Ethelred_the_Unready

I'll give a shot, thanks. I've been mostly using Careerbuilder, Monster, Indeed and Craigslist. What pisses me off is the amount of recruiters who post jobs that don't exist just to lure you into their offices. As you're in my neck of the woods, I don't know about you, but I've had generally bad experiences with recruitment agencies here. Most are full of BS, others are like used car salesmen. I would rather avoid them altogether.

I live on the North Shore & commute to Bedford anyway. It's not a nice commute, but it wouldn't be so bad if I had a job that was at least tolerable. Besides, we are looking into moving somewhere west or north of Boston anyway as it seems to be better served by road & rail. Framingham is about as far west as I'd go though, perhaps Lowell to the north.

Bob

Don't use monster/CB as a service, but actually pop into their HQ offices, in Maynard, near the Google offices, for work at those actual companies....

Commuting around Framingham is shit, but you can avoid all that in Maynard, down Rt 117 or Rt 2...it's only really murder if you're heading in from the Framingham/Sudbury side of things, along Rt 20 that you'll want to shoot yourself.

Oh and the commuter rail is shit out west, that area is getting on for zone 6, so about $225 a month, till they knock it up 40% as they're expecting, followed by another 30% next year, either that or they cut weekend service and a bunch of others.

cluedweasel

As someone asked me in an interview, "Isn't that the fake place in those Inspector Morse shows?"

My own experience was two-fold. I actually have a degree but not in the field I work in and that's almost as bad as none at all. I'm in I.T. too, but my degree is in theoretical physics. As if a 25 year old computer science degree would have any relevance today anyway.

Back in the UK I hadn't had to apply for a job for years, people came to me. In the US, no-one could care less. My degree was in the wrong field, it was from a funny foreign place anyway and my experience was irrelevant because it wasn't from the US.

In the space of a year, I went from a 120,000 UKP executive IT position to selling cars. It was the only job I could get.

What made the big difference for me was getting some IT certifications. Back in the UK I never bothered because people knew me and I didn't have to prove any technical knowledge. I went to a "boot camp" for 2 weeks to get the MCSE certification. Best $5000 I've ever spent, because it allowed me to get past the HR people with their "must have an MCSE" requirement.

The jobs I was able to apply for and actually get an interview were at a lower level than I'd worked at previously but it was a way in. I eventually got a network engineer position with a small consultancy business. Now 8 years later, I'm being head-hunted for CIO positions.

I was at a conference in Las Vegas last month. One of the biggest topics was the lack of people coming into the field and how hard it is to recruit the right people (this is IT in health care). I made the argument that the right people are out there, just not necessarily working in the specific field. That didn't go down well. All they wanted was a supply of ready-educated and experienced people to parachute into position. The US just doesn't have the mentality of getting bright, talented people and training them on the job.

Another strategy may be to look at smaller towns and smaller businesses. Out here in central Oregon, only around 25% of people have any college education. Only 70% graduated high school. Employers have to lower their qualifications expectations or get no one. Of course, the knock-on is that wages are lower, but at least it can be a way in.

That's enough of my ramblings. If there's anyone here in IT who is finding hard to get a job over here, feel free to send me a private message. I'd be happy to share my experiences if you think it may help.

Ethelred_the_Unready

I forget what zone we're in here, but my wife pays around $154 a month for her monthly pass for the commuter rail. MBTA are talking about major cutbacks and/or significant fare increased. The cutbacks will be a disaster IMO. So many people depend on the T & commuter rail, especially those of us who can't afford the extortionate cost of housing in Boston's urban limits.

I have to find a job anyway. I'll try your suggestions. If all else fails, I may have to look much further afield, or to a state where not having a piece of paper isn't the end of the world. Time is running out though.