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The fact that someone with no skill in a particular field can get a job in the Houston oil industry shows a lot about how much Houston is booming. However, rest assured that moving to Houston, you will be looking at a loss of very many things.
I'm actually looking to move to Houston to be closer to parents. I checked out a nice neighborhood called Fall Creek. At first glance, the community looks good, lots of trees, etc... However, there are a lot of metal works factories just east on the Beltway from there, and a very industrial part of town just west of there. It is like a very little oasis in a sea of concrete and ugliness. It would also be 30 minutes drive to just about everything.
So yes, you can make a lot in Houston, but you also have to give up a lot. People in Houston just seem to be content with a mansion in an HOA neighborhood, but don't give a care about what their actual city looks like. Everything is a hodge podge of mediocrity.
Houston is filled with people that couldn't succeed anywhere else and they still want part of the American dream. It's where a below average intelligence person can get a 6 figure job.
Something tells me you would love to work in the oil & gas industry. I bet you have tried to get in without success? Before you start bashing an entire cities intelligence, what do you do for a living and what does it pay?
If you're so smart, why can you only afford a mediocre area in crime infested NE Houston?
Please don't bring your attitude issues to Houston.
The salary differential is no mystery to long time Austinites - it is a result of the largest University in the nation churning out thousands of liberal arts majors who all seem to want to stay in Austin to continue their collegiate social life, but with a high paying job. Plus the thousands of techies and other college grads from Cali or the Rust Belt who move here after reading about the rosy "Austin is your Mecca/Utopia" baloney.
That's why a LARGE % of the wait staff at many restaurants have college degrees.... not to mention the 100,000 applications (winnowed down by 30,000 by my daughter in law) on file at the AISD HR office - to fill a small amount of turnover each school year.
Kind of like the oil bust in West Texas during the '80s when a Whataburger manager once quipped, "Don't apply here to flip burgers unless you have a Masters in Petroleum Engineering".
Austin has been at that point for 6 or 7 years.
^This!
But I'd add, you can still make good money in Austin in certain fields/job functions. Software engineers, for example, do quite well here.
But i see that all the time in Houston. My best friends dad has a teaching degree but has a lot of accounting experience some how and is a top dog at Anadarko. He was going to recruit his son to go to work and he's a psych major. I mean I see this stuff all the time especially with the medium size businesses in the city.
Houston is much larger with many more companies, and doesn't have a UT pumping out all the new grads who want to remain to continue their college lifestyle.
The fact that someone with no skill in a particular field can get a job in the Houston oil industry shows a lot about how much Houston is booming. However, rest assured that moving to Houston, you will be looking at a loss of very many things.
I'm actually looking to move to Houston to be closer to parents. I checked out a nice neighborhood called Fall Creek. At first glance, the community looks good, lots of trees, etc... However, there are a lot of metal works factories just east on the Beltway from there, and a very industrial part of town just west of there. It is like a very little oasis in a sea of concrete and ugliness. It would also be 30 minutes drive to just about everything.
So yes, you can make a lot in Houston, but you also have to give up a lot. People in Houston just seem to be content with a mansion in an HOA neighborhood, but don't give a care about what their actual city looks like. Everything is a hodge podge of mediocrity.
Houston is filled with people that couldn't succeed anywhere else and they still want part of the American dream. It's where a below average intelligence person can get a 6 figure job.
First of all, I think people are exaggerating if they say one can easily get a new job in Houston with no skills. Hogwash! An anecdotal story or two of someone who had connections and got lucky, doesn't change that.
Second, it is an outright wrong to say people there don't care about the city or what it looks like. All of the ongoing projects, new parks, and other revitalization and prices through the roof in several areas the last few years proves your claim wrong. Spend some time inside the Loop and West side.
Third, it's well known the east side of town there is the industrial side and not the recommended side to move to. And the community you mention is some outer suburb on that east side.
The last part of your post -- again, not true at all, and just sounds bitter. I mean, who needs all of those dummies who are Rice U grads, physicians and scientists in the world's largest medical district, NASA rocket scientists and petroleum engineers. Hipsters are so much more enlightened.
The fact that someone with no skill in a particular field can get a job in the Houston oil industry shows a lot about how much Houston is booming. However, rest assured that moving to Houston, you will be looking at a loss of very many things.
I'm actually looking to move to Houston to be closer to parents. I checked out a nice neighborhood called Fall Creek. At first glance, the community looks good, lots of trees, etc... However, there are a lot of metal works factories just east on the Beltway from there, and a very industrial part of town just west of there. It is like a very little oasis in a sea of concrete and ugliness. It would also be 30 minutes drive to just about everything.
So yes, you can make a lot in Houston, but you also have to give up a lot. People in Houston just seem to be content with a mansion in an HOA neighborhood, but don't give a care about what their actual city looks like. Everything is a hodge podge of mediocrity.
Houston is filled with people that couldn't succeed anywhere else and they still want part of the American dream. It's where a below average intelligence person can get a 6 figure job.
I couldn't disagree more and ironic given that you live in a McMansion in a surburban area of Austin. What a nonsensical post and insulting to the fine people of Houston. I can clearly see why other Texas cities think that people from Austin are a bunch of pompous asses...and you're not even a native Austinite. Imagine that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sxrckr
^This!
But I'd add, you can still make good money in Austin in certain fields/job functions. Software engineers, for example, do quite well here.
That's the thing though, not everyone is a techie. The job market isn't particularly diverse here and the Texas companies tend to pay rather middling wages. Sometimes you luck out like I did and sign on with a company that pays "national wages" (irrespective of location)..but I got a full 10K less working for a Texas-based company and even with my current company, the Houston people get paid $10K more. The reason why I'm staying is: a. kids, b. husband's job is based here, c. I don't want to live in a large city. I'd move back home if that was the case.
Of course it's not that easy to land a good paying job in Houston. I never meant to make it seem that you could waltz in with a history degree and command six figures. I was trying to say that employers are less pretentious about school and degree if the job is mostly hands on training. I know a lot of people in real estate or asset management there with liberal arts degrees making nice money. It's not that they started out making big bucks, it's that they were given the chance and worked their way up. I was trying to point out that in other cities those chances to move up are a bit harder to come by especially when the city is flooded with transplants on a daily level with creds and prior experience.
Take for instance, I'm looking for another job but have had next to 0 luck in Los Angeles, whereas my brother has looked for three days non stop and has received two call backs at office jobs on the beltway. Sure he's going for entry level but he has way less creds and the response time is a big difference.
Point is, for jobs and opportunities Houston blows many cities including Austin apparently, out of the water.
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,848,292 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sal98
I have seriously struggled to find a job. Without going into specifics, I work in the cultural arts field. Most articles and firsthand accounts I read assured me that - this being Austin - I'd have no trouble finding a position. Wrong again.
Cultural arts/museums... as others have suggested, try Houston and DFW. Otherwise, you may need to look out of state. Sorry to hear you've struggled. The positive articles do tend to exaggerate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach
The fact that someone with no skill in a particular field can get a job in the Houston oil industry shows a lot about how much Houston is booming.
I don't think that's true at all, in most cases.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach
However, rest assured that moving to Houston, you will be looking at a loss of very many things.
And a gain in others. Not every city is a carbon copy of one another.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach
I'm actually looking to move to Houston to be closer to parents. I checked out a nice neighborhood called Fall Creek. At first glance, the community looks good, lots of trees, etc... However, there are a lot of metal works factories just east on the Beltway from there, and a very industrial part of town just west of there. It is like a very little oasis in a sea of concrete and ugliness. It would also be 30 minutes drive to just about everything.
Uh, maybe because it's a suburb on the east side of town. Which is generally the unfavorable part of town in that it is very industrial being near the Ship Channel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach
So yes, you can make a lot in Houston, but you also have to give up a lot. People in Houston just seem to be content with a mansion in an HOA neighborhood, but don't give a care about what their actual city looks like. Everything is a hodge podge of mediocrity.
Not true at all. Have you ever lived in Houston?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach
Houston is filled with people that couldn't succeed anywhere else and they still want part of the American dream. It's where a below average intelligence person can get a 6 figure job.
Totally not true.
You display major ignorance, and even an unfounded strange malice, with regard to Houston.
Quote:
Originally Posted by radiolibre99
Of course it's not that easy to land a good paying job in Houston. I never meant to make it seem that you could waltz in with a history degree and command six figures. I was trying to say that employers are less pretentious about school and degree if the job is mostly hands on training.
I think this is the case with many cities, not just Houston. Particularly in certain sectors like manufacturing and tech, for example.
I think this is the case with many cities, not just Houston. Particularly in certain sectors like manufacturing and tech, for example.
I'm sure this is the case for cities not in the center of the creative class zone like Austin, Boston, DC, NYC, San Francisco, Chicago and LA.
What makes Houston unique to me is that its a major city on par with the list above but doesn't have the same pretentious about hiring, at least not in all sectors.
And I would think tech would require a high end degree, no? You can really have a comp sci degree from anywhere? Is the degree that practical?
Of course it's not that easy to land a good paying job in Houston. I never meant to make it seem that you could waltz in with a history degree and command six figures. I was trying to say that employers are less pretentious about school and degree if the job is mostly hands on training. I know a lot of people in real estate or asset management there with liberal arts degrees making nice money. It's not that they started out making big bucks, it's that they were given the chance and worked their way up. I was trying to point out that in other cities those chances to move up are a bit harder to come by especially when the city is flooded with transplants on a daily level with creds and prior experience.
Take for instance, I'm looking for another job but have had next to 0 luck in Los Angeles, whereas my brother has looked for three days non stop and has received two call backs at office jobs on the beltway. Sure he's going for entry level but he has way less creds and the response time is a big difference.
Point is, for jobs and opportunities Houston blows many cities including Austin apparently, out of the water.
You are correct about LA with regards to schools. Depending on the industry/job you are looking for, you better have a degree from a top school. Now what defines a top school? I have my idea, but will stay quiet. Truth is, it is much more difficult to land a job with a quality firm in LA than it is in Dallas or Houston. There is not the same amount of school snobbery here. You can take a successful UNT, Texas Tech, or insert any below the top 50 universities here grad, and it would have been more difficult for that grad to find work in LA. The Bay area and LA can afford to be picky because of so many with excellent pedigrees. It seems the same way in Austin based on what I read here.
Now this is not to say, that one should not be able to get a decent job in LA or the Bay area. It just won't be the job where you are competing with Ivy grads, Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, USC, or almost any other top 50 university as there are many with those degrees in CA. You just need to accept a lower tier job and company and work hard. The contacts you make in the first 3-5 years will be your best friends throughout your career and that is how you will likely find future employment. Finding a job is never easy, and so many young grads now expect so much for so little work they actually do. I've never met so many 20 somethings that feel they should be able to work at home at will as I have in the past 3-5 years.
Not sure where this attitude comes from, but I do have my suspicions that society is making it very easy for these kids to succeed in school until they get out on their own, and realize mommy and daddy are not there for them anymore. I even got an email from a dad wanting to know the rationale for his son not getting hired. I just deleted it right out of my inbox. Come on, Man, really!
The fact that someone with no skill in a particular field can get a job in the Houston oil industry shows a lot about how much Houston is booming. However, rest assured that moving to Houston, you will be looking at a loss of very many things.
I'm actually looking to move to Houston to be closer to parents. I checked out a nice neighborhood called Fall Creek. At first glance, the community looks good, lots of trees, etc... However, there are a lot of metal works factories just east on the Beltway from there, and a very industrial part of town just west of there. It is like a very little oasis in a sea of concrete and ugliness. It would also be 30 minutes drive to just about everything.
So yes, you can make a lot in Houston, but you also have to give up a lot. People in Houston just seem to be content with a mansion in an HOA neighborhood, but don't give a care about what their actual city looks like. Everything is a hodge podge of mediocrity.
Houston is filled with people that couldn't succeed anywhere else and they still want part of the American dream. It's where a below average intelligence person can get a 6 figure job.
Lolol! Woooooooowwwww, just wow!!!
As some have replied, it's offensive to a certain degree but it doesn't bother me. But, this post is a bunch of malarkey and opinions.
The job force is Houston may be booming but it's still very tough to break into if you're seeking that 80k + oil or engineering position. Lots of highly skilled individuals from all over the world. This also goes for the health care industry which is also big.
Now, Houston isnt my favorite city I've lived in but there are many charming areas, it's almost like a scavenger hunt to find them as there are many dif types of areas in Houston(Good and bad). It's not only in specific 10 mile radius like downtown austin.
Lol and fall creek ? Really? That's the best you could find? Did you even venture into the city? That's like me saying I didn't like Austin as I went to find a new home in a master planned community in Elgin and didn't like Austin overall.
I'm also not in Houston because I couldn't succeed anywhere else. Actually, I worked in pro sports and marketing in Los Angeles and know I can make it anywhere. Heck I thought I was never coming back. Houston's a spot while my fiancé finishes med school as we enjoy what the city has to offer before we make a move elsewhere. Many professionals I've met are actually up to speed and excel just as well as others in world class cities. I kinda question to myself why so many great minds would live here lol
So yeah, your post was way off, but doubt you're even reading any of the responses many will make.
The end.
Last edited by eastontracks; 01-21-2014 at 06:34 PM..
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