Does Austin and Houston have good IT job market? (Post: schools, vs)

[Surfertx]

I'm curious what is the market like for the IT engineering field specifically in data networking and telecom. It doesn't have to be specifically IT companies like Dell or Microsoft but any company that need IT services and infrastructure.

Thx!

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Austin definitely does. They're both growing, and Austin is literally known for data networking, so not much places outside of the West Coast where you'll find a place to beat Austin. You mention they don't have to be IT companies but can be services, so absolutely both are very competitive job markets. Pretty much any growing city these days will have a growing IT services job market because every company these days needs IT in some way.

[Surfertx]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

Austin definitely does. They're both growing, and Austin is literally known for data networking, so not much places outside of the West Coast where you'll find a place to beat Austin. You mention they don't have to be IT companies but can be services, so absolutely both are very competitive job markets. Pretty much any growing city these days will have a growing IT services job market because every company these days needs IT in some way.

Thank you for the information. This really helps!

[citidata18]

Houston has an *OK* IT job market too, but you're mostly going to be pigeonholed into supporting Oil/Gas and (to a far lesser extent) Biotech companies.

Austin is much more well rounded in terms of the type of IT work available.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Houston has an *OK* IT job market too, but you're mostly going to be pigeonholed into supporting Oil/Gas and (to a far lesser extent) Biotech companies.

Austin is much more well rounded in terms of the type of IT work available.

IT jobs are not pigeionholded to O&G and biotech. For one, biotech isn't the #2 industry demanding IT employees. It's the fastest growing industry, but it hasn't taken on logistics, manufacturing and medical. These days, even hospitality is heavily hiring IT. And you can't really beat Austin, but there's plenty of tech specific campuses going around. As a matter of a fact the highest valued public company in Houston is a 5g infrastructure company. If you're searching for IT jobs, you'll find a lot less O&G job offers than of those that are O&G. This pie you're depicting is heavily over stated.

But yes, you can't really beat Austin for IT . Although some would argue, as OP mentions, that since all companies seek IT employees, it's better to go to cities where the IT market isn't so specific to IT companies. The demand for workers becomes heavier. Pretty much the same picture as Accountants in New York vs accountants in Texas. New York is specific to the top dogs in accounting, but all companies need accountants so you can go anywhere so you can set up wherever.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

As a matter of a fact the highest valued public company in Houston is a 5g infrastructure company.

But that's just one company, and market cap doesn't mean a whole lot for someone who's seeking employment if they only hire a few thousand people (max) across the country. Tesla has a higher market cap than Exxon Mobil. But the average person would have much better odds landing a job at the latter company.

Also, of Houston's Fortune 500 companies, only 6 of them are *NOT* O&G.

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

IT jobs are not pigeionholded to O&G and biotech. For one, biotech isn't the #2 industry demanding IT employees.

Don't be pedantic.

Even the Greater Houston partnership admits a IT worker is twice as likely to work for an Energy Company or a Hospital than Austin (even thoughthe size of their tech industries are similar). In fact, Houston's the worst amongst all of the top 46 metros in terms of percentage of workers in non-tech firms.

https://www.houston.org/news/houston...mong-us-metros

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by citidata18

But that's just one company, and market cap doesn't mean a whole lot for someone who's seeking employment if they only hire a few thousand people (max) across the country. Tesla has a higher market cap than Exxon Mobil. But the average person would have much better odds landing a job at the latter company.

But who's growing.. Tesla or ExxonMobil? You're arguing jobs that already exist. OP is asking about searching for jobs. Your theory that the job market is going to reflect the CURRENT job distribution of a metro can't be furthest from the truth. As a matter of a fact, in a POST covid world, the job market has never looked as different from the job distribution pie. Especially in out life time

Originally Posted by citidata18

Also, of Houston's Fortune 500 companies, only 6 of them are *NOT* O&G.

But the ones actively becoming Fortune 500 companies whether by growth or relo aren't, so this speaks more on who's hiring than who's already hired.

Originally Posted by citidata18

Don't be pedantic.

Even the Greater Houston partnership admits a IT worker is twice as likely to work for an Energy Company or a Hospital than Austin (even thoughthe size of their tech industries are similar). In fact, Houston's the worst amongst all of the top 46 metros in terms of percentage of workers in non-tech firms.

https://www.houston.org/news/houston...mong-us-metros

You don't say? Tech workers in Austin are more likely to be in tech than Houston? Who would've thought? Did I say "Accountants in New York" term to mean accountants more likely to work for an accounting firm... Or film editors are more likely to work for the film industry if in LA. Should keeep the obvious going?

You're disregarding the fact that both I mentioned this AND the OP stated they don't care to be in IT specifically. So whats your point? You're arguing things that have nothing to do with what OP is asking about.

[DanielWayne]

Sheer # of IT jobs = Houston due to Fortune 500 companies, oil/gas/energy, medical center, aerospace all requiring IT depts. Houston is just bigger.

Percentage of IT jobs where the company product is something technology related = Austin

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by ParaguaneroSwag

So whats your point?

For whatever reason, you just like to argue and be obtuse over technicalities.

The OP asked a question about the IT job market in Houston, and I answered it.

I'm moving on.

[ParaguaneroSwag]

Originally Posted by citidata18

For whatever reason, you just like to argue and be obtuse over technicalities.

The OP asked a question about the IT job market in Houston, and I answered it.

I'm moving on.

And I pointed out where you were wrong in your answer. Pointing out the flaws in your argument isn't the same as saying everything you stated is wrong. You can't speak on being "obtuse and argumentative" after your response. My main criticism was confusing current job distribution to their fields with job market. That and describing the IT job market in Houston as a one horse bull.

You were right about Austin having more tech specific IT jobs at least by percentage. Guess what, it's Austin. This is news to no one. While this report is outdated being from 2018, and both the world and Houston specifically have had news headlines that severely impact this, let's look at the figures anyway. Figures show Austin to have 65% of jobs catering to tech specific careers. This doesn't make Austin have a more variable IT job market. It does the opposite. Less fields to be able to work in. Less banks, finance firms, schools, hospitals, logistic centers, marketing firms, etc etc etc. Austin's IT field is definitely the diverse one.

Other than the claiming IT being a one faced bull stuck in O&G in Houston, everything else you said was right. But you're applying it wrong. Had OP stated they want to stick to technology companies, then it would be an obvious choice to Austin, but the sentence saying and quoted "It doesn't have to be specifically IT companies like Dell or Microsoft but any company that need IT services and infrastructure.", that's kind of a hint that it isn't the case here. At the end of the day, Austin is going is by far going to have more tech related IT jobs and Houston is going to have a much wider array of IT options for new hires.