First of all, he will never vote for a Democrat if he moves there. Now with that out of the way:

He has a Master’s in CS from UC San Diego, his thesis was on machine learning (AI). He has done work in that area as well as software development in Java, C++, Python.
He has a friend in Fort Worth who works for Lockheed, he’ll be starting there then going to Austin, probably San Antonio. Going to some Meetups for various users’ groups, hoping to network there.
As I understand it, his age (46) is against him in this industry, don’t know if that has changed due to the tight labor market. Also, he was pursuing other things the last few years, so he doesn’t have a continuous record of employment in software engineering.

Any advice from Texas SF members who are familiar with the software industry there?

I have no advice on software but please tell your son...there is Texas and there is Austin. Two very different places.

My advice would be to look at the healthcare software companies. Every one of them is feverishly developing their own AI module or creating API's to integrate 3rd party AI. Although, most of those companies are based in the Midwest or east coast.

He may want to check Bell Helicopter which is on the east side of Fort Worth.

There's also Raytheon on the north side of Dallas. Raytheon does quite a bit with AI and machine learning.

What was he doing besides software engineering?

Dallas/Fort Worth should be a corporate hot spot, Austin will be more of a startup and independent coder market (the intellectual property buisness there is actually huge). Houston's a possibility if his experience is at all relevant to the oil industry. San Antonio and El Paso are possibilities, but he'll need to find good leads to justify going there. Would not advise him to go anywhere else in the state absent a good, specific reason, or it'll be to easy for him to scatter his efforts to the point of being ineffective.

Tell him to reach out as much as he can online - "I'll be in Texas and would love to stop by and say hello" is a perfectly acceptable way of introducing one's self.

He needs to make sure he’s on LinkedIn, he can get a lot of exposure there. Headhunters are always looking to fill positions and a lot of company recruiters post jobs there.

My question is what about looking, applying, & then interview BEFORE any big move?

He can cover a lot with research before he moves, which drains $$.

Oil and gas companies are ramping up their Data Science and AI efforts.

Check with the big names in Houston.

HK Ag

quote:

He has a Master’s in CS from UC San Diego, his thesis was on machine learning (AI).

This is a hot skill in a number of industries so he should be good to go.

A Masters in CS-AI covers a lot of different areas. Hardware, software, big data, etc., etc. If he is married to going to Texas I don't have much to offer other than he will be very well compensated if he plays his cards right. Well compensated if he doesn't. If he would like to look at other free states, Arizona, Utah, Michigan, and Idaho (yes Idaho) are starving for AI engineers of all types. He may find cost of living vs salary more inviting. Congrats to your son!

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
My question is what about looking, applying, & then interview BEFORE any big move?

That was my first thought. Isn't moving, then looking for opportunities, rather putting the cart before the horse?

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
My question is what about looking, applying, & then interview BEFORE any big move?

He can cover a lot with research before he moves, which drains $$.

I also agree. Is he moving there for another reason? Significant other? There are many opportunities around the country for that. (His area, I mean. )

I can't help with Texas, but I have a son who works in computer science, so I know about his employment history. I cannot comprehend actually physically going to an area to look for a job.

Look for jobs online, look at companies through sites such as glassdoor, and contact headhunter type companies. My son has been contacted about potential jobs by independent recruiters who apparently earn a fee by placing someone.

My son has only worked for two different companies, but each of those jobs started with online/phone interviews. They connect online, and interview while posing problems and watching how you solve it. Only after a couple of rounds of online/phone interviews was he asked to interview in person. That is when he traveled to meet with a potential employer.

From my limited secondhand experience, it's all about coding ability. If he has been out of that work for a while, I'd recommend he get back into it before he interviews with anyone.

Labor market in Texas, and in DFW in particular, is very hot right now. I lose people right and left, not as highly skilled as your son, but it’s happening at all levels. He should have no issues finding a job down here. I’m betting he’ll find out very quickly that between Dallas and Fort Worth, Fort Worth is more his speed/scene.

My youngest son works for a German based AI development company. Coding tests are typical to test your skill and creative application. Certainly other factors are part of their screening. Son #2 is also a developer and works on private projects to bring to market. So, yea, it's all about coding speed and elegant solutions that get the job.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
First of all, he will never vote for a Democrat if he moves there. Now with that out of the way:

He has a Master’s in CS from UC San Diego, his thesis was on machine learning (AI). He has done work in that area as well as software development in Java, C++, Python.
He has a friend in Fort Worth who works for Lockheed, he’ll be starting there then going to Austin, probably San Antonio. Going to some Meetups for various users’ groups, hoping to network there.
As I understand it, his age (46) is against him in this industry, don’t know if that has changed due to the tight labor market. Also, he was pursuing other things the last few years, so he doesn’t have a continuous record of employment in software engineering.

Any advice from Texas SF members who are familiar with the software industry there?

If he's at all competent he won't have any trouble getting a job.

My advice, after being in the IT industry for 20 plus years is to get one of the FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, and Google) companies on his resume. Amazon has a big development office in Austin so I'd start there. If you work for Amazon for a year, you can pretty much write your own ticket in the industry. I worked for Amazon for 3 years and it opened a ton of doors that would have never been opened for me otherwise.

This isn't a current map, but, does he have allergies? May affect the balance of choice between 2 offers in different cities in Texas

^^^^this is no joke and many won't understand. I get laid flat by cedar every year. It starts around Christmas, peaks mid January and doesn't end until mid February. It's like having the flu for 2 months every single year like clockwork. I have not been outside in several days, take 4 different prescription medications and had two steroid shots last week and my eyes are burning as I type this.... It's bad.

I believe it, TXJIM. We had SPF pollen so badly, last spring, it was triggering the motion sensors in our surveillance cameras at night! I had thought it was fog, but that had made no sense given the weather conditions. Then I saw our cars.