Do I live in an area with too few jobs?

I’ve been searching for a web developer job for the past 3 months and I have sent around 70+ applications and only gotten 2 interviews: 1 phone screen and 1 in-person. I struggle to find more than 10 jobs per week to apply to (that I meet >=50% of qualifications).

Is this a sign that I might need to relocate to an area with more tech jobs? How many jobs do you normally apply to per week and how qualified are you for these jobs? And is it even an advantage to be in a large tech hub? I frequently see stories of developers struggling to find jobs even in major tech hubs, because while they find far more jobs to apply to, they also face far more competition, and the numbers advantage seems to be nullified.

TL:DR; How do I know if I live in an area with too few tech jobs and need to relocate?

Agreed—if you’re in the greater NY area, there’s absolutely no way there are too few tech jobs.

Don’t be only blindly applying to jobs online—it’s the least effective way of landing a job. Get out and network and meet people in-person, whether recruiters, HR reps, or other developers. Your chances of landing a job will likely go up then. Attend as many meetups and other events as you can. There are a lot listed here: https://www.builtinnyc.com/events

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Thank you for the feedback. This is a stupid question, but what counts as the “Greater NY area”? I get very contradictory and inconsistent answers from google. I live around 70-90 minutes drive from NYC. Is this part of the Greater NY Area?

That’s super vague, 70-90 minutes in which direction? That could put you almost anywhere. It’s understandable if you don’t want to specify your location but it wouldn’t hurt to specify your city (or nearest major city) and state.

Regardless, if you’d be comfortable commuting to NYC from your current location that’s where you should be applying to jobs; otherwise target another metro area that’s closer to you, or consider moving. Personally, if I were in your shoes, I’d be applying to jobs in NYC and moving close to NYC upon landing a job. Obviously living in NYC is super expensive, that’s why a lot of people live in either NJ or on LI in Brooklyn or Queens. :wink:

I would say yes. If you’re out on Long Island, you’re probably going to need to go into Queens or Brooklyn; if you’re north of the city in either Connecticut or up along the Hudson, you may be able to find something closer to home. And if you’re in NJ, you’ll probably want to be looking toward East Jersey or Manhattan for positions. There’s also the option of remote work, but I think you should be able to find something not terribly far from you. My guess is you will need to drive or take the train, though.

Don’t lose hope , my friend . I think you just meet the demand of market yet . Hope all best thing for you .