How is the IT Market in Houston, TX? (West: appointed, home)

[deveng83]

Hi,

I'm an experienced software engineer who wants to move to Houston, TX from Seattle, WA next year. I've been doing some research but haven't found much information about the IT Market there. Is it strong? Are there many well paid Jobs for an experienced engineer?

What about diversity? I've heard Texas is very conservative. I'm a white hispanic but never been in Texas before, except for the airport .

[theone33]

Lol troll but Ill bite. Someone from Seattle of all places has no business asking about Houston diversity. Not sure what conservative has to do with anything. That doesnt equal mean, backwards racists like so many West Coasters seem to think.

[ilikeme]

Houston is extremely diverse. We have one of the largest Asian and Hispanic populations in the US.

[deveng83]

@theone33: my apologies, didn't mean to offend anyone with my question. I've heard things and I haven't been there. As for the diversity, you are right, Washington is mostly white but people here is usually open, hence my question.

[mkwensky]

Originally Posted by deveng83

Hi,

I'm an experienced software engineer who wants to move to Houston, TX from Seattle, WA next year. I've been doing some research but haven't found much information about the IT Market there. Is it strong? Are there many well paid Jobs for an experienced engineer?

What about diversity? I've heard Texas is very conservative. I'm a white hispanic but never been in Texas before, except for the airport .

That depends on what kind of software job you want to find. There are no Microsofts here. Most development jobs are in corporate IT departments. If you're fine with those kinds of jobs then you should be able to find something. It also depends on the language you use. I've heard that Houston's IT job market is strong in .Net but relatively weak in Java and Ruby. Development jobs are well paying like in the rest of the country.

Hispanics made up the largest demographic group in Houston. I don't know if that meets your criteria for "diversity".

[deveng83]

Originally Posted by mkwensky

That depends on what kind of software job you want to find. There are no Microsofts here. Most development jobs are in corporate IT departments. If you're fine with those kinds of jobs then you should be able to find something. It also depends on the language you use. I've heard that Houston's IT job market is strong in .Net but relatively weak in Java and Ruby. Development jobs are well paying like in the rest of the country.

Hispanics made up the largest demographic group in Houston. I don't know if that meets your criteria for "diversity".

Thank you this is useful. It's good to know, I have a lot of experience in .NET.

[jenfarm_]

What makes you want to move to Houston, TX if you've never been here? Just a curious question.

I moved here from Oregon about 2.5 years ago (born in Seattle, where a lot of my family still is). (Met husband in Oregon. He's originally from here. He moved me here.) I absolutely love it. I'm white, so maybe I lack input on the diversity opinion, but I have found people to be very friendly here in general, regardless of race. Houston is such a melting pot from people all over. Aside from my husband's family and people I work with, only one of the friends I've met is born and raised here in Houston. Everyone else is from somewhere else. I wouldn't say Houston is typical Texas... maybe that's just me.

I don't have anything to say on the software front. It's not my area.

[shanv3]

Originally Posted by deveng83

Hi,

I'm an experienced software engineer who wants to move to Houston, TX from Seattle, WA next year. I've been doing some research but haven't found much information about the IT Market there. Is it strong? Are there many well paid Jobs for an experienced engineer?

What about diversity? I've heard Texas is very conservative. I'm a white hispanic but never been in Texas before, except for the airport .

Houston has the largest number of LCA s filed after NYC, assuming most of them are for IT jobs.

You ll feel at home here, since Hispanics make about 30% ~ of Houston population. And its a booming city with a lot of foreign IT workers from various countries.

But beware if you expect WA like scenery here you ll be disappointed. You ll mostly see buildings and businesses almost everywhere.
I thought Starbucks and Microsoft were the only employers there LOL.

[jenfarm_]

Originally Posted by shanv3

But beware if you expect WA like scenery here you ll be disappointed. You ll mostly see buildings and businesses almost everywhere.

True story. Brown, concrete, blegh. The hill country is a short drive away though and so pretty (in a different way than the green back west). We get over there for weekend getaways and have a great time.

My mom came to visit for a week and couldn't wait to get back to the fresh air and green trees. Lol. I loved growing up in the beautiful green of the Pacific Northwest but was ready for a change. My family is still there, so I can always go back and visit. That's good enough for me. Haha.

[OscarLevant]

Originally Posted by jenfarm_

I wouldn't say Houston is typical Texas... maybe that's just me.

You are right, it is not. As for the IT market, you just need to be persistent and you should be able to find something. I just want to know why the heck Houston ? ( especially coming from Seattle) You should be aware that Houston is no longer the 'cheap' place it used to be, and it getting quite expensive.

You might want to come for a visit in August before you make any decision about moving. It is hot and swampy here, along with alot more bugs than the upper left coast. ( FYI I am a native Texan who worked in PDX for 10yrs )