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Old 03-19-2013, 08:43 PM
 
5 posts, read 6,194 times
Reputation: 11

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Hello, I'm a recent college grad from a very small rust belt town in northwestern PA about 80 miles north of Pittsburgh. I graduated college in 2011 and have applied for 1,000+ jobs and still unemployed. My main goal was to just get a job in Pittsburgh, but I'm obviously not having any luck. I still think Pittsburgh is a great city, but I'm about ready to throw in the towel. My neighbors two sons live in Austin and he got them a house, and he's always encouraging me to go down there and stay at his house. In fact the few people I know that are familiar with Austin are always telling me to go down there. I've been doing a lot of research on Austin, and there's no denying that it seems like a great place. I explained this story to a man I met at a job fair a month or so ago who was up from Texas, and he told me that if I went down to Texas I would be working within two weeks. That really got me thinking about it, because I feel like I'm just sitting around wasting time. I turn 24 next week and it's time to get going with my life. I'm a free bird and got nothing to hold me back.

Some things I think I would really like about Austin
1. It's a healthy fit city (I'm really into health and fitness)
2. It's a young city (nothing but older people up here)

Some things I don't think I would like about Austin
1. Extreme heat (I really enjoy the 4 seasons up here)
2. Traffic (something you have to deal with if you live in a good area I guess)

Any advice? and is the Austin job market really everything the TV and internet make it seem to be?? Thanks!!
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Old 03-19-2013, 08:49 PM
 
2,633 posts, read 6,401,631 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wvualum View Post
is the Austin job market really everything the TV and internet make it seem to be?? Thanks!!
Well, based on the relevant info you provided (i.e. industry your degree is in) YES!, and NO!

Service industry jobs are everywhere - if it took you 2 wweeks to find a "job", I'd be surprised. If you're a psych major looking for a job in social services, if you found one in 2 years, I'd be surprised.

Might need more detail?
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Old 03-19-2013, 09:03 PM
 
5 posts, read 6,194 times
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sorry for leaving out some detail, but I'm a marketing guy (which I think is sort of the problem since it's such a broad thing, wish I would've known what I wanted to be so I could have studied something more specialized.)
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Old 03-19-2013, 09:11 PM
 
2,633 posts, read 6,401,631 times
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Not a good market. UT churns out Marketing undergrads and MBA's by the dozen - all with built in networks of Texas Exes ready to breed orange.

Not to say it's impossible, but find a job first!
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Old 03-19-2013, 09:25 PM
 
Location: Plano, TX
770 posts, read 1,798,960 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EzPeterson View Post
Not a good market. UT churns out Marketing undergrads and MBA's by the dozen - all with built in networks of Texas Exes ready to breed orange.

Not to say it's impossible, but find a job first!
You have no idea what you are talking about. OP, Austin is a great market. I have many friends who haved moved to the Austin area after college and are doing just fine in the Marketing fields.
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Old 03-19-2013, 10:09 PM
 
2,633 posts, read 6,401,631 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Newbe10 View Post
You have no idea what you are talking about. OP, Austin is a great market. I have many friends who haved moved to the Austin area after college and are doing just fine in the Marketing fields.
As a person with a marketing degree that is also a director in charge of hiring in many markets in TX, NM, FL and AZ, I can assure you that it is indeed a tough market, and that I, indeed, know what I'm talking about.

If you have very good credentials, internships, etc. you can find a job, but it's not a "walk in and find one in 2 weeks" proposition.
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Old 03-19-2013, 10:40 PM
 
181 posts, read 429,855 times
Reputation: 66
I moved to the Austin Area, first Austin and now Cedar Park about three years ago. I moved from a township about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh. It is a very fit and athletic area. Tons of gyms and outdoor activities. Can't tell you much about the job market as I am retired, but have been offered sales jobs by people I have met socially.
See some of us old people move down here too. By the way I love it here and would never move back.
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Old 03-20-2013, 03:10 PM
 
5 posts, read 6,194 times
Reputation: 11
I stated I'm a marketing guy, but I apply for pretty much any kind of job up here from sales jobs to banking jobs just to have the opportunity to leave my hometown. When the man at the job fair told me I would be working within two weeks if I was down in Texas I realized he was just using a metaphor for stating the economy down in Texas was way better than where I live.
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Old 03-20-2013, 03:28 PM
 
Location: central Austin
7,228 posts, read 16,110,862 times
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"Texas" is a LOT bigger than Austin and the job market is bigger in Dallas, and Houston, plus SA and West Texas are starting to boom with oil and gas money. But Austin is a competitive market, particularly for entry level jobs (100,000+ college students in the area).

It is a big jump from PA, visit first and try to bring savings for 3-6 months with you. good luck

Oh yeah, the HEAT! we have two seasons, summer and not summer. Summer is long (May to October) and the heat lasts all day, (no cool evenings in the 50s) it can be 90 at 10 pm in the summer with the low of 77 coming at about 4 am.
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Old 03-20-2013, 04:40 PM
 
1,156 posts, read 2,382,207 times
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I'm from Austin, went to UT-Austin, and when I got my degree, there were still entry-level jobs to be had. Not a lot, and they didn't pay much -- but there were at least some. I would be very wary about moving to Austin without any experience, and that's just being honest. The market is highly competitive here. You'd have more luck starting out somewhere else, like Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, etc.
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