Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 06-06-2013, 12:31 PM
 
5 posts, read 10,378 times
Reputation: 15

Advertisements

Greetings! I just graduated college (University of Nebraska) a year ago with a degree in History. I am wanting to move to Austin, TX in search of a career. I was wondering if anyone had any insight on how to go about starting a career as a fresh college graduate in Austin, TX. I have about 6 months experience in a management role doing logistics and transportation, but do not want to stay in that field. I would love to work admissions for a University or do curating in a museum, but realize I need more professional experience. Really I am just looking for a steady job that can pay the bills and help me gain experience in the professional world. I love Austin and am looking forward to the move. Any help and insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-06-2013, 12:43 PM
 
8,009 posts, read 10,417,066 times
Reputation: 15032
I think finding your dream job here is going to be tough. First, Austin is home to the largest university in the country, so you are competing with a ridiculous number of recent grads. Second, Austin is not exactly known for its museums. In fact, it's home to very few, and the ones it does have are pretty pathetic.

I hate to be Debbie Downer, but I think you will need to make some pretty big compromises.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2013, 01:10 PM
 
Location: The People's Republic of Austin
5,184 posts, read 7,274,900 times
Reputation: 2575
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgriggs3 View Post
Greetings! I just graduated college (University of Nebraska) a year ago with a degree in History. I am wanting to move to Austin, TX in search of a career...
I too hate to be dismissive, but you will join literally thousands of people just like you competing for handfuls of jobs. The jobs you want, and are qualified for, are like hen's teeth. What you will wind up doing is working in a service industry job, which you are overqualified for, and which have piles of applications for every opening. You will struggle to live on $35K, and maybe, just maybe, get all the way up to $50K.

You need to decide - start a career that takes your background and education, or live in Austiin. Because I seriously doubt you can have both. Again, not trying to rain on your parade. Please take it as advice from someone who has seen this play out all too often, including in my own family.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2013, 01:14 PM
 
81 posts, read 221,755 times
Reputation: 91
Go find a startup and offer to work for free. Seriously. They always need help and you'll get experience. Even if you don't have any relevant skills you can always do sales or marketing or empty the trash or something. If they blow up and succeed you'll be right along with them. Forget all that garbage about university admissions and museum curating.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2013, 01:22 PM
 
5 posts, read 10,378 times
Reputation: 15
I understand the lack of museums. In fact, In searching for ways to break into the museums field I have decided it is almost impossible. I am totally ok with doing something not related to my degree (History). Do a lot of fresh college graduates in Austin have trouble finding jobs? I am not opposed to interning to gain experience either. Just trying to get my feet set with some sort of career, whether it's marketing, curating, communications, or etc...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2013, 02:19 PM
 
2,094 posts, read 1,924,647 times
Reputation: 3639
The answer of your question is they sure do..... try Houston or Dallas. Austin is horribly competitive. How many grads does UT crank out every year wanting to keep the party alive?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2013, 02:19 PM
 
2,633 posts, read 6,397,520 times
Reputation: 2887
Yes, many recent UT grads with built-in alumni networks struggle to find decent-paying jobs in a professional field.
As a prior poster said, if you're going to come in and work in the service industry, retail, etc. you can likely find a job real quick.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2013, 02:42 PM
 
8,231 posts, read 17,311,817 times
Reputation: 3696
You might want to try Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio first. Get some experience then try Austin. As the other posters have mentioned, there are a lot of local college grads who have a similar background and more connections because they're local. Be patient, you'll get here eventually if it's where you really want to be. Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2013, 02:52 PM
 
Location: Round Rock, Texas
12,946 posts, read 13,325,753 times
Reputation: 14005
See this thread I posted about an eBay job fair coming up next week in this area:

//www.city-data.com/forum/austi...ir-austin.html

What everybody has said is spot on, but it isn't impossible.

Lots of college grads are waiting tables around town.

Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2013, 03:29 PM
 
2,007 posts, read 2,902,753 times
Reputation: 3129
I just talked to a ut law grad working at Austin java. Ouch
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Texas > Austin

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 07:44 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top