It’s another Wednesday and we’re back at it here at Spark Hire with our weekly geographical series. The past couple of weeks we touched on the state that was doing the best: North Dakota, and the state that, well, wasn’t doing the best: New Hampshire. It’s no secret that the oil boom in North Dakota made its employment growth skyrocket over the past few years, but we know all of this already. What about a state that hasn’t been doing too bad, but also hasn’t been too stellar either in the employment growth department. Let’s take a look at jobs in the state of Texas.
As of April 2012, the state of Texas had an employment growth rate of about .12 percent. While it’s certainly not the -.76 percent New Hampshire experienced, it’s still mediocre at best. It would be safe to say that Texas is right in the middle of the employment growth spectrum when you compare it to the rest of the country: not too bad, not so great. So what are the most popular and abundant jobs in this southern state? Let’s take a look by region.
If you’re familiar with Texas, then you’re familiar with the Austin area as well. It seems as though living in the Austin area breeds an interest for graduate teaching assistants. In comparison to the rest of the country, this position is 21.4 times more popular in Austin. On top of that there are about 4,480 positions available locally. Those working in these positions earn an average salary of about $32,060 a year. Interestingly enough, another popular job in this area is that of a semiconductor processor. These positions are 14.8 times more popular in the Austin area than the rest of the country. Those working in this field earn about $36,820 a year on average, so you have to wonder what in the world it is that they do? That’s when we turn to the Bureau of Labor Statistics to give us our answer. According to the BLS, “semiconductor processors oversee the manufacturing of electronic semiconductors, which are commonly known as integrated circuits or microchips. These microchips are found in all electronic devices—including cell phones, cars, and laptops—and are an important part of modern life.”
Sounds pretty interesting, right? To top off our Austin area jobs, take a look at the most abundant job in the city and surrounding area. Elementary school teachers are the most abundant position in the Austin area with 10,340 local jobs. They earn about $$43,730 a year on average and are expected to experience a 14 percent growth through to 2016. Now it makes sense why graduate teaching assistants are so prevalent in the area as well.
So what about the Waco area? When it comes to the most popular position in this geographical area, all signs point to avionics technicians. In relation to the rest of the country, those living in the Waco area are 45.4 times more interested in this position. They earn about $41,730 a year on average, but what do they do? According to the BLS, they “install, inspect, test, adjust, or repair avionics equipment, such as radar, radio, navigation, and missile control systems in aircraft or space vehicles.” There’s also about 340 local jobs for this position in the Waco area showing that it’s popularity doesn’t equal out to an abundance of jobs. The most abundant position in this area however belongs to the registered nurses. Locally, there are about 1,950 jobs and they earn an average of $63,320 a year. On top of that, this position is expected to see a 24 percent growth through to 2016. That’s not very surprising though seeing as though the jobs in the healthcare industry are expected to rise throughout the entire country as they have been for the past couple of years.
Considering Houston is the fourth most populous city in the country, we figured we had better take a look at where the jobs are for this area, right? On top of that, the energy industry is the major force behind the city’s economy. Therefore it should be no surprise that petroleum engineers are 20 times more popular here than in the rest of the country. It’s also great that there are about 6,790 jobs locally for this position and they earn on average about $136,060 on average. That’s a hefty pay out, don’t you think? Of course, most engineers earn a large paycheck seeing as though their jobs are extremely important to our productivity as a country. The most popular position in the Houston area though is that of a rail-track layer and maintenance equipment operator. This position is 20.2 times more popular in Houston than in the rest of the country. They don’t earn as much as the petroleum engineers seeing as they only earn about $28,390 on average a year, and there are only about 320 jobs available locally. Slim pickings it seems.
Now that you have a good idea of the kinds of jobs that are popular and abundant in Texas, what do you think? Do you think Texas is the place you would go to find your dream job?
What other states would you like to see in our geographical series? Comment below or simply tweet me @nicole_spark.
SOURCE: City Town Info
IMAGE: Courtesy of InfoPlease
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