MD members... looking for info.

[phantasm]

Well my wife will finish her M.S. in Molecular Biology in August and I graduate with my B.S. in July. We're looking at moving to Maryland, she's hoping to find work in her field up there so I've started looking as well.

How is the IT field up there? I'll have my B.S. and am Cisco certified with a about 3yrs experience (10 total working with PC's and LAN's). About 2 of those have been on the carrier side of the house (ISP NOC work). I've been looking for federal jobs since I got off of AD in 2002 but have never found one so I'm skeptical.

Any intel on the IT field in MD would be great, if you happen to know anything on the Molecular Biology field in Maryland as well it would be appreciated. Her area of specialization is Infectious Diseases if it matters.

I've been looking on USA Jobs as well, most listings are GS-11 or GS-12. I'm not that lucky.. lol.

Neither my wife nor I have had or currently have a security clearance. I am prior service with 3yrs AD in the Navy and 2yrs in the ARNG.

 

[UKDslayer]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

I'll throw out a few suggestions for the wife, but the are IMHO and not actual experience. Actually, it does matter that her specialty is infectious diseases - gives her a couple more routes to explore; 1) Hospital microbiologist 2) Lab microbiologist for companies like Quest, LabCorp, LabOne etc., 2) Research at a major teaching hospital - there are some good med schools in Maryland (for safety reasons I would probably stay away from Hopkins), NIH in Bethesda, and depending where you are in MD might even think about Virginia hospital & schools; the pay for academic research is terrible and the stress of grants can be overbearing 3) R&D at a big pharma company (hard to get a position, they usually prefer PhD's strongly). If she is very pretty, sometimes the Pharm. companies prefer drug reps. w/masters degree in the sciences. The latter pays very well if you can get a position, but the competition has gotten extreme lately because the big pharma. companies are buying out all the smaller ones. Recommend preparing one resume for hospitals, one for lab. companies like Quest, one for research in academia/drug companies, and just get out as many resumes as possible. Her strength would probably be to used her thesis topic, and do a PubMed or Medline search other recent papers along the same general lines as her thesis with author locations in the Maryland area. She should be able to get a job, the pay not be where you'd want it to be though. The benefit of working for academic center is if she has an inclination to go for her PhD she could earn some free tuition credits.

 

[SLINKY ERT]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

As for State, County, and Local government jobs, MD is not a place for a job right now. The State is making more and more cuts/ furloughs each month. Private companies are making cuts due to the crap economy. Bad joo joo all around. Alot of places are cutting from the bottom up (last hired/ first fired sort of thing), and there are alot of folks on unemployment right now.

One of my good friends was able to make a switch to work for Lockheed before his previous job was terminated.

Also, look for where you would want to move to within the state. Pretty much, if it touches DC or Baltimore, steer clear!

 

[BugSniper]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

Maryland IT is hopping. Va IT is hopping higher, and we have better taxes, and far and away better gun laws. There is a lot in Va you can commute to from Md, even if you don't find anything in Va proper.

NoVa is called Little Silicon Valley with good reason. You will find work. Employers will pay for your clearance, no worries.

 

[phantasm]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

Thanks for the replies. We're not opposed to VA... but I gotta ask. Does it snow in VA? I need snow damn it. lol.

 

[BugSniper]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: phantasm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for the replies. We're not opposed to VA... but I gotta ask. Does it snow in VA? I need snow damn it. lol. </div></div>

Which year?

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1620637&page=2


We get snow every year, but it's usually just a dusting. Most years we get at least one @4-6", no less than most of Md. Sometimes Va gets the brunt, sometimes Md gets an extra inch. It feels like most the tornados develop on the Md side, but that's not exactly a frequent event.

 

[phantasm]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BugSniper</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: phantasm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks for the replies. We're not opposed to VA... but I gotta ask. Does it snow in VA? I need snow damn it. lol. </div></div>

Which year?

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1620637&page=2


We get snow every year, but it's usually just a dusting. Most years we get at least one @4-6", no less than most of Md. Sometimes Va gets the brunt, sometimes Md gets an extra inch. It feels like most the tornados develop on the Md side, but that's not exactly a frequent event. </div></div>

Ahhh ok. I'm from Maine so my definition of snow is different. If there aren't 10ft snow banks from November to March then it doesn't snow. lol.

Either way we're looking ad either DE, MD, or VA at this point. Unless the Mrs. decides she wants to go back to PA. If it were my choice it'd be NH, ME or MT. But the economy sucks in those states for my field and is damn near non existent for her field.

 

[BugSniper]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: phantasm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Ahhh ok. I'm from Maine so my definition of snow is different. If there aren't 10ft snow banks from November to March then it doesn't snow. lol.
</div></div>

Well at least being in Florida we have the same definition of humidity. Coming from SoCal, that was the crappiest thing for me, and still is.

I would seriously recommend Va, not just because I live here. It beats Md in every way but housing, and even then if you want a safer neighborhood in Md, you will pay (including taxes, maybe more). In Md they wish they could have high-cap mags while in NoVa we have groups dedicated toward conditioning people to already legal open carry and working to extend it. We're a shall issue state. Politically, it's purple, with most of the red located in NoVa and Tucker's house. Our governors have to rotate out, which is good IMO. There are tons of deer, and if you live in certain counties you can hunt on your land if it is 2+acres and partof a 10acre A1 zone.

In a perfect world, with an awesome economy, I would go more rural than I am, maybe to WVa, because I love the landscape/solitude there. The stability of the IT job market in NoVa has kept me rooted. Where I am now though I commute less than 1hr to work and live in a gated community dropped in the middle of farmland (which is detestable by my aesthetics, but I like the area surrounding it and my kid will have lots of friends). I have an ER, Fire Station, daycare, school, and groceries within 5 min. In fact, FWIW, my town got approved for being the host of the next regional Hospital, so there will be a whole hospital of jobs coming to it. I picked up a house that went for 590K @ 330k last Dec. making me the lowest rent guy on a street peppered with homes upward of 1M. There's plenty more houses toward the city, of course, and when I was renting houses I never commuted beyond 20min, and also had 2 hospitals in that distance plus another two within 45min.

If you want to know speicifically good or bad areas, let me know via pm. Traffic here is a mess and what looks great on paper, or at noon with a realtor, might be a different story when you move in, and commutes in some areas vary by 30% just depending on whether school is in or out. Simply because of traffic patterns, I moved 20 miles further away from work, but it only costs me 10 minutes. Doing so segregated me from one of the 3 main tech corridors, but my current spot is stable enough and my location still provides many fallbacks. Living more "country" was well worth the extra drive and gas for me. Plus I almost have no business owning as nice a house as I do because the premium placed on immediacy to DC makes my town a bargain. I do know people in Md too so I can tell about neighborhoods and commutes from that side too.

 

[BugSniper]

Re: MD members... looking for info.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: phantasm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've been looking on USA Jobs as well, most listings are GS-11 or GS-12. I'm not that lucky.. lol.
</div></div>

FYI, most of the jobs are not direct gov't, even though lots are on-site. However, with 10yrs experience, you're probably gonna have a hard time finding jobs less than GS-12 in both Md and Va. Everyone I know with that many miles on them is more in the G14-G15 range. The real money if you do networking is, I believe, to try and get a local type duty and find a way to transfer to the Pentagon. I know someone that was working on a base got something like a 30% bump moving there. Being ex .mil gets your foot in the door for direct gov't placement, but I think there's probably still a lot of "who you know."

 

[phantasm]

Re: MD members... looking for info.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BugSniper</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: phantasm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've been looking on USA Jobs as well, most listings are GS-11 or GS-12. I'm not that lucky.. lol.
</div></div>

FYI, most of the jobs are not direct gov't, even though lots are on-site. However, with 10yrs experience, you're probably gonna have a hard time finding jobs less than GS-12 in both Md and Va. Everyone I know with that many miles on them is more in the G14-G15 range. The real money if you do networking is, I believe, to try and get a local type duty and find a way to transfer to the Pentagon. I know someone that was working on a base got something like a 30% bump moving there. Being ex .mil gets your foot in the door for direct gov't placement, but I think there's probably still a lot of "who you know." </div></div>

The who you know factor is what gets me. I know no one in the government so trying to stand out among applicants is hard. Either way we'll see where we go. I'll send you a PM as well. I have some specific questions if you don't mind.

 

[Oddball Six]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BugSniper</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Maryland IT is hopping. Va IT is hopping higher, and we have better taxes, and far and away better gun laws. There is a lot in Va you can commute to from Md, even if you don't find anything in Va proper.

NoVa is called Little Silicon Valley with good reason. You will find work. Employers will pay for your clearance, no worries. </div></div>

+1

I left Maryland for a reason. I am not moving back for a reason.

Federal jobs and federal contracting opportunites are pretty strong. Stay certified. Make sure you have your degree. And if you want a job for life, get and keep a security clearance.

 

[phantasm]

Re: MD members... IT job status?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Oddball-Six</div><div class="ubbcode-body">+1

I left Maryland for a reason. I am not moving back for a reason.

Federal jobs and federal contracting opportunities are pretty strong. Stay certified. Make sure you have your degree. And if you want a job for life, get and keep a security clearance. </div></div>

I've never held a clearance. However I interviewed for a contract position with DHS in FL that required a Secret clearance. However when the time came there was no open slots remaining and the clearance was never activated.