an employment question

[Kenneth]

Hi, I noticed that there isn't a forum on the website titled "Employment Issues", that's why I decided the "City Hall" forum would be the best place for my question.

First, I already have a job working part-time in retail. I am starting to hate the job because the hours are long even though it was advertised as a part-time job. I am new to Houston and a part of me wants to explore the city and learn more about it, unfortunately I have only Thursday and Sunday completely off. Right now I'm taking steps to find new work..on craigslist, here on HAIF, visiting a Houston WorkSource office.

But the huge lingering question in the back of my mind is: What types of industries are most Houstonians employed in? Is it cheifly in the retail industry? Restaurant? Manufacturing? Industry? Or, administrative?

Where can college students in Houston (degree/non-degree) find work? In my city of origin, there are many students, and graduates who forced themselves to work in retail because they couldn't find any work in their careers.

On the flip side, I am grateful that I do have the ability to pay the bills, but the job is very physical..it's boring, and I'm not learning something that will become beneficial in my career. Internships are beneficial, but as we all know, they don't pay any money.

[musicman]

Houstonians are employed in many industries but many require specialized skills or degrees. in general retail jobs don't which is why those with less skills work there.

sounds like you could become a coop in your field but you don't want to because it pays less. but you must remember if it helps you in the future, sacrificing now might be a good thing.

[MidtownCoog]

Check with your Dean's office. UH affored me a great paid internship that I found through their student job board.

[TheNiche]

Hi, I noticed that there isn't a forum on the website titled "Employment Issues", that's why I decided the "City Hall" forum would be the best place for my question.

First, I already have a job working part-time in retail. I am starting to hate the job because the hours are long even though it was advertised as a part-time job. I am new to Houston and a part of me wants to explore the city and learn more about it, unfortunately I have only Thursday and Sunday completely off. Right now I'm taking steps to find new work..on craigslist, here on HAIF, visiting a Houston WorkSource office.

But the huge lingering question in the back of my mind is: What types of industries are most Houstonians employed in? Is it cheifly in the retail industry? Restaurant? Manufacturing? Industry? Or, administrative?

Where can college students in Houston (degree/non-degree) find work? In my city of origin, there are many students, and graduates who forced themselves to work in retail because they couldn't find any work in their careers.

On the flip side, I am grateful that I do have the ability to pay the bills, but the job is very physical..it's boring, and I'm not learning something that will become beneficial in my career. Internships are beneficial, but as we all know, they don't pay any money.

Houston is extremely student-friendly when it comes to employment. Our employment base is just so large relative to the size of the student population, which means that there is less competition in the labor market; on top of that, our cost of living is comparatively low.

When I'd first moved to Houston, I was for all intents and purposes unemployed for the first six months (although I wasn't looking for a job very hard and was being pretty picky). I'd just about given up hope at one point and interviewed for a pizza delivery position at Star Pizza but was rejected! Within a week, I'd landed a nice office job in the real estate industry. Flexible hours, very accomodating, upward potential. By coincidence of timing of hiring, promotions, raises, and good investments, I've never had a tax year go by that my gross income hasn't gone up by at least 50%, even for the four years when I was in school.

...having said that, don't expect that you'll necessarily be able to find something that excites you, even if it has advancement potential written all over it. I'm like that too. I need to be intellectually stimulated, and at one point many years ago, I was being driven nuts. So I leveraged my experience, found another job, and moved on to greener pastures.