[Job Wanted] Best place to start entry-level IT with only an AS in IT: North County San Diego, Plano/DFW, or Yokohama? no car/license
I’m 21 and currently live in San Marcos, CA / North County San Diego. I’m trying to decide if I should stay here after graduating from community college or move somewhere better for my first IT job. I have no car or drivers license.
I’ll have an AS in IT, but likely no certs and no professional IT experience yet. I’m mainly looking for entry-level help desk, desktop support, IT support specialist, or anything similar to get my foot in the door.
I’ll have some financial support in any of the locations I listed, so I’m not too worried about salary at first. My main concern is career growth and making sure the experience I get helps me move up in IT instead of getting stuck.
My issue with staying in SoCal is that I’ve heard entry-level IT can be really competitive, especially for people with no experience. I also don’t have a car or driver’s license, so I’d have to rely on public transportation.
The places I’m considering:
San Marcos / North County San Diego — I already live here and have friends here, but I’m worried about competition and whether there are enough entry-level IT jobs nearby without a car. I’ve heard most IT jobs are closer to downtown San Diego.
Allen / Plano / Dallas area — I have friends and family in DFW, and I lived there before, so I’m familiar with the area. It seems like there may be more IT jobs since I’ve heard DFW has a strong IT market, but I’m not sure how realistic it is without a car unless I live near the bus/train.
Yokohama / Yokosuka / Tokyo area — I have Japanese citizenship, speak native English and pretty fluent Japanese, and may have a family home available there around April 2028. I’m not sure how realistic entry-level IT would be there without JLPT, certs, or experience.
My goal is to work somewhere for about 1 year, build real IT experience, and use that to move into better IT roles later. Ideally, I want to eventually get a higher-paying remote IT role.
For someone with only an AS in IT, no certs, no experience, and no car, would you recommend staying in San Marcos/North County San Diego or moving somewhere like DFW/Japan?
How would you rank these three options for getting hired and building useful first-year experience?