What Its Like Living in College Station (Houston, Dallas: apartment, crime)

[brit3218]

Hello I'm a 20 year old college junior and I'm thinking of going to Texas A&M to get my Masters in Human Resource Management after I graduate. I was wondering if college station is a nice place to live for a little while. I want to work in Human Resource Mangement and Texas A&M is the only good school I've seen that offers this concentration and is pretty well known and less expensive. What is it like living in College Station? What is there to do for fun? How is the Weather since I'm not a fan of cold weather? Does Texas A&M offer graduate housing or would I be ok getting my own apartment since I'm fresh out of college? Is there alot of crime in College Station? Is there alot of racism since I am a African American female? Should I go to Texas A&M full time or part time? Just any advice you could give me would be great!!

[love roses]

My neighbor graduated from A&M a few years ago. She loved the College and says there's enough around to do to keep you from getting bored out of your mind. The only thing I know about it is that it seems like a nice, large town. I only went to visit my uncle, so can't tell you much more than that.

[ChristieP]

Speaking as an HR professional, I'd recommend NOT going straight for your Master's degree after graduation. You need to work for a few years and get some experience in HR before going for your Master's. This is one of the most difficult fields to break into, and being "overeducated" with a Master's and no actual work experience will make your chances of getting a good job WORSE. Also, if you go ahead and get a job, you can find an employer who will pay (or help) for your Master's!

[brit3218]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Speaking as an HR professional, I'd recommend NOT going straight for your Master's degree after graduation. You need to work for a few years and get some experience in HR before going for your Master's. This is one of the most difficult fields to break into, and being "overeducated" with a Master's and no actual work experience will make your chances of getting a good job WORSE. Also, if you go ahead and get a job, you can find an employer who will pay (or help) for your Master's!

Thanks so much for the advice!! I really wanted to get my education out of the way so I wouldn't have to go back to school! But I guess I really need some work experience before getting my masters. I'm currently trying to decide where I want to live after I graduate and I was wondering if you had any suggestions as to where would be a good place for a young graduate to find a good job in Human Resource Management with a nice salary. I'm also not sure what industry I would want to work in. I love helping others! Any advice you could give me that would help me in my career and education would be great!

[ChristieP]

No problem! I was in your situation a long time ago! ;-)

Honestly, any major city in Texas will have good opportunities for you. The bigger the city, the more HR jobs there will be. It's a lot easier to find a job and then move when you are in this situation. If you haven't found the right job by graduation, and you can afford to move somewhere, go to any of the big 5 cities: Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.

Interview with your college's career services office as your graduation date nears. That is one of the BEST ways to find a good position for a new grad. If you are willing to work really hard, look at the retail chains' HR positions. Also, look at large companies becuse they will have larger HR departments that can do a mentoring/training program for a newbie. I would not advise going to work for a small business, or being a solo practitioner, right out of college. You need to learn the ropes and see how things are actually done in the "real world."

I don't want to burst your bubble, but you may not get a huge salary right away. Look at what you have to offer: a bachelor's degree and no experience. Many seasoned HR professionals with a lot of experience are looking for work right now. This field gives higher-paying positions to people with more experience.

All of the big cities in Texas have graduate schools where you can work on the Master's later. You'll find that most HR professionals work full-time and finish a Master's part-time. (That's how I did it, and my classes were full of others doing the same!)

GOOD LUCK!!!

[yonpeej]

Originally Posted by ChristieP

Speaking as an HR professional, I'd recommend NOT going straight for your Master's degree after graduation. You need to work for a few years and get some experience in HR before going for your Master's. This is one of the most difficult fields to break into, and being "overeducated" with a Master's and no actual work experience will make your chances of getting a good job WORSE. Also, if you go ahead and get a job, you can find an employer who will pay (or help) for your Master's!

brit - i'll have to somewhat disagree with ChristieP's advice.

I think it's totally up to you to decide when to get your masters. The MSHRM program at Texas A&M is excellent and many of the students are straight out of college or have 1-2 years experience working (HR or related)...but majority are straight out of undergrad. When I was a counselor at a&m I used to tell my students to get experience in the field before pursuing graduate education. This way, you would truly know if it's what you want to do. I've noticed that with many PPA (pre-professional accounting) programs, where students earn a BBA and Masters in 5 years, students work for a year or two and decide they hate it. On the other hand, I know of some students who have gone through the MSHRM program straight out of undergrad and are still working in HR. Anways, my point is it depends on you.

Being "overeducated" does NOT decrease your chances of finding a good job. The MSHRM program has a close relationship the Center for Human Resource Management at Mays Business School- and many of the companies (Chevron, ExxonMobil, Lockheed, ConocoPhilips, and many more) who are partnered with the Center hire directly from the MSHRM program. In addition, all MSHRM students are required to do an internship, many of which intern (and recieve full-time offers) with the aforementioned companies.

As far as tuition - what ChristieP says is true - some companies will pay for you graduate edcuation as long as you promise to stay with them for X-amount of years. What many people don't know is that graduate programs (sometimes) will pay the students' tuition (tuition is only tuition...it does not include books, housing, computer fees, and all the other hidden fees that schools have). This is typically known as "tuition remission" where the student works 20 hours/week part-time (usually as a Teaching Assistant doing research or teaching a class). The MSHRM program at A&M also offers several scholarships paid for by the companies I mentioned earlier.

What school do you currently attend and what is your major? If you are not in Texas, you might also look to stay in-state because tuition is cheaper.

Lastly, if you have any research background, you might also consider pursuing a masters in Industrial/Organizational psychology. I-O psychology programs are typically research-based as opposed to practioner-based (like the MSHRM program).

Anyways, if you have questions about HR or I-O psychology programs, please feel free to contact me!! And if you haven't noticed yet, I know a lot about the MSHRM program at Texas A&M...but I'd be happy to talk to you about other programs and routes you can take.

[seschub]

I kind of want to know what you ended up deciding on.

Also, what's it like to live in College Station as a non-student?

[Westerntraveler]

Originally Posted by seschub

I kind of want to know what you ended up deciding on.

Also, what's it like to live in College Station as a non-student?

I think she moved to Mass