HN Explorer

Ask HN: What's the job market like in Alaska?

1 points by xzatious ↗ HN
Thinking of making a drastic switch and moving to Seward, Alaska. A lot of puzzle pieces are falling into place making it seem possible. Just wondering about the IT market there. I'm specifically a BI and database developer in the Microsoft stack, not sure if that's the right place to take those skills. Maybe have to try and get something in Anchorage or do something remote? What do you think? Should stick around Florida and work on medicare software or pack up the wagons head to the north?

4 comments

[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 17.3 ms ] thread
jeffmould
Had a friend who lived in Anchorage, and while he enjoyed the living there, he said outside of tech support/help desk type positions, developer positions were difficult to come by. Most was outsourced or handled by internal groups within the lower 48. Not sure how Anchorage compares to Seward though. One thing you should be prepared for is the salary difference. You may be able to find something in government or education though. Just curious why Alaska? You may also want to go visit for a few weeks to get a feel for the land/job market prior to making the move. My friend did say it was a drastic move and did require substantial time to get used to. Things that can be easy in the lower 48 (shopping, mail, gas, banking...) can be challenging at times.
xzatious
thanks, that's kind of what I was thinking in terms of life being generally harder. We spent about 3 weeks there a few years ago traveling from Seward, Talkeetna, Yukon, and Haines. The tech sector definitely seems to be located in the cities which may be unfortunate for me, but we'll see how it plays out. The forces of life are pulling me that way so I won't resist it.
jeffmould
When I was in high school about 25 years ago we took a trip to Anchorage. I would love to go back and I think it is incredible up there, can definitely respect the pulling and not being able to resist. I think the hardest part isn't the job, but overcoming the difference in living conditions. You can always find something remote and make it work, it's just a question of being comfortable. The other thing you may want to check though is the internet connectivity in some of the smaller cities. May find a use for some of those old AOL dialup CDs :)

Good luck.

[deleted]
(comment deleted)