Employment in Texas Forum

[kalvano]

Do well enough and you can pay someone to shovel snow. Awful heat and humidity know no boundaries.

[Anonymous User]

Can anyone working in Texas speak to the payscales of firms WITHIN Texas? I heard that a 5th year at VE makes more than a 5th year at FJ because Fulbright's payscale is more compressed.

If you could speak to the bonuses at either shop, that would be great, too. I'm not interested in what they pay in NY or DC.

[turbotong]

Best source for bonuses is at abovethelaw.com
Payscales are fairly simliar. yes, there are small variations but I really don't think you should consider those when deciding on which firm to work for. Fit will be far more important than making 200,000 for 205,000 your 4th year.

[Anonymous User]

Well, the difference between different firms in different cities could be as much as 50,000 over 5 years, not including bonuses. I think it's one of several things to consider.

[Anonymous User]

1) Driving - you basically have to have a car.

2) Insurance - on cars, houses, whatever...Governor Goodhair loves to suck the ass of the insurance industry, so our rates are the highest in the nation. Homeowners insurance is triple the national average, car insurance is sky-high, etc.

3) The summers - they suck. It was over 100 something like 70 days last summer. And I don't mean 101. It was up to 110, 112 some days. With humidity. The duration was unusual, but there are always 30-45 days of 100+. And it doesn't cool down at night. Last summer it rarely dropped below 80 at night, so your A/C runs constantly.

Texas is cheaper than NYC, for sure. But that's not saying much since almost every place is. For some reason, people have this idea that Texas is dirt-cheap all-around, and it's not. I'm unfamiliar with Houston, but housing is still expensive in Dallas proper, for a decent house in a decent area. These articles I read talking about big houses for $100K make me laugh. Maybe out in the boonies, but not in any major city. It's not as expensive as some other places, at least in initial cost, but they get you in other ways. And forget natural beauty, there's very little of that anywhere around. It's flat, open prairie. Four real seasons don't exist, either.

Some people love it here, some don't. It's certainly not this dirt-cheap mecca that it's made out to be. And there is plenty you miss out on. But that's always the thing...the places that are naturally pretty or desirable to live in, everyone wants to live there, and typically there is a limit to the available housing, so prices stay high. I find it funny to compare why people like living in other places, like NYC or Seattle, and they usually have this long list of reasons why the areas are awesome to them. Ask people why they like living in Dallas, and the usual answer is "it's cheap." Not exactly a glowing recommendation.

But, on the flip side of that, it is cheap. You can live really nicely on $85K a year here. Not models and bottles, but very comfortably. If you aren't in to cold winters, and are willing to trade the awful May-October for it, it rarely gets super cold here.

Hold on a minute there. Anyone who says they moved to/live in Texas simply because it's "cheap" is being unfair in my book. Sure the summers are HOT but honestly you get used to it and I'd take heat over frigid winters any day. What are you going to do when its cold? Put on a 10th layer of clothing, slip around on the ice and beg for the sun to return? Miserable. If it's hot out (and you actually have the time to be outdoors...doubtful) then make yourself a cold drink, get in the pool and relax. Way better afternoon in my opinion.

As far as the legal market goes, Big Law in Texas pays top market and add on top of that low cost of living, friendly people, great food, shopping, museums etc. in the big cities (Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio). Not to mention Texas has some objectively pretty areas. Look up the Hill Country, looks a lot like Napa Valley. Or check out the Davis Mountain Range, looks like big sky country.

[Stanford4Me]

Umm....

Summers in Texas are hot, that's what the AC is for.

My 3 BR ~1000 sq ft apartment is $3900/mo here in NYC, and that's a "bargain." LOL.

Buying a house in a desirable area of Dallas (HP, UP, WR Lake) is expensive with HP/UP being the most expensive, but most people who are normal people don't live in HP/UP. If you don't like the idea of living in a suburb then you probably shouldn't move to Texas.

Major cities in TX don't really have rednecks. I also don't consider San Antonio or Ft Worth "major" cities.

[Anonymous User]

I'll be working as a summer associate in Dallas in a few weeks. Can you guys talk about what your favorite things to do in the city are? Maybe like what museums/attractions/events you would recommend to a friend?

Thanks.

[Stanford4Me]

I'll be working as a summer associate in Dallas in a few weeks. Can you guys talk about what your favorite things to do in the city are? Maybe like what museums/attractions/events you would recommend to a friend?

Thanks.

Dallas Museum of Art is pretty cool and so is the Dallas World Aquarium.

Over the summer the DMA hosts a Thursday Night Jazz concert. It's cool for the first few weeks, but then the weather gets hot late into the night and it gets uncomfortable (but people still go so it's crowded and hot).

If you're into baseball, you should definitely check out a Dollar Dog Night at the Ballpark in Arlington. The Rangers are doing great (let's go Rangers!) and $1 hot dogs can't be beat.

There's a food event at the fair park that takes place over the summer that is usually pretty good. There's also a similar event in Addison, about 20 minutes north of Dallas.

But you'll be at a firm, so they'll make sure you see a lot of cool places around Dallas. Hope you have fun.

[kalvano]

Second the Aquarium. It's really awesome. Walking underneath the shark tank is really cool.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Live uptown and ball it up for 3-5 years doing biglaw

[FlanAl]

tag

[Stanford4Me]

I'll be working as a summer associate in Dallas in a few weeks. Can you guys talk about what your favorite things to do in the city are? Maybe like what museums/attractions/events you would recommend to a friend?

Thanks.

Also, check out D Magazine which covers (pretty much) all of the things you can do in Dallas at any given time. However, I'm not sure how much of their material you can access online.

[kalvano]

I'll be working as a summer associate in Dallas in a few weeks. Can you guys talk about what your favorite things to do in the city are? Maybe like what museums/attractions/events you would recommend to a friend?

Thanks.

Also, check out D Magazine which covers (pretty much) all of the things you can do in Dallas at any given time. However, I'm not sure how much of their material you can access online.

Guidelive is a pretty good (and free) guide to what is going on on a particular day, weekend, whatever.

[Stanford4Me]

I'll be working as a summer associate in Dallas in a few weeks. Can you guys talk about what your favorite things to do in the city are? Maybe like what museums/attractions/events you would recommend to a friend?

Thanks.

Also, check out D Magazine which covers (pretty much) all of the things you can do in Dallas at any given time. However, I'm not sure how much of their material you can access online.

Guidelive is a pretty good (and free) guide to what is going on on a particular day, weekend, whatever.

Never knew about this. Thanks.

[DallasCowboy]

Live uptown and ball it up for 3-5 years doing biglaw

[Anonymous User]

I'm moving to Houston for the summer from California. Are women expected to wear hose in the summer? Hose aren't required in SoCal even during the winter, but I know TX is a lot more conservative.

[HookemHooker]

Lived in DC for a few years. Rent for a 2 bedroom apt. was $2600. Rent in Austin for 2 bedroom apartment is $1100.

Also, Texas homes might incur higher property taxes, but it still does not outweigh the big difference in sticker prices. $800K at least for a decent row house in DC. where you will need to send your kids to private school and lock everything with chains/burglar bars. In Texas- $150K-200K for house in the burbs and $200K-$400K for a house closer to downtown where you can send your kids to a decent public school. (Granted you might have to supplement lessons about evolution.) Plus you can employ your own security measures.

Yes it is hot, but I would much rather be a day trip away from the beach where I can lounge around in shorts from February until November. Plus the sports teams are great. And THIS:

DELETED


I have no idea wtf you all are talking about.

You can all go to hell, I'm going to Texas

[HookemHooker]

Ohhh and not to exclude the lady brahs

DELETED

[Stanford4Me]

I'm moving to Houston for the summer from California. Are women expected to wear hose in the summer? Hose aren't required in SoCal even during the winter, but I know TX is a lot more conservative.

None of the summers wore hose in my Dallas office.

[unlicensedpotato]

So in terms of big law, it seems like Texas offices will also start you at 160. But, does anyone know how bonuses slash raises compare to working in new york city?

Edit for grammar

[de5igual]

So in terms of big law, it seems like Texas offices will also start you at 160. But, how does anyone know how bonuses slash raises compare to working in new york city?

I'm interested in knowing too. I know certain firms follow the NY payscale, but the TX-based firms definitely do not.

[zanzbar]

This thread made me laugh because when I was younger and my family lived in Louisiana we used to go to Houston and Dallas for vacations during the summer. On more then one occasion we commented on how less humid it was than Bayou country. I'm in the minority, but I really do like Texas. I have talked to a lot of people from around the country and they have all these complaints about the people, culture, and how backwards the state is, but I guess I have been brainwashed to ignore it. I will be attending a Texas law school in the fall, but I still can't decide on which one.

[unlicensedpotato]

So in terms of big law, it seems like Texas offices will also start you at 160. But, how does anyone know how bonuses slash raises compare to working in new york city?

I'm interested in knowing too. I know certain firms follow the NY payscale, but the TX-based firms definitely do not.

Exactly. So, all else equal, it's best to be at the Texas office of a firm that is based in New York rather than Texas?

[sherieshez]

.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, I know of a ~100 attorney big midlaw firm in Texas that starts its associates at $135k(+bonus) with annual $10k raises.