oil, education, relocation questions (Houston, The Woodlands: apartment, to rent, buying a house)

[snoopaloopx1]

Hi,

I'm contemplating a move to Houston away from California, because of the high expenses to live in California. I am single and work in the IT field, and I live in a one bedroom apartment and my rent is 1800 a month for a place that is not that great. Even making 60 - 80K a year, it will take me forever to save up enough money for a down payment on a decent house. Regular houses are 700K and up in my area. Although I grew up here and love the weather, I just don't see myself starting a family and buying a house here.

I was thinking of going back to college using my 911 Gi-Bill and study mechanical engineering and make my way into the oil business. However, this will take me about 3 years to complete. Can anybody in the oil business tell me if I can get my foot in the door with just an engineering degree, no experience, and no network? I will also be older at age 31 or 32 when I'm done with school. How competitive is the oil industry for engineers? Do you think oil & gas industry will still be booming in 5 - 10 years?

I figure getting an engineering degree can't hurt, but it will take away my work experience as an IT professional. I am just about breaking into the mid-level experience in IT, but I feel like not having an engineering degree limits my opportunities in some ways.

My overall goals is to buy a house, start a family, and be in a promising career in technology. I currently enjoy doing IT work, but I know I can do more. I also feel stressed out trying to pay the bills in California.

Thanks for your comments.

[PedroMartinez]

At $1800 you can afford to rent a nice apartment in the hip area of town where you could really enjoy life.

For $900 you can afford to rent a nice apartment in the burbs, visit the hip area from time to time, and save $900 per month towards a house down payment.

You could also rent a so-so apartment close to the hip area and still save a few hundred per month to go towards a home. It just depends upon what more important to you.

I'd get a job before moving here, but I don't think that would be too difficult.

Housing is definitely a lot cheaper here. You probably won't be able to afford anything in town unless you marry well, but you can afford a nice house in the burbs for sure. In the burbs, $700k buys you a 6,000 sq ft home with a pool in one of the better master planned communities in the burbs. ( 1 Southgate Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77380 - HAR.com )

If you were to get a job with the petroleum company Anadarko ( Anadarko Petroleum Corporation ), you'd have about a 10 minute commute to work and all sorts of restaurants, bars and live music ( The Woodlands Waterway ).

Of course, the burbs aren't for everyone by any means.

[ToyYot]

If at all possible doing your college here would be best. You'll be doing a relevent degree in the right town, mechanical engineering is fine but why not petrolum engineering? Summer jobs and internships here in Houston will help build the network, oil companies do on campus recruitment here, doing toastmasters or something similar at the same time will be a big boost to the network.

There is a shortage of engineers in o&g so with the right degree you should be fine. Your IT experience will be a plus and life experience will set you apart from other entry level candidates, it really does show through in an interview.

[kfer]

What kind of IT exprrience do you have? Infrastructure, programming, applications?

I also left. California in 1999 and never looked back, granted I had just earned my degree in aerospace engineering. I now live in the great city of Houston and l really love it here. If you work hard and patiently grow your professional network there are plenty of opportunities.

Mechanical engineering is a good bet since you can find a job in many industries.

[Cbink]

Originally Posted by ToyYot

If at all possible doing your college here would be best. You'll be doing a relevent degree in the right town, mechanical engineering is fine but why not petrolum engineering? Summer jobs and internships here in Houston will help build the network, oil companies do on campus recruitment here, doing toastmasters or something similar at the same time will be a big boost to the network.

There is a shortage of engineers in o&g so with the right degree you should be fine. Your IT experience will be a plus and life experience will set you apart from other entry level candidates, it really does show through in an interview.

Agree with this. There's a shortage of Engineers in Houston right now in O&G. Also agree IT experience would be a plus.

[Htown2013]

I agree completely with getting an engineering degree and getting it in TX. You can also get a top-25 engineering degree where national O&G recruits. Otherwise go to the best Texas engineering school that you can. Work hard both at work and at school and you will do great. I've heard it's possible to eventually make twice your CA IT salary in TX with O&G engineering. Go for it!!

[Schumacher713]

You need to go to a good school for an engineering degree if you want to make a lot of money. By far the best degree to get is chemical. Don't do mechanical. The problem is you will never get a co-op. Don't expect Exxon to hire you. I am sure you can find some engineering job, but it won't be a top paying one. I am not sure if getting an engineering degree is the best route to go. IT can pay quite a bit down the line. The O&G sector is not going away for longer than my life time. Moving from Cali to Houston would probably be a good call because of our low cost of living.

[Cbink]

Originally Posted by Schumacher713

You need to go to a good school for an engineering degree if you want to make a lot of money. By far the best degree to get is chemical. Don't do mechanical. The problem is you will never get a co-op. Don't expect Exxon to hire you. I am sure you can find some engineering job, but it won't be a top paying one. I am not sure if getting an engineering degree is the best route to go. IT can pay quite a bit down the line. The O&G sector is not going away for longer than my life time. Moving from Cali to Houston would probably be a good call because of our low cost of living.

What do you base this on? I don't agree that an IT degree would get you more than an Engineering degree in O&G in Houston. There are plenty of ways to get good paying jobs with an Engineering degree. The going rate for an Engineer with about 6 years experience right now is about $120k.

That being said, I think programming capability and IT knowledge could be an added benefit.

[testmo]

i never saw chem guys getting paid any significantly more or less than mechanical. mechanical engineers are in full force in houston around $100k - 200k depending on years of experience, FE/PE, and masters. entry level engineer can easy find a job for 60k

whether you want to change your career path and go back to school just to be an engineer? plenty of people hate engineering. IT is not a bad field. think about what you really want to be doing 15 years from now before sending out your transcripts

[ToyYot]

Like me, plenty of engineers move into other fields, their skill sets and acquired knowledge are highly prized in many other industries.