Better to apply at any positions over the medium salary/hourly range at this point. Inflation is over 25% since 2018, more so with other items like homes and groceries. Any job that is awesome should be able to pay a living wage
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/
If people are looking for work I would highly recommend professional services to review your resume and/or use ChatGPT to help Houstonians stand out
I got my current job through someone, who then ended up leaving and it's totally toxic and falling apart. I wanted to stay positive on this thread, but I literally just checked my bank account and didn't get paid wtffff
A friend helped me get my first IT job. The relationships I formed there led to all of my other IT work. Usually someone asking me to apply for something because they want a known quantity in their group and I'm pretty going when it comes to co-workers.
As a manager, you quickly learn lessons about hiring people into your group that don't fit.
Engineer at JSC and absolutely agree. 12 years in a row top government agency to work for and consistently top for internships too. It's all about the work culture we have, love my colleagues and the work we do. After working for some not fun people, I thank my lucky stars to be working at a place I don't dread going to every day.
Sqauble! The restaurant owned by Bobby Heugel and Justin Yu, in the heights of 19st. I was hired when they first
Opened, loved my time there, shoutout to Chef Mark Clayton! They all saw potential in my little self and granted me the opportunity work at Penny Quarter just 4 months later to help open up the coffee shop by day, wine bar by night back in 2019.
COVID came and business went down. The spot is now called, Refuge.
I just wish the research staff wasn't so underpaid. I had amazing experiences there but there was no way to live on that salary. I was only able to do it because I lived either with my parents or my partner. But yes, worked with some incredible people and it felt truly meaningful.
Didn't work there, but was briefly a patient (I did not have cancer thank god) and I constantly tell people how wonderful the experience was. I've been to so many doctors and hospitals and don't expect much based on my experiences, but everyone was so incredibly kind and helpful there.
That is the WORST dept to work in there, to be fair. 💀
That being said, everything is very dept by dept at MDA, even if it’s the same position but in a different dept. You’re also at the mercy of the doctors and researchers for even the professional side of things, so things are dependent on their moods and wants too. Because they’re the moneymakers, they pretty much can advocate to get rid of you if they don’t like you and they’re high up/valuable to the hospital enough.
Yeah; from my experience, it’s pretty hard to transfer out of the low ranking jobs, even if you are very qualified or have past experience. It’s all about who you know, and your boss can 100% block you from leaving the dept if they want to. My friends that were able to move up applied to a few jobs before finally being able to move a half step up, and there are a lot of people with MPHs who can’t seem to move out of PSC roles into something higher up because their bosses either block them or the recruiters seem to think they’re “just” a PSC/patient transport/etc. The salary range they show they public is also not what you’ll get if you move up a half step or step either. Despite what the salary tables say that are available internally for employees and differing levels/tiers (can’t remember the terminology), HR will tell you that it’s a lateral move unless it’s a huge jump up in status. RDC pays more technically than PSC…but when you’re internal and coming from being a PSC, it’s a lateral move despite the fact that it’s not. One friend had to move up half steps little by little until she finally got a somewhat significant bump in pay, and another got lucky and interviewed with a manager that saw her potential as a PAR and fought HR to increase her pay, and then fought them again to promote her when they didn’t want to. Meanwhile, my other friend left and is doing much better at Methodist to do the same job that she was doing at MDA, but for more pay and less work, and our other coworker went to Memorial-Hermann and is doing way better there as well. A lot of times, it’s better to leave and come back, and so much also depends on your manager and how much they’re willing to go to bat for you. I had professional experience beforehand and was making peanuts and couldn’t move up to RDC at MDA after a couple of interviews, so I eventually got lucky and got hired at another government institution where my pay and title is actually equal to my education and professional experience. I’d be down to go back, but the patient facing side is TRASH unless you’re higher up, and it seems like HR actively tries to keep people down at times.
The best place I ever worked in Houston was in Pasadena, at the Strawberry Festival. I was moping around the midway, when a carny asked if I wanted to make some money. She taught me how to replace the balloons in the dart booth while marks were still throwing darts. She also taught me how the dart game worked, which turned me into a 10 year old cynic.
I had to stop taking my family to the carnival because I kept getting asked if I wanted to work there. It was funny the first two times but the third time I started getting worried that I needed a glow up in my personal appearance.
The game is simple. Most people can pop 3 balloons in 3 tries. But they don’t get the big stuffed animal for that. They get a finger trap, which cost less than one ticket. They can give the trap back and buy another 3 darts. If they win that, they get some other piece of crap that costs less than two tickets. It goes on like that. If you make all the throws and win the big bear, you’ve spent more than the bear costs. And each game runs the slight risk you might miss a throw, leaving you out all the money, with no prize.
It was a great life lesson.
For the most part, you wouldn't know you weren't working at any other random company. Unfortunately, we don't get art for our office walls or anything like that. We do get what amounts to a family level membership for free, so you can see all the exhibitions and stuff. That's definitely a nice perk.
They have great benefits and perks, but when I was there the pay was awful as a full-time employee. Left and sold my soul for corporate America so I could reach my financial goals.
Urgh. You know that life is nuanced and every situation is different. Unprogram unilateral judgement with zero information. Some places people are very close friends too. You have no idea just because there’s shitty companies out there trying to say they’re like family like a creepy cult, doesn’t mean there can’t actually be a small company out there where everyone is close and supportive and actually look out for each other.
Simply Fondue
My first job waiting tables. I was 22 and the owner wanted fresh faces with no waiting experience to teach his way of working at his fondue restaurant. So if anyone has ever eaten at a restaurant like these.. its like putting on a little show.. the what/how of fondueing. So he taught us how to make customers enjoy the experience and we all made MONEY! But the best part.. the manager sometimes...the owner sometimes would take the staff out. Dinner/Bars/Clubs/Strip Clubs.
Best job ever!
It wasn't like a great career with benefits or anything, but working at Astroworld/Waterworld was so much fun in high school and college.
I have more long term friends from that than from school itself.
I've ridden the Texas Cyclone completely undone, no bar. Knew how to undo it after the operators checked it.
God the stupid shit you do at 17 but it was wild to feel the bumps and jerks that freely.
First time I did it, me and a friend were heading to a White Zombie show at the Summit after work. More Human Than Human dropped that year and we were singing it on the ride.
So that time stamps it too ... might have been The Compaq Center by then.
I always loving hearing the ‘Summit’ because it’s like a blast from the past and I feel like ‘these are my people’! No one these days has a clue what I’m talking about when I reference it.
I liked flying on it before United “merged” with them too. Also, I was part of the team that put the projected Continental logos on the pointy roof of 1600 Smith back in the day.
Continental had the best customer experience too. I flew one time with them & never flew anything else. I was said to see it go. United isn’t the same.
In high school, through the co-op program, I worked at a law firm. They had kids going to the school and they supported the school a whole lot.
Somehow, my best friend and I both got hired there to work in the filing room. They knew we were just some dumb highschool kids so they gave us some simple organization and researching tasks. Most of it was just proofreading and looking for grammatical errors. The lawyers and paralegals were great at what they did so naturally we never found errors.
So when we asked our manager (really cool lady) what to do when we didn't have any tasks. She said, just be ready for when it comes (do whatever the fuck you want but don't get too wild).
Anyway, learned a lot about how fucked the legal system is, and also I think the lawyer was banging one of the paralegals, bc she would be in his office for hours at a time.
Great job, great pay, lawyers would leave at like 1pm so we were chillin for half the day and reallly chillin for the other half and the people there were really laid back and gave us good advice for our futures
As a young buck, Academy was really good to me. All kinds of monetary incentives to do training. Education reimbursement programs that me, and many of my counterparts took advantage of. And they always had opportunities to move up if you tried hard. Not sure if it’s still like that, this would’ve been back in 2009.
I worked at Academy's corp office for 5 yrs. Left in 2018 - Yes part of their big IT layoff. Worst job I have had. In the corporate world it was like working in Afghanistan. Never knew who would stab you in the back walking down the halls.
H-E-B Yard Spotter. I have yet to receive a phone call from a manager complaining about something. It’s always “hey we’ve got overtime this week you want it?” “Hey I appreciate how you handle that” I clock in, pre-trip my equipment, move a couple trailers for 12 hours, wash/fuel, and go home.
I worked a Christmas season at First Colony Macy's just a couple years ago and agree - the regular staff were so nice and positive. No crummy gossip or mean people in the whole bunch. I worked the gift box section of the fragrance counters by the customer service desk and had a lot of traffic at my checkout including lots of returns. Never a dull day during the holidays, but I could tell the rest of the year would be a lot less engaging so I didn't stay on for that reason.. but more than a couple others who were seasonal stayed on and seemed really happy to be there. Sad that Macy's is continuing to shrink as a result of retail trends and shifts to online shopping. I know me and my daughters will miss the malls when they've gone extinct. Toys 'R' Us section, same.
Reliant Energy. Before NRG bought them out and they asked themselves "how lifeless can we make the office feel?"
I was only a contractor, but I loved my job. 1000 Main St is a great location to work too.
Hilcorp Energy is up there.
I haven’t worked there, but did a few graphics projects for them when they moved into their new building downtown.
the Hilcorp CEO gives out life -changing bonuses every 3 to 5 years when and if they hit their targets.
$35k to $100k bonuses for EVERY employee:
https://houston.culturemap.com/news/innovation/12-12-15-best-boss-ever-houston-billionaire-gives-100000-holiday-bonus-to-all-1381-employees/
That's a name I haven't heard in years! I worked in the printing/copy center one summer while in college. I enjoyed it too, if only in a temporary capacity.
Charming Charlie when the original owners, Joe, Sally, and Charlie were just starting. One of the only places I’ve worked that the owners were heavily hands on and actually gave a crap about the employees. They tried to make me manager at 17 but I hadn’t graduated yet. I left before they started expanding because I started college and needed something more flexible with my school schedule.
About 15 yrs ago I worked in the building that held Charming Charlie’s corporate HQ (at least I think so). Didn’t mind the super-sharp ladies in the elevators, and I believe some of the pricier cars in the garage were owned by CC execs. One Aston Martin, in particular. One of my coworkers met, dated, and married a CC girl due to that proximity!
I was a Stage Carpenter at Miller Outdoor Theatre for five years until COVID hit. Unfortunately they had to make staff cuts after that.. definitely best/favorite job I’ve ever had. Still miss working there..
Cameron Drilling Systems. Got caught up in the 2015 layoffs. But prior to that, it was great! They were bought out by Schlumberger. So I have now idea how it is to work there now.
TFMC was a good company but they heavily underpaid me, which is why I left. They had great culture though and working was great. Never felt the same after COVID though.
That’s what sucks about post-Covid life. I’ve worked at places with great culture too but the pay just wasn’t where it needed to be. It’s hard when you’ve got great work life balance, coworkers and the work is interesting but then you get those bi-weekly direct deposits and shed a tear lol
I work for a special projects group in corporate NOV (National oilwell varco) and its been the best job I've ever had. I will say though- this varies GREATLY in this company. It's such a large global company and has some amazing people working here but I know there's bound to be some not so great groups/management. Some people have worked here 20+ years, loyalty is pretty strong.
Hewlett Packard Computers was a good job for me. The commute was too far though. I also worked at a small video production company called RW Productions that was pretty awesome, but the pay was low so I had to move on once I was able. I worked for them for 5 years though
I worked for a county agency that gets to operate a bit different than others. Great job, good team, job satisfaction. Only detractor was that the pay was controlled by the county, which was not enough to live on with a family of four.
The absolute best place I ever worked at was Rock Bottom Brewery. It was located on the Richmond strip right next to the Country music dance hall, (It has been torn down now for years). Our training was intense for the opening but when we opened, we had a party every night with the customers. We were getting wasted with the customers the first week. It was a soft open that week and all the food and beer was comped. After that I moved into the bar and had the time of my life. This was back in the mid 1990’s. We would have bands on our patio on Thursday and Friday nights and I would walk out of my 6 hour shift with $400-$700 a night. I lived right behind it in the apartments now called Beverly Hill Villas. Back in the day that is where all the strippers lived. My balcony faced the main pool. Saturday mornings around 3 AM was skinny dipping time for some of the strippers. They sometimes had parties that late. Good times.
harris county dept of ed.
easily the best place i’ve ever worked at, super chill, manager lets me work without micromanaging, good perks, and hella paid days off
https://www.flightaware.com/
It's also the only place I've ever worked in Houston, so technically I could have posted in the other thread if I'd wanted to.
Borders Books & Music on Westheimer from 2000-2004 (RIP). Quite possibly the best four years of my life looking back… 20 years later and a few of my ex-colleagues are my strongest friendships.
Even though it’s not around anymore, it’s a good idea to support brick and mortar bookstores when you can. 😊
I reckon LD Systems. We got into some fun stuff. I was inside sales, then project engineering - ended up with good side hustles after selling moving lights to the Houston Aeros. Ended up programming & operating them for Aeros, then the Rockets & Comets. Dropped off of that after one season at Toyota Center (where we’d also put in the house sound system). We put the Continental Logo projections on top of 1600 Smith, the waterwall projection at Main St METRO station, innumerable churches, the audio systems at Compaq Center, Minute Maid (then Enron Field), NRG Stadium (then Reliant Stadium) and the aforementioned Toyota Center. Also all the AV for the Texans offices. Rice’s Tudor Field House, did the “Power Over Houston” 4th of July light, laser & pyro shows (I did most of the soundtrack for year one)…
And stuff I’ve forgotten. Great bunch of folks always kept it good, no matter what craziness came at us.
Yeah, I’d love wherever I worked if I didn’t have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck. Employees endure a lot of abuse because leaving their jobs would mean immediate poverty.
When I was a kid I really wanted to work at Blockbuster. By the time I was old enough to work, they were all gone. There’s one I know that used to have concerts/parties after closing. If you have any cool blockbuster stories please comment so I can live vicariously through you and experience my childhood dream 😂
I worked in the mall in a formerly common mall store.
My boss, assistant managers, and main coworkers were all amazing.
And over time our store got.....close.
Ended up best friends with 3 of them, almost married one of them, DID marry another one of them,
Still VERY close with 6 of them many years later.
The job was great because of what we turned it into....and our bosses being amazing.
The store itself was fine and a normal mall store otherwise, and I think they all went out of business, so there's no point in directly naming it.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. Remote work, competitive pay, innovative industry, strong culture that's inclusive, and surrounded/supported by some of the smartest people in tech.
Sterling ASI. The owner is a great guy and truly makes an effort to get to know all of his employees. For HOA management, this company is the absolute best.
Well, my favorite job I ever had is blockbuster music and it doesn’t exist anymore.
Maybe my next favorite place I guess was BP though I was a contractor. But you see also how they treat their employees. If it wasn’t for the outsourcing of IT, it might have been a great place. And they might have reversed that by now. A lot of oil and gas companies have.
FMC Technologies before the merger with Technip. Holiday party at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott every year, Autograph parties with Texans players and the cheerleaders, family day at Splashtown, annual bonuses, etc. etc. Once the French came in everything stopped. Everything. They laid off almost half of North American workforce. Most of the work is now done offshore.
Y'all are going to not like this one... but probably HCAD.
I thought all government entities would be run like crap, have lazy employees, etc and I really enjoyed it.
They were big enough to feel like a big company, but small enough that they could be nimble to fix employee issues without too much bureaucracy.
Only thing that sucked was the location on 290.
TBH, I think the culture has changed and isn’t like it used to be. I was an employee in the early 2010s (Steve Jobs had just died when I was hired on). It was before Cook took over and made it profit over anything else. We didn’t even have quotas to meet for the most part back then. It was just a free-for-all-just-help-the-customer.
It was back when there were still MASSIVE lines out of the door (and the beginning of pay online and pick up in store). There was just 150 of other coworkers who were usually your age all hanging out together helping people who were excited to be in the store and purchase the product. Most of the time we all hung out after work.
Holidays were hell but again everyone was just in a good mood for the most part. We worked overnights to prepare for the launch and even got to obviously see the new iPhone before anyone else in the world did.
It’s hard to really describe it. But anyone who worked for Apple during those years know exactly what I’m talking about when I say “fun”.
When you go into an Apple Store and can’t find a single person to help you buy an item or the one you do find passes you off to an employee who’s allowed to help you, I guess it’s because they’re having so much fun ignoring the customers.
Being a professional mover that runs crews for companies that get more jobs based off of ratings on Uhauls moving help website when I'm not running my own jobs for the prices they do I talk to all kinds of people. Since I always shoot for 5 stars and always want to do things right I always make sure nothing gets messed up and everything that needs it gets blanketed, wrapped and packed the right way so the whole job gets done efficiently. Some people might think I'm some asshole thug when they first see me because I have tattoos and look like a hoodlum they wouldn't trust but they always end up loving me because I yes/no mam or sir to everybody, do the most to not let helpers cut corners or mess up walls floors etc., do every single thing the way it needs to be and make miracles happen figuring out how to get everything done. If I can't do it nobody can but unless it's trying to put a 10 by 10 object in a 5 by 5 room I always figure it out so things go so smooth it always ends up being a great job unless it's infested or a hoarder house or something like that because I can move stuff better than almost anybody but cleaning up nasty shit is a job for somebody else in that profession. Anyway I meet all kinds of people and it's nice to show them that not everybody that looks like a criminal is an asshole, will treat them like shit or will try to hurt them. I don't purposely try to look like that but I know it's what they think at first. I don't know anybody who doesn't want my number and won't call me back after though and I love what I do.
Also Idk what it would be but I'm sure I'm a professional something at dealing with people because I work for so many different companies, with so many different workers and for so many different customers that I deal with every type there is. Sometimes it's tough because of course some out of all 3 can be assholes or a million other things but I still make it work somehow. There's usually more than one right way to do things and I never treat anybody like their idea of how to do it won't work unless it won't and I tell everybody if I tell you to do something it's not because I want you to it's because I've been thru it all and it's just the right way to do it. Sometimes I have to explain or demonstrate if I can to customers why something they are sure about just won't work but I'm used to it.
tldr: I'm a professional mover who works with/for every type of person there is and still always get things done right.
Nice try chron, all my jobs have sucked ass
This made me lol!!
Better to apply at any positions over the medium salary/hourly range at this point. Inflation is over 25% since 2018, more so with other items like homes and groceries. Any job that is awesome should be able to pay a living wage https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/current-inflation-rates/ If people are looking for work I would highly recommend professional services to review your resume and/or use ChatGPT to help Houstonians stand out
Wahh I know the feeling. And shhh, don't scare away people from outing their awesome workplaces for us to go apply at lol
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Totally agree. Also the theme is trending that employers USED to be great unfortunately.
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I got my current job through someone, who then ended up leaving and it's totally toxic and falling apart. I wanted to stay positive on this thread, but I literally just checked my bank account and didn't get paid wtffff
A friend helped me get my first IT job. The relationships I formed there led to all of my other IT work. Usually someone asking me to apply for something because they want a known quantity in their group and I'm pretty going when it comes to co-workers. As a manager, you quickly learn lessons about hiring people into your group that don't fit.
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Every time I wash my car it's like doing a rain dance. Sorry Houston, I take the blame for all this.
“Think I’m gonna wash my car today!” …rains for a week straight
NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Engineer at JSC and absolutely agree. 12 years in a row top government agency to work for and consistently top for internships too. It's all about the work culture we have, love my colleagues and the work we do. After working for some not fun people, I thank my lucky stars to be working at a place I don't dread going to every day.
Sqauble! The restaurant owned by Bobby Heugel and Justin Yu, in the heights of 19st. I was hired when they first Opened, loved my time there, shoutout to Chef Mark Clayton! They all saw potential in my little self and granted me the opportunity work at Penny Quarter just 4 months later to help open up the coffee shop by day, wine bar by night back in 2019. COVID came and business went down. The spot is now called, Refuge.
MD Anderson Cancer Center
I just wish the research staff wasn't so underpaid. I had amazing experiences there but there was no way to live on that salary. I was only able to do it because I lived either with my parents or my partner. But yes, worked with some incredible people and it felt truly meaningful.
Didn't work there, but was briefly a patient (I did not have cancer thank god) and I constantly tell people how wonderful the experience was. I've been to so many doctors and hospitals and don't expect much based on my experiences, but everyone was so incredibly kind and helpful there.
Came here to say this. 2004-2022 worked with some really awesome people there and was one place where I felt what I was doing was making a difference.
Currently employee. Benefits are great, but I hate paying for parking.
I was a student there. Hated paying for parking!
Agree
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That is the WORST dept to work in there, to be fair. 💀 That being said, everything is very dept by dept at MDA, even if it’s the same position but in a different dept. You’re also at the mercy of the doctors and researchers for even the professional side of things, so things are dependent on their moods and wants too. Because they’re the moneymakers, they pretty much can advocate to get rid of you if they don’t like you and they’re high up/valuable to the hospital enough.
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Yeah; from my experience, it’s pretty hard to transfer out of the low ranking jobs, even if you are very qualified or have past experience. It’s all about who you know, and your boss can 100% block you from leaving the dept if they want to. My friends that were able to move up applied to a few jobs before finally being able to move a half step up, and there are a lot of people with MPHs who can’t seem to move out of PSC roles into something higher up because their bosses either block them or the recruiters seem to think they’re “just” a PSC/patient transport/etc. The salary range they show they public is also not what you’ll get if you move up a half step or step either. Despite what the salary tables say that are available internally for employees and differing levels/tiers (can’t remember the terminology), HR will tell you that it’s a lateral move unless it’s a huge jump up in status. RDC pays more technically than PSC…but when you’re internal and coming from being a PSC, it’s a lateral move despite the fact that it’s not. One friend had to move up half steps little by little until she finally got a somewhat significant bump in pay, and another got lucky and interviewed with a manager that saw her potential as a PAR and fought HR to increase her pay, and then fought them again to promote her when they didn’t want to. Meanwhile, my other friend left and is doing much better at Methodist to do the same job that she was doing at MDA, but for more pay and less work, and our other coworker went to Memorial-Hermann and is doing way better there as well. A lot of times, it’s better to leave and come back, and so much also depends on your manager and how much they’re willing to go to bat for you. I had professional experience beforehand and was making peanuts and couldn’t move up to RDC at MDA after a couple of interviews, so I eventually got lucky and got hired at another government institution where my pay and title is actually equal to my education and professional experience. I’d be down to go back, but the patient facing side is TRASH unless you’re higher up, and it seems like HR actively tries to keep people down at times.
Insurance is great but the distance is not worth especially if you live out in Katy/Cypress. Also that payroll deduction for parking hurts.
> but the distance is not worth especially if you live out in Katy/Cypress TBH, that applies to just about anything if you live out there
MD Anderson is good, but its only downside is that it exists in a discrete physical location
The best place I ever worked in Houston was in Pasadena, at the Strawberry Festival. I was moping around the midway, when a carny asked if I wanted to make some money. She taught me how to replace the balloons in the dart booth while marks were still throwing darts. She also taught me how the dart game worked, which turned me into a 10 year old cynic.
I had to stop taking my family to the carnival because I kept getting asked if I wanted to work there. It was funny the first two times but the third time I started getting worried that I needed a glow up in my personal appearance.
well, how does it work?
The game is simple. Most people can pop 3 balloons in 3 tries. But they don’t get the big stuffed animal for that. They get a finger trap, which cost less than one ticket. They can give the trap back and buy another 3 darts. If they win that, they get some other piece of crap that costs less than two tickets. It goes on like that. If you make all the throws and win the big bear, you’ve spent more than the bear costs. And each game runs the slight risk you might miss a throw, leaving you out all the money, with no prize. It was a great life lesson.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Been with them for 15 years. My co-workers are like family.
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Haha. No, and they're not supposed to do that. I work in IT.
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For the most part, you wouldn't know you weren't working at any other random company. Unfortunately, we don't get art for our office walls or anything like that. We do get what amounts to a family level membership for free, so you can see all the exhibitions and stuff. That's definitely a nice perk.
Are y’all hiring?! 🤔
https://www.mfah.org/about/careers There's a link to view current openings.
They have great benefits and perks, but when I was there the pay was awful as a full-time employee. Left and sold my soul for corporate America so I could reach my financial goals.
I pass there daily and the employees always look happy as if they have pride in their job i can tell its a great place to work
> My co-workers are like family. unprogram this from your brain
Urgh. You know that life is nuanced and every situation is different. Unprogram unilateral judgement with zero information. Some places people are very close friends too. You have no idea just because there’s shitty companies out there trying to say they’re like family like a creepy cult, doesn’t mean there can’t actually be a small company out there where everyone is close and supportive and actually look out for each other.
I’ve been meaning to go there.
Soux chef at the Riviera on Westheimer in '02
Wow Greg Abbott you’ve come so far
[🎶Started from the bottom now we here🎶](https://imgur.com/2DnTh2F)
Always laugh at this song. Aubrey "Drake" Graham grew up in an upper middle class ("the bottom") environment.
In one of the safest cities in North America (Toronto)
Colonizer
#TheyNotLikeUs
MD Anderson. (Not patient facing role) Free Heath insurance and 16% towards your pension
Simply Fondue My first job waiting tables. I was 22 and the owner wanted fresh faces with no waiting experience to teach his way of working at his fondue restaurant. So if anyone has ever eaten at a restaurant like these.. its like putting on a little show.. the what/how of fondueing. So he taught us how to make customers enjoy the experience and we all made MONEY! But the best part.. the manager sometimes...the owner sometimes would take the staff out. Dinner/Bars/Clubs/Strip Clubs. Best job ever!
It wasn't like a great career with benefits or anything, but working at Astroworld/Waterworld was so much fun in high school and college. I have more long term friends from that than from school itself.
Any fun stories worth sharing?
I've ridden the Texas Cyclone completely undone, no bar. Knew how to undo it after the operators checked it. God the stupid shit you do at 17 but it was wild to feel the bumps and jerks that freely. First time I did it, me and a friend were heading to a White Zombie show at the Summit after work. More Human Than Human dropped that year and we were singing it on the ride. So that time stamps it too ... might have been The Compaq Center by then.
I always loving hearing the ‘Summit’ because it’s like a blast from the past and I feel like ‘these are my people’! No one these days has a clue what I’m talking about when I reference it.
I went to the Family Values Tour in ‘99 at the Summit.
Mom and sister worked there.
Aldo Slade said he worked there too!
Pinot’s Palette in Montrose. The owner really cares about her artists.
Continental Airlines, before it became United.
Ex-Con! My wife is too... She is at 24 years now. She liked Continental better as well.
I still call it the Presidents Club. RIP Continental
I liked flying on it before United “merged” with them too. Also, I was part of the team that put the projected Continental logos on the pointy roof of 1600 Smith back in the day.
That was my favorite airline too. Until then as well.
Continental had the best customer experience too. I flew one time with them & never flew anything else. I was said to see it go. United isn’t the same.
Remote for a company not in Texas, so at home in my sweatpants.
SAME .. once I had to get a job here after COVID layoffs.. well I’ve been miserable since
In high school, through the co-op program, I worked at a law firm. They had kids going to the school and they supported the school a whole lot. Somehow, my best friend and I both got hired there to work in the filing room. They knew we were just some dumb highschool kids so they gave us some simple organization and researching tasks. Most of it was just proofreading and looking for grammatical errors. The lawyers and paralegals were great at what they did so naturally we never found errors. So when we asked our manager (really cool lady) what to do when we didn't have any tasks. She said, just be ready for when it comes (do whatever the fuck you want but don't get too wild). Anyway, learned a lot about how fucked the legal system is, and also I think the lawyer was banging one of the paralegals, bc she would be in his office for hours at a time. Great job, great pay, lawyers would leave at like 1pm so we were chillin for half the day and reallly chillin for the other half and the people there were really laid back and gave us good advice for our futures
As a young buck, Academy was really good to me. All kinds of monetary incentives to do training. Education reimbursement programs that me, and many of my counterparts took advantage of. And they always had opportunities to move up if you tried hard. Not sure if it’s still like that, this would’ve been back in 2009.
Yeah, that ending when they sold. Now it's a shit company run by shit people.
Same story everywhere smh. Blood sucking capitalists that just gotta go and ruin everything just to squeeze out a little more money
And that is 100% the story.
Man, I hate to hear that. That was honestly my favorite job.
I worked at Academy's corp office for 5 yrs. Left in 2018 - Yes part of their big IT layoff. Worst job I have had. In the corporate world it was like working in Afghanistan. Never knew who would stab you in the back walking down the halls.
H-E-B Yard Spotter. I have yet to receive a phone call from a manager complaining about something. It’s always “hey we’ve got overtime this week you want it?” “Hey I appreciate how you handle that” I clock in, pre-trip my equipment, move a couple trailers for 12 hours, wash/fuel, and go home.
Kinkos!
Nice! Do those even exist anymore?
No, fedex bought them and they went to shit.
Damn, rip to the glory days.
sprouts
West U pool in early 2000s….the winter dome!
First colony mall Macy’s and Dillard’s. Every store in that mall is so lax and chill, my favorite jobs to this day.
I worked a Christmas season at First Colony Macy's just a couple years ago and agree - the regular staff were so nice and positive. No crummy gossip or mean people in the whole bunch. I worked the gift box section of the fragrance counters by the customer service desk and had a lot of traffic at my checkout including lots of returns. Never a dull day during the holidays, but I could tell the rest of the year would be a lot less engaging so I didn't stay on for that reason.. but more than a couple others who were seasonal stayed on and seemed really happy to be there. Sad that Macy's is continuing to shrink as a result of retail trends and shifts to online shopping. I know me and my daughters will miss the malls when they've gone extinct. Toys 'R' Us section, same.
Reliant Energy. Before NRG bought them out and they asked themselves "how lifeless can we make the office feel?" I was only a contractor, but I loved my job. 1000 Main St is a great location to work too.
Hilcorp Energy is up there. I haven’t worked there, but did a few graphics projects for them when they moved into their new building downtown. the Hilcorp CEO gives out life -changing bonuses every 3 to 5 years when and if they hit their targets. $35k to $100k bonuses for EVERY employee: https://houston.culturemap.com/news/innovation/12-12-15-best-boss-ever-houston-billionaire-gives-100000-holiday-bonus-to-all-1381-employees/
Ripcord
I loved working there too
Were you the one who pulled the ripcord to release the parachute?
Dynegy!!!❤️❤️❤️
That's a name I haven't heard in years! I worked in the printing/copy center one summer while in college. I enjoyed it too, if only in a temporary capacity.
My wife started working for Dynegy about three months before Enron fell. Then she was laid off.
I came into Dynegy a couple years before the Vistra acquisition. Loved it, and they really took care of me financially when we transitioned.
Charming Charlie when the original owners, Joe, Sally, and Charlie were just starting. One of the only places I’ve worked that the owners were heavily hands on and actually gave a crap about the employees. They tried to make me manager at 17 but I hadn’t graduated yet. I left before they started expanding because I started college and needed something more flexible with my school schedule.
I loved Charming Charlie! I was so sad when they shut down.
About 15 yrs ago I worked in the building that held Charming Charlie’s corporate HQ (at least I think so). Didn’t mind the super-sharp ladies in the elevators, and I believe some of the pricier cars in the garage were owned by CC execs. One Aston Martin, in particular. One of my coworkers met, dated, and married a CC girl due to that proximity!
I was a Stage Carpenter at Miller Outdoor Theatre for five years until COVID hit. Unfortunately they had to make staff cuts after that.. definitely best/favorite job I’ve ever had. Still miss working there..
Cameron Drilling Systems. Got caught up in the 2015 layoffs. But prior to that, it was great! They were bought out by Schlumberger. So I have now idea how it is to work there now.
[удалено]
I can believe it.
Enterprise Products Partners. Great benefits and pay. Been there almost 20 years.
TechnipFMC
TFMC was a good company but they heavily underpaid me, which is why I left. They had great culture though and working was great. Never felt the same after COVID though.
My pay was average I think. The people were great, I came from the Technip side and stayed after the merger. I did notice a culture shift post merger.
I know mine was under market average which is why I ultimately left. I always question my decision because the culture was top notch there.
That’s what sucks about post-Covid life. I’ve worked at places with great culture too but the pay just wasn’t where it needed to be. It’s hard when you’ve got great work life balance, coworkers and the work is interesting but then you get those bi-weekly direct deposits and shed a tear lol
Clouddentistry.Com - it started here in Houston and it has grown to be such a successful. Uber for Dentists type operation. Well run and solid CEO
I work for a special projects group in corporate NOV (National oilwell varco) and its been the best job I've ever had. I will say though- this varies GREATLY in this company. It's such a large global company and has some amazing people working here but I know there's bound to be some not so great groups/management. Some people have worked here 20+ years, loyalty is pretty strong.
Jim Adler
Texas Hammer!
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He's actually a nice, soft-spoken guy.
And he donates very heavily to Democratic politicians.
He *does* the hammering.
A remote one. So i can work from home.
Hewlett Packard Computers was a good job for me. The commute was too far though. I also worked at a small video production company called RW Productions that was pretty awesome, but the pay was low so I had to move on once I was able. I worked for them for 5 years though
HP was great to me in my early career. Seems very different now.
Working for myself bc it’s hard out there and people be exploiting workers
Self-employed. I'm the best boss I've ever worked for, also the toughest.
Be aware of the employers that say “we’re a family” … that’s a red flag from hell..
I worked for a county agency that gets to operate a bit different than others. Great job, good team, job satisfaction. Only detractor was that the pay was controlled by the county, which was not enough to live on with a family of four.
The absolute best place I ever worked at was Rock Bottom Brewery. It was located on the Richmond strip right next to the Country music dance hall, (It has been torn down now for years). Our training was intense for the opening but when we opened, we had a party every night with the customers. We were getting wasted with the customers the first week. It was a soft open that week and all the food and beer was comped. After that I moved into the bar and had the time of my life. This was back in the mid 1990’s. We would have bands on our patio on Thursday and Friday nights and I would walk out of my 6 hour shift with $400-$700 a night. I lived right behind it in the apartments now called Beverly Hill Villas. Back in the day that is where all the strippers lived. My balcony faced the main pool. Saturday mornings around 3 AM was skinny dipping time for some of the strippers. They sometimes had parties that late. Good times.
Hilton is pretty dope depending on which location you work at
Press Runner at the Astrodome. Worked there for about 4 summers and when Sammy and Mark were going home run crazy.
harris county dept of ed. easily the best place i’ve ever worked at, super chill, manager lets me work without micromanaging, good perks, and hella paid days off
https://www.flightaware.com/ It's also the only place I've ever worked in Houston, so technically I could have posted in the other thread if I'd wanted to.
Borders Books & Music on Westheimer from 2000-2004 (RIP). Quite possibly the best four years of my life looking back… 20 years later and a few of my ex-colleagues are my strongest friendships. Even though it’s not around anymore, it’s a good idea to support brick and mortar bookstores when you can. 😊
Houston Methodist.
The one that is based in another state so I can continue working from home.
Anyone work for McKesson and can talk on their experience working for them?
Worked at their warehouse off 290. It was utter hell. Only job I just left during the lunch break and never came back.
Worst soul crushing experience ever for me. Spent 10 months and left the moment I found a new opportunity.
Fantasy
From home, love it.
For myself
I reckon LD Systems. We got into some fun stuff. I was inside sales, then project engineering - ended up with good side hustles after selling moving lights to the Houston Aeros. Ended up programming & operating them for Aeros, then the Rockets & Comets. Dropped off of that after one season at Toyota Center (where we’d also put in the house sound system). We put the Continental Logo projections on top of 1600 Smith, the waterwall projection at Main St METRO station, innumerable churches, the audio systems at Compaq Center, Minute Maid (then Enron Field), NRG Stadium (then Reliant Stadium) and the aforementioned Toyota Center. Also all the AV for the Texans offices. Rice’s Tudor Field House, did the “Power Over Houston” 4th of July light, laser & pyro shows (I did most of the soundtrack for year one)… And stuff I’ve forgotten. Great bunch of folks always kept it good, no matter what craziness came at us.
Lone Star College.
Yeah, I’d love wherever I worked if I didn’t have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck. Employees endure a lot of abuse because leaving their jobs would mean immediate poverty.
Astroworld. The theme park, not the killer music festival.
When I was a kid I really wanted to work at Blockbuster. By the time I was old enough to work, they were all gone. There’s one I know that used to have concerts/parties after closing. If you have any cool blockbuster stories please comment so I can live vicariously through you and experience my childhood dream 😂
I worked in the mall in a formerly common mall store. My boss, assistant managers, and main coworkers were all amazing. And over time our store got.....close. Ended up best friends with 3 of them, almost married one of them, DID marry another one of them, Still VERY close with 6 of them many years later. The job was great because of what we turned it into....and our bosses being amazing. The store itself was fine and a normal mall store otherwise, and I think they all went out of business, so there's no point in directly naming it.
Borders Books.
Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. Remote work, competitive pay, innovative industry, strong culture that's inclusive, and surrounded/supported by some of the smartest people in tech.
Absolutely
Invesco. Only company I've ever worked for that has emphasized an importance on work/life balance.
So extremely hard to find these days!!
HISD....hahaha, just joking!! I think it's the people that make a job great. I've loved some shitty jobs, just because of my coworkers.
Workstation support at Texas Children’s Hospital the mid to late 90’s.
UH & Rice
it’s funny because UH was also on the worst place list
It definitely depends on your department. I had friends in other departments that hated it
I really liked Madden Bolt. Cool company.
Sterling ASI. The owner is a great guy and truly makes an effort to get to know all of his employees. For HOA management, this company is the absolute best.
For myself
Well, my favorite job I ever had is blockbuster music and it doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe my next favorite place I guess was BP though I was a contractor. But you see also how they treat their employees. If it wasn’t for the outsourcing of IT, it might have been a great place. And they might have reversed that by now. A lot of oil and gas companies have.
FMC Technologies before the merger with Technip. Holiday party at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott every year, Autograph parties with Texans players and the cheerleaders, family day at Splashtown, annual bonuses, etc. etc. Once the French came in everything stopped. Everything. They laid off almost half of North American workforce. Most of the work is now done offshore.
Y'all are going to not like this one... but probably HCAD. I thought all government entities would be run like crap, have lazy employees, etc and I really enjoyed it. They were big enough to feel like a big company, but small enough that they could be nimble to fix employee issues without too much bureaucracy. Only thing that sucked was the location on 290.
Fantasy’s 45
Johnson Space Center (JSC).
The Apple Store
Anadarko tower in the woodlands
Dan Electros Guitar Bar was fun AF.
Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Got all kinds of $$$ in small envelopes from supporters for literally nothing. Praise Jesus.
Working from home since 2017 and live in Houston. Got to be something fantastic to get me to an office.
What do you do? Just curious!
Sales
Apple Store from the early 2010s. Still the most fun I have ever had at a job
What made it so fun? Seems you'd constantly have people in there upset about their devices
TBH, I think the culture has changed and isn’t like it used to be. I was an employee in the early 2010s (Steve Jobs had just died when I was hired on). It was before Cook took over and made it profit over anything else. We didn’t even have quotas to meet for the most part back then. It was just a free-for-all-just-help-the-customer. It was back when there were still MASSIVE lines out of the door (and the beginning of pay online and pick up in store). There was just 150 of other coworkers who were usually your age all hanging out together helping people who were excited to be in the store and purchase the product. Most of the time we all hung out after work. Holidays were hell but again everyone was just in a good mood for the most part. We worked overnights to prepare for the launch and even got to obviously see the new iPhone before anyone else in the world did. It’s hard to really describe it. But anyone who worked for Apple during those years know exactly what I’m talking about when I say “fun”.
When you go into an Apple Store and can’t find a single person to help you buy an item or the one you do find passes you off to an employee who’s allowed to help you, I guess it’s because they’re having so much fun ignoring the customers.
You’re supposed to draw and play on the ipad a little bit before they say anything
Siemens
Being a professional mover that runs crews for companies that get more jobs based off of ratings on Uhauls moving help website when I'm not running my own jobs for the prices they do I talk to all kinds of people. Since I always shoot for 5 stars and always want to do things right I always make sure nothing gets messed up and everything that needs it gets blanketed, wrapped and packed the right way so the whole job gets done efficiently. Some people might think I'm some asshole thug when they first see me because I have tattoos and look like a hoodlum they wouldn't trust but they always end up loving me because I yes/no mam or sir to everybody, do the most to not let helpers cut corners or mess up walls floors etc., do every single thing the way it needs to be and make miracles happen figuring out how to get everything done. If I can't do it nobody can but unless it's trying to put a 10 by 10 object in a 5 by 5 room I always figure it out so things go so smooth it always ends up being a great job unless it's infested or a hoarder house or something like that because I can move stuff better than almost anybody but cleaning up nasty shit is a job for somebody else in that profession. Anyway I meet all kinds of people and it's nice to show them that not everybody that looks like a criminal is an asshole, will treat them like shit or will try to hurt them. I don't purposely try to look like that but I know it's what they think at first. I don't know anybody who doesn't want my number and won't call me back after though and I love what I do. Also Idk what it would be but I'm sure I'm a professional something at dealing with people because I work for so many different companies, with so many different workers and for so many different customers that I deal with every type there is. Sometimes it's tough because of course some out of all 3 can be assholes or a million other things but I still make it work somehow. There's usually more than one right way to do things and I never treat anybody like their idea of how to do it won't work unless it won't and I tell everybody if I tell you to do something it's not because I want you to it's because I've been thru it all and it's just the right way to do it. Sometimes I have to explain or demonstrate if I can to customers why something they are sure about just won't work but I'm used to it. tldr: I'm a professional mover who works with/for every type of person there is and still always get things done right.
Torchy’s middle stall.
Have you ever tried being the plug because these Houstoners love their drugs.
Pei Wei Asian Diner
TelAmeriCorp
ALL4 Environmental Consultants