Presentation highlights computer software, electronics manufacturing
SAN MARCOS — Sorrento Valley isn’t the only high-tech hot spot. Computer software and electronics manufacturing industries to the north also have built up their local economies, stressed seven business leaders who attended the first of 12 San Diego North Economic Development Council presentations Monday afternoon. The council will highlight an industry cluster each month in its mission to promote the local economy. Upcoming clusters include health care , tourism/gaming, banking/finance, manufacturing, sports and extreme sports, agriculture, military/defense, education, biotechnology, transportation and marketing/communications. “The goal we’re having now for the economy of the region is to make sure we’re diverse enough,” said Gary Knight, the council’s president and chief executive officer. “What’s nice about North County is we have a rich pool of educated employees.” But attracting and retaining hightech companies can prove challenging, he said. “We’re running out of space,” he said. “We’re looking to utilize the space we have.” Vying for much of the space are residential companies looking to build in the area , Knight said. “Why should our elected officials be promoting tourism when they should be promoting technology in the area?” asked Kevin Carroll, executive director of the San Diego chapter of AeA, formerly the American Electronics Organization. Knight said the council will stress networking, education and resource development as part of its program. Some business leaders said they moved their companies to California so they could join the high-tech hub. “To say we move here because the traffic is better or the weather is nicer is kind of ridiculous,” said David Raine, president and CEO of San Marcos-based Chatter Mobile Communications. “I think we move where our necessities make us move.” Others shared stories of how they ended up in North County. “When I first started I was in Albuquerque and that was absolutely the wrong place,” said Lars Helgeson, co-founder and director of Cooler Email, a Solana Beach-based marketing communications provider that creates the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s electronic newsletter. Knight touted North County’s availability of technological resources as a major draw for high-tech companies. “If you want to go wireless it’s available here,” he said. “Sometimes infrastructure is overplayed.” Presentations by remaining industry clusters will be held at the council’s office 100 N. Rancho Santa Fe Road, Suite 124, at 1:30 p.m. the first Monday of the month.
High-tech median wage data
Sales engineer $66,394
Electrical engineer $81,890
Computer/information scientist $80,933
Computer hardware engineer $89,565
Systems analyst $67,454
Electronic eng. technician $45,718
Assembler/fabricator $22,443
Software engineer/applications $81,037
Computer/information scientist $80,933
Systems analyst $68,349
Systems engineer $69,638
Source: California Employment Development Dept., 2004