- Pipefitters/welders. I don't know about other parts of town, but the fabricators along 290 near Cypress have billboards and electronic signs lining the highway advertising that they need workers.
- Foundation repair. A number of the foundation repair companies are tacking on messages that they are hiring during their radio spots. (This is brutal work this time of year.)
- Tree surgeons/timber cutters. The drought has devastated the forests and there are millions of dead/dying mature trees in the Houston metro area. These trees, particularly in neighborhoods, will need to come down before the start of next year's hurricane season. I haven't seen the help wanted ads yet, but they will start appearing soon enough. Very dangerous work that requires unique skills. It's amazing to watch them in action.
- Food service. The restaurant business is in a hiring mode, based upon the Help Wanted signs I've seen.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Work opportunities in Houston
Stuff I've seen, off the top of my head...
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7 comments:
I think it was channel 2's weatherman, Anthony Yanez, that did a segment on how the drought is affecting the roofing businesses in the Houston areas. He reported that there's a lot less business because no one's roofs are being damaged by storms, and the temps are hot enough that the crews have to work slower and take more breaks to avoid heat exhaustion. Maybe if a roofing employee is laid off, they might consider looking into the foundation repairs.
I'm going to send my brother the info about the pipefitters, just in case that's related to millwrights. Thanks!
Hey Lou I am in Fort Worth right now and oh my fucking god it is so hot here, no wonder the whole place is burning to the ground. You step outside and it is like being in a microwave, the suns energy is so intense.
I imagine there is a never ending demand for HVAC technicians here.
Our unemployment problem is fundamentally a surplus of unskilled labor compounded by self-imposed immobility of unemployed skilled labor. There are jobs available for most skilled labor if you are willing to move to where the action is. Unemployed craft laborers in the Midwest can get hired in just days if they come to the Gulf coast, Oklahoma, or west Texas oil & gas industry.
There are exceptions. If you are in finance, for instance, times are tough all over. Carpenters are finding that regardless of whether their skills are best suited for general construction or fine furniture, demand is low.
Unskilled labor abounds. In these surplus conditions, prices (wages) are low. The only way to differentiate yourself and make better money is to reduce your competition: apprentice yourself to obtain skills, go to tech school and learn a craft, work jobs that are too nasty or manually demanding to attract people, etc.
It's not going to be easy for the unskilled to up their game or for those forced to move and leave family and friends behind. But historically this kind of response has been is the norm in our country. Labor flexibility has always been the hallmark of our economy, and needs to continue if we are to succeed. We can do it.
Great response, Mike!
Dan, this time of year I think the only job worse down here than being a roofer is being an HVAC tech. They work in attics where I believe temps can go up to 140 degrees.
I shouldn't say "worse," I should say harder. That's brutal work in August and these are skilled people.
I've got a friend who's an HVAC tech here in the DC area. Runs his own very small firm, in fact, but he's the guy (and his helper) climbing in your attic here, not underlings he's sent to do the job.
I cannot imagine how he handles it. In fact, he'd rather sleep in and avoid traffic than start out on a job at dawn. Ugh!! That leaves him the heat of the afternoon. Not as bad here as down by you, but it was still bad for a couple of months up here.
He really earns his money, I gotta say that. But he keeps at it despite how tough it is, and for that I give him kudos.
Funny thing is, he's got a stepson who's on unemployment and won't take a job! And certainly not a job working in attics! I mean c'mon, you don't think he went to school and got a PhD in archeology to do THAT kind of work, do you? (Seriously, I am not joking.)
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