Is it difficult to find a job in Austin? (Houston: lawyer, dorms) - Texas (TX) - City-Data Forum

Susyq25 · 07-31-2006, 10:27 PM

My husband and I are planning to move to east Texas next summer, but are still deciding between Houston, Dallas and Austin.

After countless hours researching online I'm beginning to lean towards Austin, but i'm worried about the job market.

Is it true that Austin has the highest number of people holding degrees that are working minimum wage paying jobs?

I read somewhere that this is a big disadvantage to living there. What are the locals' comments about his?

I'm in nursing and i know there's a demand in this field, but my husband is new to the IT field (no degree in the field just certificates) and we're concerned he won't be able to find a job.

thanks

210 · 08-01-2006, 10:15 AM

I don't want to be an SA booster (I apologize if I am) but San Antonio is where you'd wanna be if those are the two fields your looking into.

San Antonio has a nursing shortage and is therefore offering more pay.

San Antonio is also seeing an IT boom of jobs.

SA based Rackspace is hiring 700 new "rackers" with high paying jobs.

The NSA is building their largest office outside of Washington DC in San Antonio and is currently looking for 1,500 employees (I'm sure many of thse positions have been filled since they began looking) with a very high starting pay.

San Antonio's Westplex is also becoming a data center hub. With a recent addition of a Lowe's data center.

Also, Microsoft is eyeing the Westplex for a 1 billion dollar data center as well.

Also, the housing cost in San Antonio is the cheapest in Texas and cheapest of any metro area in the USA.

RSTX · 08-01-2006, 01:10 PM

I agree with 210. I would rather live in SA than Austin. Of course I like Temple even better than SA, but that is another thread.

Austin has a problem due to tu, er, UT (university of TX).

Lots of the graduates don't want to move away, and they tend to saturate the market in some fields. That could be where your "rumor" came from. It is probably somewhat true.

I would take a hard look at San Antonio. If you want a large city with a strong history and Mexican influence (read great food and family oriented) it will fit your needs. East TX does have pretty pine trees though.

Susyq25 · 08-01-2006, 10:05 PM

I'm originally from El Paso and lived in San Antonio for a year while attending St. Mary's University but I don't remember much of the city since I lived in the dorms & didn't have a car.

We hadn't really considered SA but will definetly give it a second look.

Susyq25 · 08-01-2006, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RSTX

Austin has a problem due to tu, er, UT (university of TX).

Lots of the graduates don't want to move away, and they tend to saturate the market in some fields. That could be where your "rumor" came from. It is probably somewhat true.

Do you know what the big majors are at UT? or what degrees the people that stick around have?

neddy · 08-02-2006, 05:38 AM

I also live in San Antonio and hubby is working on Computer Science degree at UTSA. I do know that lots of people in the computer market have said that alot of people are now considering UT Computer Science on the same level as MIT and some of those well known schools for C.S. .Since we also keep abreast of the job market since dh (darling husband) gets a degree next Man, I can tell ya SA right now looks better the Austin. Everything 210 posted about plus we have heard of a few others amd alsp talk of expansion by the NSA to another 5000 people and IT guys over the next couple of years. We have friends that work in IT at banks around here and make very good salaries evern though only a few years out of college. Another friends hubby is a DOD civilian contractor in IT and he said alot of people are playing the jon jumping game and it hard for him to keep people and they are jumping to higher paying jobs here in town. Dh also student interns at Southwest Research and right now he is in the IT dept and they talk about this issue all the time about not enough puter people in SA. Actually my friend who hubby is DOD she is a nurse at a wound care center and right now I think something like 4 new hospitals are going up around town and I know she gets paid really well and writes her own hours. Yall might want to really give SA a look. Sorry Austinites for hijacking this post. I have lots of family up there but don't think I could live there (knock on wood!)

GL

RSTX · 08-02-2006, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Susyq25

Do you know what the big majors are at UT? or what degrees the people that stick around have?

The computer related fields are strong there. It is more or less a liberal arts university. Not much for agriculture, veterinary medicine, etc. Austin is the state capital, so law is also big there.

Spookmeister · 08-02-2006, 02:55 PM

Depends on field of expertise and experience. There's a glut of liberal arts grads in Austin and very, very ,very experienced IT folks too. The first lot is by choice, the second by circumstance, in my opinion, read dot-bomb. You can be sure that the second lot will be eyeing the growth in SA for opportunities, and if they can get away with telecommuting, they'll do that. I can see quite a few of them even opting to commute to SA even with gas @ $3/gal. How, do I know? Because I'll be one of them shortly. I like SA, but not enough to willingly give up my spot here!

Susyq25 · 08-02-2006, 10:09 PM

Is having a degree in the field a must or is experience more significant?

i've heard that in IT experience weighs more than a degree.

My husband doesn't have a degree in the field, only working on certificates & hoping to build up his experience.

some people have told him that he's wasting his time & money doing that.

thanks to all of you

Spookmeister · 08-03-2006, 11:07 AM

Both are equally important for different reasons. Certs are a good way to get a foot in the door but at some point the degree will get him further. I see plenty of multi-certified people that have little experience to back up the certs which make me suspect their level of expertise is nothing more than book learning. We are at a point where everything is termed 'mission critical' and no one is going to entrust the work to someone who knows HOW to do it but has never done it before. Kind of like you wouldn't get a transplant from someone straight out of med school or be on death row and your lawyer is just out of law school, no matter how fine an institution. Certs> experience> degree... is the way to go...