Potential UT grad student with concerns for fiancee's job prospects

[malone7384]

There are some educational software companies in town that need people to help design curriculum for their online learning. Places also need people do their online tutoring.

One that comes to mind is Sapling Learning. They do online tutoring. Might want to check in to that.

[ScoPro]

My DIL is one of the administrators in charge of secondary teacher staffing for Austin ISD.

She mentioned today that she is going on a recruiting trip to Tennessee to seek out more minority teachers for employment in some of thee high schools.

That indicates there are jobs available, but it would help considerably if you are a minority.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by mccragre

I wasn't sure how "big city" Austin is. I know UT probably helps part of it be more of a college town, but Austin also has something like 700,000 people right?

Right, and double that in the metro area. Austin is unique. It has a lot of big city advantages, while ducking a lot of big city disadvantages. Being the state capital contributes to that, because all the state organizations and lobbyists that wind up here as a result support a sophisticated restaurant and hospitality scene. The high tech industry contributes to the high average education level and international sophistication. The large UT population contributes to the youthful mix of pubs and music venues. SXSW Fest is a world class conference for new music, new cinema, new media, etc. And there's more. A quarter century ago Jerry Jeff Walker famously referred to Austin as the "easternmost city in California," and many contemporary writers allude to Austin being "the San Francisco of the South."

Originally Posted by mccragre

How is the apartment situation around the UT area? I wouldn't really want to live in the "student ghetto" area that accompanies most big universities. Probably just looking for a quieter one bedroom place. Is there anything say around $800-900 or cheaper? I hear prices are cheaper down there.

There are several directions you can go from the immediate campus area to find decent housing. One tip is to look at the UT shuttle bus service map. Those shuttles serve areas where lots of of students live. Northwest Hills for instance, is served by the express Far West shuttle, and currently one bedroom apartments can be found in that area are in the 700s.

Originally Posted by mccragre

Also, how bad are the summers down there? Unfortunately, I'm used to being able to live without air conditioning the whole year, so I'm guessing it will take some getting used to. I'm guessing that part of Texas is at least drier than the Great Lakes portion of the Midwest in the summer. At least there's essentially no winter that far south!

There's no polite way to put this... summers are hotter'n hell. Last year we had over 4 months of straight 100+ weather. There's a brutally hot chili sauce sold at Tears of Joy that's aptly named "August in Austin." Summers are hot, I tell you, hot, and summers start early and end late. Baseball and softball leagues are already in full flight, and many of them end their seasons in May, before it gets so..... hot. Good ACs in car and home are important. Fortunately the electricity rate here is toward the bottom of the national scale.

On the other hand, snow is rarely seen in these parts, and winter is generally pretty mild... I'm sitting out by the pool as I write this... but we do usually get a couple of hard freezes, sometimes with nasty winds, and there are times when everyone really wraps up.