Question:
What is the current tech job scene line
in Arizona?
I'm in Austin and it sucks.
I'm thinking of moving to Phoenix.
Answer:
- Motorola has laid off over 5,000 workers and is closing a
foundary. Intel has laid off over 2,000 workers. Dozens of smaller
companies have gone under in the wake of the dot-com crash. All the
local governments have quit hiring because they're out of cash because
the economy crashed. In short? It sucks. There was a time I could have
had my pick of a half-dozen interesting jobs just by walking out my
front door. Today, if you get a good job, keep it -- there ain't a
whole lot happening out there.
The Phoenix and Austin tech scenes are roughly equivalent, except that
Phoenix is more biased towards semiconductor foundaries and computer
hardware while Austin is more biased towares biotech. Don't come to
Phoenix thinking it'll be easier to find a job than in Austin --
unless you're willing to work for $6.50 an hour in a call center, of
course (technical support call centers are the only thing hiring right
now, mostly because the pay sucks so bad that they have 50% turnover
every month).
-Maybe if your a programmer...other than that, forget it.
I've had several friends move away due to the market here. One friend was
out of work seven months (and that was before Sept. 11th) before he got a
job at NASA in Alabama.
He was good enough for NASA, but not good enough for Phoenix.
