Moving to Montana
 

Anybody know of any IT jobs in the Great Falls - Helena area. My specialty is application development I hold a MCSD .NET certification.

You might go down to the High Plains Drifters group toward the bottom of the main menu page. Post your question there - there are a few guys from that area.

I can't help with the GF/Helena area. I'm in Kalispell, half a world away - at least on the other side of the divide. Oh, did anybody mention to figure on a 20% pay cut from anyplace else in the USA. That's what we pay to live here. :)

Good luck with your move.
Tim

And that 20% looks cheap when you have visited areas like Kalispell. We are looking at land up there this summer after vacationing in Whitefish for years. It is my ultimate goal to have a house there when I retire.

IT Jobs are always being advertised here in Mt.... all over the place. YOu shouldn't have a huge problem finding work. I know there's several jobs that have been advertised in the Kalispell area.

Now... for all this free and helpful advice... you are now required to join the Drifters! :-X22 OK ... upon arrival in the state, then.

DMAX-HD,

I recently moved away from Helena, Montana. I'm an IT guy (software development in Oracle, PeopleSoft, and mainframe). There are usually jobs in Helena, mostly related to State Government. I worked directly for the state (low pay, but good benefits and low stress). The last few years I worked for a couple different contract outfits. The pay was pretty good, but the stability wasn't. I found myself unemployed a couple times and decided to leave MT for more stability.

Anyway, a couple of the bigger contract outfits in Helena are Northrup Gruman, Bearing Pointe, Wesco, Taliant, and a couple others I can't recall. I also know that Boeing has some contract work at Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls.

My last contract was at the Montana Dept of Transportation. I really liked it there and was trying to get back into a state position... but things just didn't work out.

Feel free to drop me an email if you want any more details. I still have a few contacts there and might be able to get you some more details.

I really, really miss living there. I'm heading back up there in a couple weeks to get the rest of my stuff from storage... I'll probably shed a tear or two on my way out of the state. My wife hated it and is very happy to back in civilization as she puts it!

Good luck...

Rob

you have the airbase there too. I lived there for 2 years. Now in W Montana....BIG difference. Have fun

Hi guys,
Thank you sincerely for the replies. I am still looking for local employment but in the in-term my current employer has decided they need to keep me on as a remote employee – so besides some trips to Minneapolis and central WI it looks like I’ll take the remote deal. Luckily I have the kind of job you can do that.
I did notice quite few State development jobs in Helena but that’s about 75 miles away from GF – will keep that as a last resort. Met with DA Davidson they weren’t hiring but brought me in cause they liked my experience and resume and basically said next time we are hiring I’d be a serious possibility. Not really concerned to much about benefits besides retirement as my wife will be working at the Great Falls Clinic. I do contract stuff on the side but I’m finding out that GF is not the IT hub of the United States. Now we just have to find a place. We’re looking at a house in the Gannon Ranch area and Homestake area – any opinions?

they do have a few computers in great falls- and two or three people that might know what they are. No...not an IT hub. How about the pay cuts eh? It costs to live here.

RE: 'it costs to live here'
Tell me about it! it appears that most houses are about $75,000 - $100,000 more then what you'd expect....

Luckily the company I work for agreed to keep my salary the same...

Any updates? I know this is an old thread but...

My bride works for Lockheed Martin on a contract at the base (manning their network). Figure between $15-26 an hour depending on position but decent benefits too. Of course it's a lot cheaper to live here than Kalispel.

keep an eye on USAjobs.com and you can call the base contractors office and civilian employment office.

My folks are selling their house in the $150-160,000 range. It's avery nice house in town. My place is going on the market probably in another couple of months when I am done remodeling...probably $145,000.

Check St. Pet's hospital in Helena and Centene claims processing in Great falls. I'm in Medical Equipment Sales and hear of a few things from time to time. Also, check with George Ferda at Advanced IT in Great Falls.