Tech job market (Austin: shop, company, place)

[AustinDude360]

I know you don't want to spend a ton of $$$ for schooling, but there is a legit tech boot camp called MakerSquare that you might want to look into. For $13K, you get some very high end training and a bunch of job interest from it. They only have a 15% acceptance rate as it is very competitive.

[scottcc]

Originally Posted by AustinDude360

I know you don't want to spend a ton of $$$ for schooling, but there is a legit tech boot camp called MakerSquare that you might want to look into. For $13K, you get some very high end training and a bunch of job interest from it. They only have a 15% acceptance rate as it is very competitive.

Thanks but i am not a coder and have absolutely zero interest in becoming one. I've spent alot of time in support/IT positions and prefer it as i prefer logical problem solving. Currently do tier 2 support for a public safety software company and would prefer this type of work.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by scottcc

Thanks but i am not a coder and have absolutely zero interest in becoming one. I've spent alot of time in support/IT positions and prefer it as i prefer logical problem solving. Currently do tier 2 support for a public safety software company and would prefer this type of work.

Most companies don't care about degrees for tech support jobs from what I've seen. However, a couple of certifications, even ones that you could probably study for and pass yourself in a week might be worth getting if you have none. I think most places just want to know that you've either had company sponsored trainings or tried to expand your knowledge on your own by obtaining some certs.

[bw7985]

It sounds like you have experience in many areas, but just an FYI, GIS jobs are difficult to find here. It took my husband nearly 10 months to find a GIS job a few years ago. His friend moved here over a year ago and still hasn't found a GIS job in Austin (luckily, his current job requires him to travel overseas so he can still live in Austin). Just a heads up!

[scottcc]

Thanks! I have already come to the conclusion getting a gis job is impossible without a degree even though i'm currently doing what is the equivalent of a gis analyst position in regard to mapping and public safety data. It just happens to be what i've specialized in for the last couple years due to the nature of the software i support.

[steviegatx]

Scottcc - I work in tech for Atlassian - https://www.atlassian.com/company/careers . I've worked for 3 different, top-notch companies in my 11 year career and Atlassian has been the best by a land-slide.

If you find a job you're interested in, feel the culture fits you, and meet the reqs, contact me at sgeorge at Atlassian dot com

[deadcoder]

Originally Posted by ImOnFiya

Here is my Austin advice for tech workers:

1. A degree doesn't matter.
2. Your resume with bolded technical skills (operating programs, programming languages) mean everything.
3. Your resume with an Austin address, even if its a PO BOX.
4. Open availability for a phone interview.
5. To maximize salary negotiations, understanding what are the standard salary rates for your technical position.

There is a growing number of people from Iowa here. They have been very nice to meet so far: full and cornfed! Please tell us how things go with your search. Good luck!

Spot on #3 is very important, that's what I felt also.

[SmartGXL]

I know that Rackspace.com does a lot of hiring, although they (and most of their positions) are based in San Antonio. I work in Tech (formerly a sysadmin, now a DBA) and Rackspace was hiring people in Austin and loading them on a bus every day and driving them to SA every morning, and back home again at night. You would show up at the bus loading point with your laptop, ride with other co workers on the bus to SA and work while you were on the bus, on your laptop. The bus had WiFi. You would then work for 5 hours in the office in SA, doing sysadmin work, although the way they work is you are a sysadmin supporting several hundred servers for various external customers, and you are on a phone queue all day long taking calls from those customers. It is a call-center position, even though it is Server Admin work. You deal with the same customers day in and day out. Then, you get back on the bus and they take you back to Austin. Most people allegedly will take this position, then wait for an opening in the Austin office, then apply for that. However, some recent reviews of working for Rackspace have not been that great; lots of turnover.

[deadcoder]

Originally Posted by SmartGXL

I know that Rackspace.com does a lot of hiring, although they (and most of their positions) are based in San Antonio. I work in Tech (formerly a sysadmin, now a DBA) and Rackspace was hiring people in Austin and loading them on a bus every day and driving them to SA every morning, and back home again at night. You would show up at the bus loading point with your laptop, ride with other co workers on the bus to SA and work while you were on the bus, on your laptop. The bus had WiFi. You would then work for 5 hours in the office in SA, doing sysadmin work, although the way they work is you are a sysadmin supporting several hundred servers for various external customers, and you are on a phone queue all day long taking calls from those customers. It is a call-center position, even though it is Server Admin work. You deal with the same customers day in and day out. Then, you get back on the bus and they take you back to Austin. Most people allegedly will take this position, then wait for an opening in the Austin office, then apply for that. However, some recent reviews of working for Rackspace have not been that great; lots of turnover.

That's right + they pay really really low !!!

[SmartGXL]

Originally Posted by deadcoder

That's right + they pay really really low !!!

Yep, the pay was low, for Sysadmin work. Since the position was based in SA, they could get away with paying lower salaries. But, it is hard to find sysadmins in SA, so they started this bus/van system to attract talent from Austin, and I think it was based somewhat on what Google does for employees in the Bay Area.

Plus - the fact that the "Racker" position is nothing more than a brutal call center job, made me want to stay away. I heard it is nothing but non-stop calls all day long. Any company that has to sell you on how "fun" the job is, usually is a brutal sweatshop.