Hard time finding a Sys Admin job in Houston, TX.

The last time I was looking for a job in Houston was in 2007 and I had a hard time then as well.
I currently have a job so I'm not so worried about it but I want a new job where I have more challenges and opportunities to learn plus better pay.

I currently make $60k and I would like to make $65-75k and be in a System Admin role which I learn more instead of sitting at this company where our head office is in Norway so all of the high level tickets get routed there and we are just basically doing desktop support and managing our servers. A goal of mine is to get my security clearance back and work at a company that will sponsor that, but that is pretty hard to do, though I am searching.

I have been using Dice, Indeed, and LinkedIn to apply for jobs and the amount of new jobs showing up when I search Systems Support, System Administrator, IT Support, and Desktop Support are quite rare. Am I searching the wrong keywords? I would think there would be a lot of IT jobs available in Houston. I am finding many in San Antonio and Austin but few in Houston.

Any help with other websites to try or better search methods would be appreciated. I have also attached my resume if anyone cares to have a look and give me a few pointers.
Thanks in advance.

Resume example.doc

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tedjames

If you want to consider moving to Austin, the Governor's Office is hiring a sys admin:

Office of the Governor - Greg Abbott - Current Jobs: Systems Administrator

morketh

Thank you, honestly I have been considering moving if the right opportunity does not come up in Houston. Just hard to believe Sys Admin job is hard to come by in a big city like Houston, surely I'm doing something wrong.

On a side note, how did you find this job? I'd like to try to find some jobs like that in Houston.

CIO

Hey I don't think there's anything wrong with your job search methods. I really think its due to Houston's economy. Although its the 4th largest city in the US, it's still dominated by gas & oil which is currently in a slump.

I'm also trying to move into the sys admin or info sec space but haven't had much success. I currently work for a small school district doing general IT support (57k salary).

It's not just you. Think of all the IT positions that have been eliminated from gas & oil and the supporting companies that they supported. We are now competing with all those IT folks.

I've been in Houston for 3yrs now and looking into other cities but have to wait until the GF finishes med school.

morketh

Unfortunately this is good to hear other people having the same problem hehe, thanks for your reply.

CIO

No problem. At a point, i thought it was just me cause i was at a point where i wasn't even getting emails or phone calls relating to positions that i had applied too when it came to sys admin or info sec roles. I tried everything from getting more certifications to catering my resume to each position that i applied too.

Occasionally, i would get calls for other general tech support roles offering $15 to $20 on a contract basis.

morketh

Yea I got upset when I felt overqualified for a few positions and didn't even receive so much as an email hehe.

tedjames

morketh wrote: »

Thank you, honestly I have been considering moving if the right opportunity does not come up in Houston. Just hard to believe Sys Admin job is hard to come by in a big city like Houston, surely I'm doing something wrong.

On a side note, how did you find this job? I'd like to try to find some jobs like that in Houston.

I work for the state and am subscribed to a few IT and security-oriented mailing lists. Agencies often post job listings. You can also search here: http://www.workintexas.com You may also look at City of Houston, U of Houston, City of Victoria, etc.

ParDigital

This is a bittersweet thread for me.
Sweet because I have someone else that feels my pain job hunting here in Houston. With all the large office developments going up, one would expect it to not be so hard to find good paying IT jobs here.
I've been applying on and off for CCNA network positions for about a year with no luck. All I get is hits from staffing agencies which end up amounting to nothing..

Bitter because now its damn near confirmed that I might need to leave the city to get the role I want..

CIO

ParDigital wrote: »

Bitter because now its damn near confirmed that I might need to leave the city to get the role I want..

What cities are you considering?

I've been in TX for 3yrs now and the only other city im considering is Dallas before i start looking at other cities in other states.

ParDigital

Likely Dallas as well, maybe Austin but I'm told the cost of living there is high.
After that its any other city with a reasonable cost of living that won't be too boring for my little clan.

[Deleted User]

Berlin, Germany.No German needed- English is good enough and learn Germany while you are there (80 Euros a monthly class). Do not look any further. If you have the qualifying aspects of the jobs they will Skype interview you-Sponsor you and in 6 months you fly to Germany for an awesome job. Cost to live in Berlin are lower than majority of USA. Just my input for you.

Remedymp

Alert Logic Houston,TX is hiring.

KwIT

San Antonio has the lowest number of IT professionals. Plenty of help desk and desktop support jobs though just like other cities(I'm assuming). From what I've read, Austin and Dallas are the best cities in Texas for IT.

kiki162

You have a lot of good stuff on your resume, I'd pair your last 3 position changes at your current company into 1, and put your current position, and the top 6-8 things that you currently do, or have had a lot of experience with your last 2 position changes. (GPO's, Backups, etc). Sounds like you have peaked, and it's time to work on getting additional certs. You have some good MS and Cisco experience...that can be a start.

morketh

kiki162 wrote: »

You have a lot of good stuff on your resume, I'd pair your last 3 position changes at your current company into 1, and put your current position, and the top 6-8 things that you currently do, or have had a lot of experience with your last 2 position changes. (GPO's, Backups, etc). Sounds like you have peaked, and it's time to work on getting additional certs. You have some good MS and Cisco experience...that can be a start.

Yea I wasn't sure if I should combine the last 3 positions together or not, believe I will do that and take the key points of each position and put them in there.
Thanks for the tips.

joemysterio

Dang, that's really disconcerting to hear. My gf and I would love to move to Texas in a few years and our first choice was going to be Houston because she has family there. I have a friend in San Antonio, which would be our second pick. Now it looks like these two areas are pretty weak for IT.

I hope my gf and I can make this work in the future...

Pmorgan2

The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is hiring a Customer Support specialist. Sounded like it included some Microsoft Server administration. I see an IT job at the Space Center about once a month... but it seems to vary in what they're looking for. They post their jobs on www.usajobs.gov.

Seems like Austin has a much more robust IT sector.

jesseou812

School districts have a pretty big turnover in Texas for computer jobs. I think they listed some admin jobs recently. See TASBO jobs:

http://www.tasbo.org/personifymainorgsite/resource/job-postings

TacoRocket

Its odd because I've had the opposite luck when it comes to Houston. Is the Sec+ the only cert you have?

KwIT

joemysterio wrote: »

Dang, that's really disconcerting to hear. My gf and I would love to move to Texas in a few years and our first choice was going to be Houston because she has family there. I have a friend in San Antonio, which would be our second pick. Now it looks like these two areas are pretty weak for IT. I hope my gf and I can make this work in the future...

1. Dallas/Austin
2. Houston
3. San Antonio

I currently live in San Antonio and it's really difficult to find a higher level IT job. I work with guys that has plenty of experience and who are well qualified to become system admin or network admin but those positions are hard to come by unless you know someone.

Majority of the people I graduated with moved back to their cities or has gotten a great internship which hired them as soon as they finished.

So in San Antonio, it's really about who you know.

MeanDrunkR2D2

KwIT wrote: »

1. Dallas/Austin
2. Houston
3. San Antonio

I currently live in San Antonio and it's really difficult to find a higher level IT job. I work with guys that has plenty of experience and who are well qualified to become system admin or network admin but those positions are hard to come by unless you know someone.

Majority of the people I graduated with moved back to their cities or has gotten a great internship which hired them as soon as they finished.

So in San Antonio, it's really about who you know.

Isn't rackspace a huge employer there in SA? And they do have plenty of higher level positions.

morketh

TacoRocket wrote: »

Its odd because I've had the opposite luck when it comes to Houston. Is the Sec+ the only cert you have?

Yea I'm about to start working on MCSA soon.

ParDigital

TacoRocket wrote: »

Its odd because I've had the opposite luck when it comes to Houston. Is the Sec+ the only cert you have?

I have CCNA and about 3 years experience as a network engineer..I'm thinking maybe my resume format isn't good

tedjames

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

Isn't rackspace a huge employer there in SA? And they do have plenty of higher level positions.

Yes, they are. A good friend and former co-worker works there. Seems like they always have a lot of positions. They also have an office in Austin.

There may be some civilian contractor positions within Lackland AFB.

JockVSJock

MeanDrunkR2D2 wrote: »

Isn't rackspace a huge employer there in SA? And they do have plenty of higher level positions.

Rackspace sold to a PE Firm:

Private Equity Firm Buys Rackspace for $4.3 Billion | The Daily | San Antonio Current

Rackspace Hosting Nears Sale to Private-Equity Firm - WSJ

Not sure what that will mean in the long run or if it is business as usual.

Seems like a number of my posts/threads continue to be deleted from this website...not sure why...so enjoy it while you can.

morketh

tedjames wrote: »

Yes, they are. A good friend and former co-worker works there. Seems like they always have a lot of positions. They also have an office in Austin.

There may be some civilian contractor positions within Lackland AFB.

Yea I had an option to work at Lackland when I got out of the Air Force but at that time I was stuck on staying around Houston. I'll give it a few months and then I'll open up my search to other areas.

JGDaily

That's nuts! I'll probably be coming on here if I have to move as well. I currently live in Los Angeles, CA and my parents want me to move to Houston, TX but I don't think I will ever make the same as I do here, over there (obviously due to cost of living).

jabney

JGDaily wrote: »

That's nuts! I'll probably be coming on here if I have to move as well. I currently live in Los Angeles, CA and my parents want me to move to Houston, TX but I don't think I will ever make the same as I do here, over there (obviously due to cost of living).

I would never leave LA , The weather, the night life, restaurants, and the opposite sex. Houston was fun the time I spent there but nothing beats LA except San Diego.
I do prefer Houston's real estate market. though.

morketh

jabney wrote: »

I would never leave LA , The weather, the night life, restaurants, and the opposite sex. Houston was fun the time I spent there but nothing beats LA except San Diego.
I do prefer Houston's real estate market. though.

I prefer NYC over LA if you are just talking about nightlife and such. I've had so much fun there.

Datcyde

I currently work for NXP here in Austin and I'm loving it. I relocated from NYC for this position and its just fantastic here. Plenty of tech jobs, great place to raise a family and as a guy, the women are beautiful. I say move to Austin and get a job to pay the bill and find something you want and get it. Keep studying and make sure to relax and have fun. Great place to have a life.