Is Houston right for me? (23 yr old male accounting industry)

[jek74]

Originally Posted by coconutbutter

I'd like to know where the social life was in Kingwood. Like seriously. I lived there for a couple of years, and there was virtually nothing. It was great if you had a family - lots of other families in the area, kids to play with, and stuff to do with your kids. But people in their early 20s? Didn't really see many of them.

My then-boyfriend at the time and I would try to make friends with the neighbors, have dinners, and do stuff in the area, but there wasn't even a fraction of the activities offered (farmer's markets, local butchery classes, "family" dinners, all the fun bike rides, live music from local/visiting musicians, festivals focused on beers, margaritas, music, culture, etc.). I have nothing against the suburbs, and I definitely see the benefits to living in one and why people want to live there. And yes, I do know that some suburbs have some neat events going on, too. Duh.

But I don't believe you for a minute that the social life in the Heights/Montrose/Upper Kirby/Midtown/Museum District is like that in Kingwood. At. all.

Yeah, your social life depends on you because YOU end up behind the wheel lol.

Funny, I didn't mention Kingwood. I said Sugarland. And yes, Sugarland does have a decent amount of bars and nightlife. The Woodlands does as well. Even Clear Lake has some nightlife. Look, I don't know if you are trying to be dense or what but read the OP comments again and get back to me. He is not serving a 30 year prison sentence. The kid needs to get his life in order. He is 23, with little to no education and he is going to be working around the clock (if he's lucky). His number one goal right now is not making friends at the nearest farmers market. I've been there. I know what he is going through. The kid needs to bust his ass for a couple of years and THEN he can have your lovely social life. He has a window of about 2 to 3 years where if he does NOT make the RIGHT choices, he will be screwed for life. Going to festivals is not part of that plan.

You know it's funny. I keep hearing on the news how tough it is out there for recent graduates. You know, maybe the problem is the graduates. First get your life in order, then worry about the pleasure. BTW, maybe you missed the part about the guy being homeless in Detroit. Perhaps you should read his post again.

[LeavingDetroit]

I do not agree with the naysayers here. I admire what OP is trying to do to obtain his education and a profession. I have worked at several of the major accounting firms including in Detroit & now Houston. They will not accept a graduate from he less traditional schools. It might be okay to take online classes once you are already working in order to qualify for the CPA exam, but to get the job first you have to have it from a school with a well-respected accounting program. In Michigan there are several, MSU, U of M Dearborn, and Walsh College come to mind. I would compare costs of the schools. If you move to Houston and want to continue with your studies right away, will you be treated as a nonresident and pay the higher fees? I suspect so. Therefore, keep the Michigan schools in mind.

I also don't believe it is should be that hard to get a bookkeeper job to support him while continuing his education. Every business needs junior level of accountants and bookkeepers. In some ways, it might be a blessing to get a less stressful job rather than a job with a big firm, so that you can pursue your end-goal of the bachelors and eventually the CPA, I assume.

Good luck and stay positive!

[bloodwings19]

Originally Posted by jek74

As to employers not even looking at UH students? LOL. Whatever. Every major energy company in Houston recruits here and almost every energy company in Houston has someone from upper level that went here. It's a good alumni network. Not to mention they have one of the best energy programs in the nation right along with Tulane. Anyway, I digress...

3 of my cousins went to UH to become accountants, all 3 have been working for 10+ years as accountants in known companies (like Halliburton, Anadarko) in around Houston. Acct. is one of the jobs that will always be in need. If your from UH, you may want to go to Insperity (formerly Administaff) which was founded by a group from UH. And I know someone who went graduated from Baylor 4 years ago, he went from working at Office Depot to a supermarket store. Granted the Baylor guy (my guess is that he) went to school for reasons of pleasing the family than use it as a place for upward mobility. If you have a fantastic interview, you recruiter will not say no.

[coconutbutter]

Originally Posted by jek74

Funny, I didn't mention Kingwood. I said Sugarland. And yes, Sugarland does have a decent amount of bars and nightlife. The Woodlands does as well. Even Clear Lake has some nightlife. Look, I don't know if you are trying to be dense or what but read the OP comments again and get back to me. He is not serving a 30 year prison sentence. The kid needs to get his life in order. He is 23, with little to no education and he is going to be working around the clock (if he's lucky). His number one goal right now is not making friends at the nearest farmers market. I've been there. I know what he is going through. The kid needs to bust his ass for a couple of years and THEN he can have your lovely social life. He has a window of about 2 to 3 years where if he does NOT make the RIGHT choices, he will be screwed for life. Going to festivals is not part of that plan.

You know it's funny. I keep hearing on the news how tough it is out there for recent graduates. You know, maybe the problem is the graduates. First get your life in order, then worry about the pleasure. BTW, maybe you missed the part about the guy being homeless in Detroit. Perhaps you should read his post again.

I can read, thanks. Kingwood is the suburbs, so I was wondering how this all fit in since you said location had nothing to do with it. You're totally missing my entire point about everything I'm saying, but it's kind of expected.

[Rip808]

Ditch your online aspirations. No one is going to give a rats a.. if that is the "way of the future". Go to a brick and mortor school, if you are coming to Houston go to UH main campus. All accounting firms (Big 4, mid-market, small) and Industry (oil and gas, etc.) recruit at UH. I recruit for a fortune 500 and when we receive resumes with "online" (Univ of Phoenix, Devry, for profit colleges), they are simply thrown out. If you do not go to one of our "target" schools (big state/private schools, ex: UT, A&M, UH, Tech, Baylor, etc.), they will also be thrown out. Be wise, I understand you want to be "fiscally prudent" and not take out loans but if you major in accounting and maintain a decent GPA (3.2+) you should have multiple job offers and should be able to pay off your loans in no time. Good luck man.

[crono_clone]

I admire your hard work and dedication, and it seems like you’re already all set to move and have everything planned out. I think you’ll do well here no matter where you end up, and it sounds like the weather will be perfect for you.

Like others have said though, reconsider your schooling options if you get here. You seem like a tough person, so tough it out a little bit longer, get a service job that’s flexible (specialty supermarkets like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s tend to pay well, more than $10 per hour usually) and go to school part time if you have to. Bauer College of Business at University of Houston is a great school and will get you in the door at plenty of places, and they also have plenty of night classes if you snag a day job so don't feel like it's an either-or situation. 80% of UH graduates stay in the Houston area and the university alone makes a billion-dollar impact on the metropolitan area’s economy.

Just whatever you do, don’t move to Dallas.

[MerceydesGal]

I appreciate the wealth of info on this thread, especially concerning universities in Texas. I'm considering graduate business education in Houston and Dallas, among other cities.

Originally Posted by crono_clone

I admire your hard work and dedication, and it seems like you’re already all set to move and have everything planned out. I think you’ll do well here no matter where you end up, and it sounds like the weather will be perfect for you.

Like others have said though, reconsider your schooling options if you get here. You seem like a tough person, so tough it out a little bit longer, get a service job that’s flexible (specialty supermarkets like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s tend to pay well, more than $10 per hour usually) and go to school part time if you have to. Bauer College of Business at University of Houston is a great school and will get you in the door at plenty of places, and they also have plenty of night classes if you snag a day job so don't feel like it's an either-or situation. 80% of UH graduates stay in the Houston area and the university alone makes a billion-dollar impact on the metropolitan area’s economy.

Just whatever you do, don’t move to Dallas.

Care to explain why he shouldn't move to Dallas?

FYI, Jindal School of Magt of UT Dallas rates higher than Bauer COB of UH, on paper. And they both seem tough to get into. Good to know that Bauer opens doors. But I'm curious, is it just within Texas?


And how does the Jesse H. Jones of Rice Uni compare?

Thx

[crono_clone]

Originally Posted by MerceydesGal

I appreciate the wealth of info on this thread, especially concerning universities in Texas. I'm considering graduate business education in Houston and Dallas, among other cities.




Care to explain why he shouldn't move to Dallas?

FYI, Jindal School of Magt of UT Dallas rates higher than Bauer COB of UH, on paper. And they both seem tough to get into. Good to know that Bauer opens doors. But I'm curious, is it just within Texas?


And how does the Jesse H. Jones of Rice Uni compare?

Thx

We’re rivals so I’m obligated to say it

Since the OP is specifically targeting Houston (as well as a business degree) and money is an issue (Rice is a Top 30 business school but is a private university, and the costs reflect that) then UH would best serve him overall.

UTD has a better ranking than UH, but otherwise I’m unsure of how well it performs since we all know that UT and A&M are the ones that get national recognition outside of Texas. Hopefully someone else in here (or in the Dallas forum) can answer that for you. But yes, UH opens doors mostly within Texas. We’re still working on a Tier 1 designation, so it’ll be a while before we’re nationally recognized like the other flagship universities.

[Mustang1]

Plenty of accounting positions in Houston for someone with your background.

[Lone Star Rooster]

Before you do anything else, I echo others' recommendation...come on down and spend a long weekend (3-5 days) in Houston during the summer. Check out the good (nightlife, great restaurants, etc.) along with the not so good (heat/humidity, traffic).

As someone who has worked in a "Big 4" accounting firm for almost 10 years, I would also recommend getting the hours you need to sit for the CPA exam from UH or someplace similar. Maybe an employer can help you in this regard, but it will be well worth the investment of time and money in the long run, believe me.