Dallas Technology Job Market - My impressions (Houston, Plano: attorney, inspection)

[Arnnnold]

Hi Nate


You should check out the cscareerquestions forum on reddit https://old.reddit.com/r/cscareerquestions/

[biafra4life]

You know, for all the talk of Dallas being a booming city job wise, I think there is a little bit of hype in that claim. My stories here are purely anecdotal but I’ve met many people over the years who either 1) were laid off and unable to find similar high paying degreed jobs in same field after a year of applying 2) moved here without a job in hand and were unable to get one that wasn’t a McJob/unrelated to their desired field.

Yes lots of jobs are here but make no mistake the competition for those jobs is fierce. That’s why I cringe when I hear someone say they are moving here without a job and $3K in savings. It’s not a slam dunk that you will get that high paying job that you read was so readily available here.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by ts_123

Bull****, you have no clue what you are talking about.

I'm a well seasoned Tech vet in the big data realm. I moved here from another state and struggled for 6 months until finally finding a job in my field.

My place of work is at a fortune 500 company that everyone and their dog knows of. Ive never seen such blatant favoritism in my career. I would say 70% of the workforce are referals as I have no idea how 70% of them are working let alone working in
IT and in senior positions...blows my mind.

Referrals are one thing. Nepotism, kickbacks and the like are another.

[TexanByMarriage]

Originally Posted by ts_123

My place of work is at a fortune 500 company that everyone and their dog knows of. Ive never seen such blatant favoritism in my career. I would say 70% of the workforce are referals as I have no idea how 70% of them are working let alone working in
IT and in senior positions...blows my mind.

In a Fortune500 company that will always be the case, as there are so many "places to hide". In a smaller company you'd be more accountable for your actions, as the consequences are felt by more people. Well, come to think of it, in any company that allows dysfunctional management to happen, you'll have people that don't do much else than fill a seat.

Originally Posted by biafra4life

That’s why I cringe when I hear someone say they are moving here without a job and $3K in savings.

Oh gosh, that'd be nuts going anywhere! You should at least financially prepare for months of job searching. The mental effect I don't know if you can prepare for. Structured day with good nutrition and "healthy living" is probably best place to start.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Referrals are one thing. Nepotism, kickbacks and the like are another.

I've been fortunate enough to avoid it for the most part, they are absolutely a thing. I know plenty of people have been on both the beneficiary side of this and who have been disadvantaged by this.

Just because it would be difficult to prove in a court of law doesn't mean it isn't happening, it does, all the time.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by biafra4life

You know, for all the talk of Dallas being a booming city job wise, I think there is a little bit of hype in that claim. My stories here are purely anecdotal but I’ve met many people over the years who either 1) were laid off and unable to find similar high paying degreed jobs in same field after a year of applying 2) moved here without a job in hand and were unable to get one that wasn’t a McJob/unrelated to their desired field.

Yes lots of jobs are here but make no mistake the competition for those jobs is fierce. That’s why I cringe when I hear someone say they are moving here without a job and $3K in savings. It’s not a slam dunk that you will get that high paying job that you read was so readily available here.

Yeah, I think Dallas can both have a great economy and at the same time be over hyped job market. I know several people who have been laid off and it took a couple of them 6 months to find something similar. This is especially hard if you are younger and don't want to give the appearance of job hopping. I know one of them took a job that paid 1/2 of his last job just to make the rent, but ended up quitting after a month and a half when he got something better. He still felt kinda bad about going through the process and quitting so quickly, but what you going to do?

Moving to Dallas would be a hard thing to do with only 3k in savings, but sometimes, thats all someone can do. Most Americans don't even have 3K in savings.

[Nate160]

OP here! I can clearly see that people who think that I am full of beans are clueless!! I have been in Technology Project Management area for the last two decades with hands on experience in emerging technologies. Worked for many fortune companies elsewhere, hired and managed Computer professionals globally! But this market is one of a kind!!

Many Hiring Managers own and operate consulting companies (either thru their spouse or a partner in India) and they fill their positions with mediocre cheap H1/H4-EAD workforce just to bag $50-$70 /hour per each fill. I know someone who has 20 such consultants working within his team. However, they do a good job in covering this up by interviewing others. One of the interviews that I did recently at a Bank in Richardson was a classic example! The Director spoke broken English, no eye contact was made, spent 10 minutes with me clearly uninterested, brought in two Developers (I was being interviewed for a Manager role) who again spoke little English, asked me some basic questions- No way related to my job and everything got wrapped up in 30 minutes. The feedback was – Not technical enough and Not a cultural fit!

Very similar strategy for full time positions as well. I was told that the standard kick back fee is 20% of the salary. I am not saying all the Hiring Managers are corrupted, but this practice is catching on for sure.

We need reforms in restoring ethical Hiring Practices. HR & Compliances need to be involved in every hire. Abuse of power and illegal financial transactions and visa abuse need to be investigated.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

I've been fortunate enough to avoid it for the most part, they are absolutely a thing. I know plenty of people have been on both the beneficiary side of this and who have been disadvantaged by this.

Just because it would be difficult to prove in a court of law doesn't mean it isn't happening, it does, all the time.

Specifically in professional suite IT, which it seems is what the OP is talking about, every company of any size and reach has specific anti-nepotism rules. Further, it's curtains on the career of anyone caught taking a kickback not to mention the possible trip to prison.

The OP is claiming this kind of thing is rampant around here in IT and also somehow peculiar to the area. S/he's simply overstating things.

[ts_123]

Originally Posted by EDS_

Referrals are one thing. Nepotism, kickbacks and the like are another.

Perhaps I should have been more clear...Husbands ensuring their wives are hired when there far more qualified candidates for the position...

High levels replacing SME's with their incompetent siblings.

Relatives making a bull**** case for a need to higher an H1B candidate when the actual reason is keep their unskilled relative from being deported back to India.

I can go on and on....

[djslakor]

Cannot confirm.

I am a full stack web developer. Moved here in 2015. Got a job 1 week after starting job search. A few years later, I earn 50% more than I was earning at the job I held before moving to DFW. Recruiters sortof hound me, too. I feel pretty confident I could have another gig in 1 month max if I wanted.

I guess it depends on what your "technology professional" skills are, in particular.