FL and know pretty well most of the other areas (AL, MS, GA, etc.). So feel free to ask advice on any given area.

Stay away from: MS, LA (including New Orleans - blech!) and the Panhandle of FL. Just not enough jobs. I'd also stay clear from the lower half of AL (pretty much everything but Birmingam and Huntsville) and GA. Yes, Atlanta is a huge city, but I wouldn't want to live there. Also, unless it's Greenville or Charleston, stay way away from SC.

NC is fairly depressed right now. I'd probably try southern VA - Richmond, Chesapeake, etc. Or NE FL - Jacksonville, in particular is nice. Orlando is a little depressed but is still OK. Southern FL isn't the SE - it's Havana with an American accent or a retirement home.

[MacroGuru]

If you're looking for a more liberal state with good beer, and California's out, the Northwest is worth a look. There are some pretty nice places to live in Oregon and Washington. And there are some great microbreweries and brewpubs.
Basically I am game anywhere, as long as it isn't Utah. I love my Mountains here, cause I am roughly 30 minutes from Golfing, Rocking Climbing, Fishing, Camping and Skiing.

I am 45 minutes away from the bulk of all the ski resorts come winter time.

It's just I have had my fill of this state.

[Peregrine]

If you're looking at Memphis, obviously you'd want to send your resume to Fedex, seems like they would be a good shot since Memphis doesn't have that many big employers. Blackie, I didn't realize you lived in the same area as Gstelmack and I. Yeah, it's a bit depressed here. Doubly so for me since I'm fairly sure my job will be outsourced to India in the next year or less.

[MacroGuru]

If you're looking at Memphis, obviously you'd want to send your resume to Fedex, seems like they would be a good shot since Memphis doesn't have that many big employers. Blackie, I didn't realize you lived in the same area as Gstelmack and I. Yeah, it's a bit depressed here. Doubly so for me since I'm fairly sure my job will be outsourced to India in the next year or less.
Resume is there, and I think It is probably my best chance in Memphis, as I actually assited in the development of their training system at one point in time (Back in 2000). My part was to assist them with Macromedia Authorware, and helping them tie it back into their old legacy system for recording the employees testing information, as well as dynamically serving the Authorware Training Application the data from their legacy system.

The guy I worked with is in management and is trying to pull some strings to get me on there, but I was told that he couldn't gurantee me anything.

I have the same sort of set up with Disney in Orlando, and Delta in Atlanta.

[GrantDawg]

I'd highly recommend Huntsville. Great tech area and a nice place to live.

[Desnudo]

If you want a Southern locale that is neither conservative, nor repressive and has great beer, look no farther than New Orleans.

Of course, the economy sucks and the odds of you finding a good job are slim, but if you do manage to find one, move there in a heartbeat and don't look back.

Hah! I remember desperately trying to find a job in tech down there a few years after I graduated college. Nothing going unless you knew hotels/restaurants or oil.

[Blackadar]

Peregrine, Gel:

I just moved to Charlotte two weeks ago.
:)

[Buccaneer]

Basically I am game anywhere, as long as it isn't Utah. I love my Mountains here, cause I am roughly 30 minutes from Golfing, Rocking Climbing, Fishing, Camping and Skiing.

I am 45 minutes away from the bulk of all the ski resorts come winter time.

It's just I have had my fill of this state.
Ahem, you are then missing the obvious and it wouldn't be a big move.

[scc27]

I live between Greensboro and Winston Salem and have a awesome job as a Senior SAP Systems Analyst. I work for semiconductor business and in the last 2 years we have hired a total of about 400 US employees, not many companies can say that. I can wear whatever I want to work, work from home, etc..

[Coffee Warlord]

As I furiously comb this post for leads for myself. :)