Tech Industry (Dallas, Plano, Howe: headhunter, house, job market)

[MrsNetNut404]

Hi,

I am interested in getting an honest assessment of the IT industry in TX. My husband was recently laid off from his job as a Unix Systems Admin and has been looking for a new job but has not been able to even get ONE interview. We are currently living in the Silicon Valley where he grew up. I was raised in Dallas, and moved to CA ten years ago to be closer to (thank God) my now ex-boyfriend. I have family in the Dallas area that are willing to let us stay in their home while they are on vacation so we can look for jobs. However, my concern is that after a couple of months of job searching we still won't be able to find jobs and won't be able to afford our own place in TX much less move back to California and end up homeless. My family keeps telling me that the economy in TX is not as bad as here in CA, which I know is true. However, I want to make sure that we have a back up plan if things don't go as originally planned. Does this sound like a viable plan or just a stupid mistake waiting to happen?

Thanks,
The Mrs.

[BigDGeek]

Check out the job ads and start applying; do not come out here without jobs. A lot of employers here will not pay your relocation costs but you should both have jobs here before coming out here. The economy here is not bad but Texas's unemployment rate is almost 7% so it is not perfect. Best of luck!

[lh_newbie]

When unemployment is high - it's very typical for employers to not interview out-of-state candidates. They have enough in their own backyard and would rather not deal with the additional complications.

The tech industry is OK in Dallas, but in the current market, I'd hate to be looking. It is also probably more important now than ever to work your network contacts. Most folks know someone that is out of work, they're they ones getting the interviews.

Brian

[bluescreen73]

The IT industry in Dallas is better than most areas, but the area has a glut of qualified people, some have been underemployed since the telecom meltdown. Plus a vast majority of the jobs around here are Microsoft based and not UNIX/Linux related. Finding a UNIX shop is a bit more difficult, although it can be done.

[loves2read]

get someone in your family to buy you a cheap cell phone with a local number for your husband to use

get a headhunter looking for him a job
have him do resumes and list the relative's address as your home address for now
check out the Texas Workforce commission site and check Dice.com--pretty active job site for IT people
these are TX jobs posted using just UNIX admin search term
http://seeker.dice.com/jobsearch/ser...RMT=0&caller=3

be willing to buy a last minute plane ticket for an interview if one comes up or try for a web cam interview if you have decent internet speed and decent home office/professional looking space to use ...

frankly viable job search if you are fairly flexible would mean going where you can GET a job--not to specific area and looking for one there...
if you have job YOU can't leave, if there is a house to sell, other reasons to stay in one area over another--then just any job/any place might not work...
but if BOTH of you can pull up sticks then go for the best job option--

[lh_newbie]

One other item about IT jobs in DFW. A large portion of them are corporate IT jobs. By that I mean non-technology companies in which IT is a support function. There are less IT companies here than in Silicon Valley, so the focus on IT is very different (business support cost center -vs- it being the business).

[yjc281]

Check your mailbox. I just sent a link for a company looking for a senior UNIX admin in Plano, TX. They do not pay relocation. Plano is in north Dallas and is an excellent location for raising kids. I do not work for them so I can't give you a referral. I look at job listings once in a while just to see how the job market looks like...

Good luck.

[yjc281]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Plus a vast majority of the jobs around here are Microsoft based.

Really? That's interesting to know...I have 7 years of experience on the MS platforms but have been working on the UNIX(non-Linux) platforms almost exclusively in the past 5 years. It would be nice to know that my old skills still have some use.. My impression is that MS-based jobs are more abundant but pay less on average... UNIX-based jobs are fewer but pay a bit more..in general. Not sure if I am right or wrong.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by yjc281

Really? That's interesting to know...I have 7 years of experience on the MS platforms but have been working on the UNIX(non-Linux) platforms almost exclusively in the past 5 years. It would be nice to know that my old skills still have some use.. My impression is that MS-based jobs are more abundant but pay less on average... UNIX-based jobs are fewer but pay a bit more..in general. Not sure if I am right or wrong.

Yes and no. The UNIX jobs would be more specialized and tend to have a higher going rate, but that comes with a cost of its own. I spent 3 years in a UNIX shop, got laid off and had to spend a year doing phone tech support for half my old salary until I could teach myself something more mainstream.

Your MS skills are more relevant if you have .NET experience - be it C# or VB.Net. You can still find the occasional VBA/VBx job but the push is toward .NET development.

[lh_newbie]

As I said earlier, there are more corporate IT jobs in DFW. Unfortunately, Corporate America thinks MS is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Sniff sniff... the poor fools... LOL!

MS jobs are certainly more plentiful and generally, UNIX jobs are higher paying because people don't usually start with UNIX - it's sort of a skills upgrade if you will. I really wish corporate america would wake up and learn what the word "stability" meant (not MS). I have to say I am totally happy that I deal with network gear and the only server admin work I do is on Linux and FreeBSD. Nice and stable.

I personally think the biggest challenge you're having is probably related to you being out of state.