South Florida lags on tech talent, Square co-founder McKelvey tells ITPalooza

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South Florida lags on tech talent, Square co-founder McKelvey tells ITPalooza
MsDzkFHrhRtHNOrcOrbvYTcpYBmwZKMKny1_7x-_qFcpLNSFdJ_LGQm0Tq8poqDFvEjURck1dWwK7ToEUfuTW4sTCJBvGfrIk3R0=s0-d-e1-ft

South Florida’s tech sector is not growing talent as quickly as it should, according to billionaire entrepreneur Jim McKelvey. The co-founder of mobile payment company Square was addressing more than 2,000 technology professionals gathered Thursday at ITPalooza at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward Convention Center. He said free education from his nonprofit LaunchCode is more valuable than a technology degree from a university. (Sun Sentinel)
 
That same summary applies to all of Florida, not just South Florida. The tech scene here is a joke. So far I've been in Florida for 20 years and I can count on one hand the number of friends I've had over the years that have been in some area of new technology. It seems like the whole state is divided into two sectors. You either have a service job like in hotels, restaurants or tourist destinations, or you work in some area of real estate. That's pretty much it.
 
Baron said:
That same summary applies to all of Florida, not just South Florida. The tech scene here is a joke. So far I've been in Florida for 20 years and I can count on one hand the number of friends I've had over the years that have been in some area of new technology. It seems like the whole state is divided into two sectors. You either have a service job like in hotels, restaurants or tourist destinations, or you work in some area of real estate. That's pretty much it.
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I thought the same thing.
This link is a tad bit stale...but Robinhood has been in the news lately and whatever they are doing with self clearing... they are doing in FL. I was shocked too lol. For the same reasons.
Apparently there is some tech brainpower in Lake Mary, Florida.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/10/rob...learing-system-as-customer-growth-surges.html
 
Baron said:
That same summary applies to all of Florida, not just South Florida. The tech scene here is a joke. So far I've been in Florida for 20 years and I can count on one hand the number of friends I've had over the years that have been in some area of new technology. It seems like the whole state is divided into two sectors. You either have a service job like in hotels, restaurants or tourist destinations, or you work in some area of real estate. That's pretty much it.
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Healthcare is the big industry outside of tourism, with a little banking in Miami and Orlando.
 
Florida is not great but it is not horrible for tech talent. The Tampa area has a small start up scene and some biotech/pharma companies (Bristol Myers Squib and Amgen) just recently opened technology centers in Tampa. Also, Polytechnic University close to Orlando is now online and my previous employer was hiring students from there after they completed an internship. I have numerous friends that left the area for silicon valley but I also know a good number of people who could have went out west but stayed put. I also have a friend who went out West and came back as he tired of paying $3000 per month for a tiny studio apartment.
 
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