Suggested best resources / avenues to search for jobs in Houston, TX 3

[SNORGY]

As the heading suggests, I am seriously considering relocating from Canada to Houston, for personal and professional reasons.

My background is 29 years in upstream oil and gas EPC, doing everything from Project Management / Project Engineering to Mechanical Engineering to Piping Stress Analysis (CAESAR II) to even a bit of (*GASP!*) Process...

I have no experience (nor credentials) as an MBA...I assume that that particular fact would be of great benefit...not that I am in any way bitter...

I would imagine that I should start by taking the FE and PE exams; they became mandatory several years ago, from what I understand. (Sucks to be me I suppose.).

I do have a few contacts with engineers based in Houston whom I have worked with from time to time when they have had business interests up here; one company in particular calls me when they have work to do in my region that requires my skill set. I do plan to pay them a visit the next time I am down there for a vacation with family.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for the best avenues that would be available to me to scope out the employment prospects, the companies who are ramping up, etc. in that area? (On-line paper ads, names of companies who might be looking, emerging markets, networking avenues, etc.) I welcome any suggestions.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[pmover]

networking, networking, networking . . .

been awhile (< 10yrs) since i worked there . . . I wish you good luck & happy living!

suggest calling your contacts and request direction, people to contact, etc . . . after all, people do want to help one another.

several companies, EPC firms, etc. to choose from. i recommend selecting a company that has been consistently getting business, which keeps the core employees occupied (hire temps for larger projects). which brings to mind that you may want to consider contract engineer work. for some people, this situation works well as it may lead to permanent work/position. allows you to seed your roots and then work/grow with a firm you enjoy being at.

wish you good luck and happy trails!!
-pmover

 

[Latexman]

Are you employed now? Do they have anything in or near Houston? Is there any chance, no matter how small, they would transfer you knowing thats where you are going to be regardless? Chances are slim, but it worked for me many years ago. Though it was not to Houston, but to a smaller, much less industrialized area, and I'm still amazed it happened!

Good luck,
Latexman

 

[SNORGY]

Latexman,

Yes I am employed now, I have been at this last place for about 13 years. I am considering making the move into contracting, and have the required infrastructure in place for that.

Where I work has no interest in carrying on any business in Houston, though. I could always suggest setting up a US-based office for them down there...one never knows...

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[weab]

I think that Houston currently has significant oil work. It is my experience that the big oil companies don't care about the PE. If you are looking at getting in with the big boys (Exxon, Shell, etc.), try it now. If you want to get in with a consulting company, you still might have a chance as long as it's not structural.

Are you married to the city of Houston? Right now, my company can't find enough experienced engineers here in New Orleans. With your experience and lack of credentials, you might be given consideration when you might have been overlooked previously.

 

[cvg]

You may want to check into the ins and outs of getting a work visa. it's difficult enough to get canadian employees transferred to the US. I can only imagine the hurdles in relocating in the US without a job.

 

[SNORGY]

cvg

I found that out in the months immediately following 9/11. All books, articles, information with respect to applying for U.S. Visa's disappeared from store shelves instantaneously, for example.

The job would have to come before the move, that's a given.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[DST148]

@SNORGY - If you get a job offer, you may work on TN (Trade Nafta) visas here in US. All that one needs is a letter from the employer stating that the job offer is of temporary nature for a period of one year. Take the letter, degree certificates, and a fee of $56 to any of the US / Canada border crossings or Canadian airports and get a TN visa stamped in your Canadian passport. The procedure is simple and straight forward and you don't have to go through immigration lawyers. These days they even issue TN Visas for up to 3 years.
Let me know when you are ready and I can pass on more info if required.

 

[SNORGY]

Thanks DST148...

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[TGS4]

SNORGY - if you are located in Alberta, and are registered with APEGGA, there may be some options in obtaining your Texas PE through a comity agreement. Check with APEGGA. That will, at the very least, help with the PE issues.

 

[SNORGY]

Thanks TGS4.

I will be looking into that carefully, but my understanding of things is that the exams are now mandatory, irrespective of how things were five years ago. I have looked at the sample exams and am able to solve my fair share of the problems, but the challenge for me would be able to do them in four minutes each while in an examination setting. I have been out of school for almost 30 years; I am not a young guy any more. That said, I'd probably take the exam(s) anyway for personal reasons, just to prove that I had nothing to prove, so to speak. The study time would certainly disrupt my work-life balance for a while.

There would certainly be some work visa challenges as well, so again, thanks to the tip from DST148.

I think I'll start by making a personal trip down there and just networking with the folks I know. The thermometer dipped below -30 C here last night and the back door froze shut, so I have some extra incentive to go south for a few days.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Stay in Canada - I hate Houston - way TOO hot and humid!!

 

[SNORGY]

Up here we don't have a problem with humidity, so much as water hardness.

At this moment, the water is rather hard.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Try 40C and 100% humidity for about three months!!

I love ice and snow!! Houston has it all - Not to mention bad smell, "black" moldy buildings, skyscrapers in the middle of shacks and free fire zones..

Go for it.

 

[thruthefence]

"If you ever go to Houston, boy, you better walk right,
And you better not stagger, and you better not fight."

traditional; commonly attributed to Huddie William "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, a former citizen of Morningsport, Louisiana; whose version was recorded by Alan Lomax in Angloa Prison, 1934.

 

[controlnovice]

I left Houston in the late '90s due to the high pollution.

Seeing a black sky at 7:30 in the morning is not a pretty sight....and it wasn't black because the sun wasn't up.

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This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[SNORGY]

It's not my ideal spot on the globe either (*that* would be Victoria, BC), but my wife has family in Houston, and there is apparently a potentially strong market for what *she* does for a living as well.

Regards,

SNORGY.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Just remember - if she is NOT happy - you definitely won't be happy. Suck it up and go to Houston. Good Luck!!

 

[weab]

As far as Houston, I'd like to know what the high temp was today where all of you live? In Houston, the high was in the 70's, low in the 40's. That's the reward for the awful summers.

I will grant that Houston does not have much of a personality. If you woke up in some part of Houston, you wouldn't have any frame of reference, pretty much the same all over. Cost of living is low though.

I'd still take a Houston August day over a Buffalo February. I guess to each his own.

 

[TGS4]

High temp today was -29°C. Low was -32°C. Calgary. Good luck with your planned move, SNORGY.