Area with most finance jobs (Houston, Dallas: credit, houses, find a job)

[jaezra]

The family and I are over California, so it’s off to Austin. Wife is a stay at home mom, and I work as a VP of Finance for a publically traded corporation in the Education Industry. I have made arrangements to work remotely once I move, but I anticipate that arrangement will probably last for only 6 to 12 months max before I will be required to find work for a new company in Austin.

Looking for thoughts on what area of Austin I would most likely be able to find finance work, or if it is a total crapshoot?

As far as places we are considering living, we like Round Rock, Steiner Ranch, Covered Bridge, and Circle C. But clearly where you work could result in a long ugly commute from any of these areas.

Just wondering if there is a higher concentration of finance work in any one area that might help influence my decision? I’d be willing to take a step down in title to Director of Finance if needed, this is not a monetary or career move, this is a quality of life move.So it’s not really about where I would find the best job, just the most likely area to find a job.

Thanks for any insight you can offer.

[jaezra]

No insights??

[TXEX06]

Move to Houston or Dallas. Not a lot of finance jobs in Austin, and certainly no financial area of town. Best bet might be a government job.

[Trainwreck20]

The most likely answer is downtown, I guess, but it sounds like you do a 'finance' job at a 'non-finance' company; hence, it does not sound like you are tied directly to the finance industry....

[DBS1980]

Yep, Dallas or Houston would generally be the better place to job hunt for a high-level finance job, since they are the hubs of finance and large corporations in Texas. However, like Trainwreck said, it sounds like you would want a finance job with a non-finance company, which I suppose broadens your search some. In Austin, where tech companies, government, and healthcare are the major employers, you would probably be trying to get a job somewhere like a tech company or government-related.

It will be tricky trying to figure out where to live if you are not sure where your job will be until you've been here a few months. If you were working downtown, Circle C or Covered Bridge would be a doable commute if you leave the house early enough. If you were working further north or northwest at a tech company (around Mopac/183), then Round Rock would work. As a general rule here, you want to be on the same side of the river as your job. Of course, things like your budget as well as what kind of home and amenities you want are a factor as well.

[Idlewile]

A finance position within a non-finance company? If so, Austin will be limited as there are not a lot of headquarters here (vs. Houston or Dallas or OC/LA) and finance positions at most companies usually reside within the corporate function, at headquarters.

Additionally, there are a few financial institution companies with offices here, Charles Schwab etc. but that is limited as well.

[jaezra]

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your responses.

Although I do have some experience with finance companies, most of my career has been corporate finance roles with non-finance companies. I have mostly worked in the entertainment industry (studios) and education. I’d certainly consider working in a tech company or healthcare, both industries sound interesting to me.

I was unaware that Austin was not home to many corporate HQ’s. With the population growth, traffic, and seemingly decent amount of jobs available I was under the impression there was a larger corporate presence there. I would be most likely to get a job at a corporate HQ, so it sounds like my options may be somewhat limited in Austin. Bummer

I tried calling some recruiters today but they were not very forthcoming, I left a few messages with no response and the people I did speak to were not really willing to divulge much information.

Based on the areas we want to live, houses we are considering, and our savings I could be pretty patient and take my time finding work. That’s not to say I want to be without a job for a year, but an extended job search won’t cause serious problems.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by jaezra

Thanks everyone, I appreciate your responses.

Although I do have some experience with finance companies, most of my career has been corporate finance roles with non-finance companies. I have mostly worked in the entertainment industry (studios) and education. I’d certainly consider working in a tech company or healthcare, both industries sound interesting to me.

I was unaware that Austin was not home to many corporate HQ’s. With the population growth, traffic, and seemingly decent amount of jobs available I was under the impression there was a larger corporate presence there. I would be most likely to get a job at a corporate HQ, so it sounds like my options may be somewhat limited in Austin. Bummer

I tried calling some recruiters today but they were not very forthcoming, I left a few messages with no response and the people I did speak to were not really willing to divulge much information.

Based on the areas we want to live, houses we are considering, and our savings I could be pretty patient and take my time finding work. That’s not to say I want to be without a job for a year, but an extended job search won’t cause serious problems.

It would be imprudent for you to move to Austin without a firm job offer in hand. There are more than enough people with tech and healthcare specific experience already living here and willing to relocate here. Over 100 people are moving here each day and many of them are willing to work for significantly less money to do so.

Houston and Dallas will offer you far better opportunities. Your whole premise of "The family and I are over California, so it’s off to Austin" is flawed.

[JT-3]

Have you been to Austin before? I hope so before making this type of decison.

Today was 100 and it looks like the high for Orange County was 82. Allergies and weather should be considered along with the job. (make the wifey aware of this!)

[Austin97]

it might be possible to start your own accounting company. The companies that exist like VCFO are terrible.

The opportunities might be more in the CFO area. Most CFOs dont seem to know what they are doing in the area of operational financial metrics.

There are lots of small startups or small companies that need CFOs but they probably dont pay well and dont necessarily need a full time one. For example Im in some CEO groups and know several smaller business owners (around 5M that need CFO type help).

1) determine operational metrics
2) scale accounting processes
3) work with banks to secure increasing lines of credits
etc