Time to Play Cowboy
Around a year ago I got a great job offer to go and work on an MMO based off a well known property. I accepted the offer, and moved to Arizona. The company was great, the people have been awesome, and I found that I really enjoy living in the Phoenix area. Except for the heat of course. (Most places have four seasons. Arizona has two. Hot, and Sun-Blasted Hellscape.)
But me and my wife are expecting two children. We don’t have the built-in support network of friends and family that you tend to build up when you’ve spent a long time in one place and had a chance to set down roots.
And as much as I like the place where I live, and I like what I do, I don’t get to make decisions based on what I like any more. I make decisions based on what’s best for my family.
My wife and I have decided that under the circumstances we need to live closer to our relatives. And so we are moving back to the Dallas area. We are doing this soon, as we would like to get it done before she get’s too big to travel.
As much as I’d like to remain in the video game industry that is probably not feasible given the state of it in the area that we are moving to. Both my wife and I have already started to look for work in the area. But one thing I have learned about looking for work is that knowing people in the right place can get a lot of opportunities. Since I have a whole bunch of people who look at this site on a regular basis, I figured I’d ask here. Do any of you know of any places hiring in the Dallas area?
I’m primarily looking for Graphic Design, and my wife is primarily looking for Web Design. But we’ll take anything with health insurance.
Janice has 10 years of professional web and graphic design experience. You can view her site, including her portfolio and business blog, here.
I have over 10 years of experience using 2D graphics software, such as Adobe, and Corel products. I spent 6 years doing graphic design work, and have worked in some seriously high stress environments with high standards for the final product, such as the Military and the game industry. I was working on a graphic design portfolio when my power supply burned out. I should be able to get a few work samples up within a week or so. I also know most of the basics with MS Office, and I can be an office monkey do some clerical work too. Also I can evidently write funny blog posts. I’m not sure how many paying positions there are for that, but I’m willing to listen to any ideas.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 am
Skippy, I don’t live out there, but I think one thing you should look at is working for the government…the local Department of Tourism or Commerce. Both could use your skills readily and….well, have you looked at some cities’ websites?
Your take would likely increase their hits in a very short period of time. ( Most of them suck and are hard to navigate by anyone with less than 3 hours and a bottle of Excedrin. ) In the mean time, try applying at as many temp agencies as possible until a decent job shows up. Money is money, when you first get into an area without work already lined up.
I have been through 50-60+ moves and it has yet to put me and my family on the street.
And good luck, all of my friends in the Mountain West area are rooting for your rapid employment.
Captcha: matchbox daughter–how did they know my kid had red hair?
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July 3rd, 2009 at 4:26 am
Sorry to hear it — I remember how excited you were to get that Arizona dream job, and I hope you can return to it soon. (Anything similar in Dallas or environs?!?)
You’ve probably already checked about either one of you working your current jobs online from home, so I’ll just second podmunkie’s government jobs suggestion: a little more job security plus benefits. (If either of you can, an online job from home is — per one if my nieces with three toddlers! — a good way to produce income while still being a stay-at-home parent.)
And here’s another: AAFES (the Army-Air Force Exchange Service) has both thier regional and worldwide headquarters in Dallas.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 5:33 am
Hate to see you go, though if you need help loading up the truck, give a shout :)
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July 3rd, 2009 at 6:53 am
Moving is a real tough job.
You’re right, though, about needing support. My sister and I both lean heavily on our mother (who’s retired) to back stop us with our kids — when they get sick or someone has a doctor’s appointment.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 am
I know noone anywhere near there, but best of luck to you and Mrs. Skippy on the move.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 10:25 am
Hopefully you have better luck than I have, my luck has been so bad i’ve been hoping for my writing to take off soon. If i’m lucky, I can get a friend of mine to help me sell books off of my new site. If only I knew anything about selling online in a way other than Ebay, or Amazon.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 10:28 am
(forhead slap) I got it! Everybody keep buying a lot of Squidpie stuff, that way we can keep Skippy in a home. I’d help, but i’m broke myself.
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paula reply on July 3rd, 2009 10:52 am:
“keep Skippy in a home”….. uh, what KIND of home did you have in mind? The ones with rubber rooms & wraparound sleaves on the canvas jackets?!?
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Billy reply on July 3rd, 2009 11:29 am:
You know, those sound fun
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paula reply on July 4th, 2009 12:11 pm:
for the meds, if nothing else!
speed reply on July 7th, 2009 4:59 am:
You mean the “I love me jackets?”
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July 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
Try Blizzard Entertainment.
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July 3rd, 2009 at 11:00 am
Try blizzard entertainment
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July 3rd, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Certain of my relatives lived in the Dallas area about a decade ago, though they’ve long since departed. I know that Bank of America had a call center in that area, with at least a significant fraction of it dedicated to the Movers’ Advantage program. I would like to *very specifically* suggest that this could be a tolerable INTERIM profession, while one is keeping an eye out for something closer to one’s actual field. My relative enjoyed her work there, though occasionally she wished to reintroduce certain military dependent callers (and the occasional co-worker) to the terror of an indignant drill instructor.
Whatever you do, best of luck!
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July 4th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Skippy,
there is a military base about 30 minutes from Dallas, and they have a nice chunk of civilians who work there and its where most of the actual military guys go to retire…….I will get the name and post it up hella soon.
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Sojuma reply on July 6th, 2009 2:13 pm:
The base you are talking about used to be Carswell AFB in Ft Worth. It has since been closed down and reopened as NAS Ft. Worth. A Joint Reserve base. Im not in the same industry but I will keep my eyes open for you Skippy. Good Luck!
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July 4th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
There’s the base in Wichita Falls – Sheppard AFB. Is that the one you’re talking about? About 100Miles+ as the crow flies.
Catchpa: sun cockney – when standing too long in the Tx sun addles your brain and makes American English your second language…
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July 6th, 2009 at 5:45 am
Skippy… If I recal correctly there are a few places around there that are govt agencies. You could go for GS or WG work, and the health benefits are definately worth it. Try looking on http://www.usajobs.gov/ to see if something there fits. As a matter of fact I think the VA is constantly looking for web developers and such.
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July 6th, 2009 at 7:09 am
Skippy, You both might try the television stations in the Dallas area. Stations are always looking for good web and graphic designers.
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July 6th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I thought there were quite a few game design companies in the Dallas area. As a programmer and almost done with my degree, I’ve been looking.
Check out http://www.gamedevmap.com
And wasn’t it Stargate Worlds you were working on?
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July 7th, 2009 at 3:51 am
Austin, yes. Dallas, not so much. Lemme check with some friends in the area. (Austin, there’s a LOT of mmo companies.)
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July 7th, 2009 at 5:01 am
I know that Rooster Teeth is down in Austin, but that’s a bit far from Dallas and I’m not sure if they’re hiring. But nothing ventured, nothing gained…
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July 7th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Isn’t ID in Dallas? How do you feel about that rocket science?
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July 9th, 2009 at 9:25 am
http://www.dallasigda.org/
Check this out, Skippy.
The Dallas IGDA is a non-profit society committed to enhancing the careers and lives of game developers by connecting them with peers, advocating issues that affect the community, and strengthening the Dallas game industry.
Might be useful, right?
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July 24th, 2009 at 10:01 am
I’m late to the party. I expect if you’re moving you have a job already, so you don’t need suggestions. If your wife needs doctor suggestions, however, I have those. =)
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