Why don't Bryan-College Station attract higher paying jobs?

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In reply to lost my dog • 4:23p, 12/15/17
AG
lost my dog said:
True, depends on the department. And no offense meant to your wife, but the business side of A&M is hardly the real world, since they have to follow so many stupid state rules.

But that's irrelevant to my point - professors and retirees in the town don't need/want the town to change, because their economic situation is fine, so they would rather not have a large AC factory (for example) move into CS.


None taken! She's work on the real world and was very successful but somehow stayed at academia after finishing one of her masters.

I agree with your points by the way, in that most folks fall under the typical NIMBY mentality. (Nothing wrong with that)
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PS3D
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In reply to The Original AG 76 • 4:55p, 12/15/17
The Original AG 76 said:
PS3D said:
The air conditioning plant consolidated jobs from northwest Houston. If it was located in College Station, they would have to hire all-new people or expect people to move here. Having it in Waller County is manageable for commuting.

I don't think Highway 6 is a problem nor that the US-290 expansion is a factor. Even 249 (from plans I saw) would just dump onto Navasota (it would be a different issue if it hooked into 40, but I digress). 290 development historically never panned out like it did with Interstate 10 and US-59 (I've said before on a different forum that it even in the early 2000s, it didn't feel like you were in "Houston" until Beltway 8, whereas US-59 and I-10 had development past Beltway 8 for years).

Even if College Station's leaders were being pills in terms of bringing better things here, why didn't Bryan step up to the plate? Imagine if they put money into revitalizing Briarcrest when they were doing their median project, like creating a "new downtown" with office buildings complementing Galleria Plaza and Wells Fargo Plaza and beating B/CS to the punch with a new "Medical Center"? Or modernizing Downtown Bryan with modern mid-rises?

And as for the poster that suggested partnering with the university, that's not a good idea considering the legacy of that and the people in charge of the university. When has that ever successfully worked?

Not to get into a derail regarding Daiken but their own presentation states that the estimated peak employment will be over 5000. They only consolidated a few hundred from Goodman . Virtually all of their shop floor people are new since they are all trained for the new processes and equipment. My only reason to mention Daiken was to point out that these types of potential businesses with those " high paying " jobs are largely out of bounds for BCS due to the transportation issue. In 40 years or so , IF the new interstate is built, that may change.
My point about similarity of 290 and 59 are based on history. US 59 , the Southwest Freeway, was possibly the worst most congested useless giant parking lot masquerading as a freeway on earth in the 60's and 70's , just like 290 is now.. Sugarland was a quaint small nothing berg with a single industry and a neat iconic building surrounded by ONLY farm land. Richmond /Rosenberg were pathetic gas stops on a horrible highway that no one even payed attention to as we struggled to drive to South Padre in 1976. Once 59 was modernized and improved Houston EXPLODED out that way . It is solid city from downtown Houston damn near all the way to the river. If you were not around in the 70's-80's you just can't appreciate the unbelievable magnitude of change and growth out 59.
Today the 290 corridor is poised to do the exact same thing. There really is only ONE direction for Harris County and Houston to grow. And the flooding problem even enhances the NW direction as the only viable way for Houston to grow. I honestly think that in a few decades we will see development out to Hempsted and the Brazos that rivals Ft Bend out 59. BCS COULD be poised to pick up a lot of people that work those mythical " high paying" jobs along the 290 boom IF we want to. I doubt I'll even be alive to see it but some of ya'll will . HOWEVER it will be significantly stymied if we allow a city to have some 26 year old kid sitting in some office with an arts degree to decide that a small business can not built an outdoor patio to grow and thrive because some city official thinks that that will cause them to not have enough parking spaces. WHY THE HELL is it the business of ANY city to tell a business how many parking spaces or water fountains or light fixtures or tables and chairs per square foot.... blah blah blah it needs. All cities do it as part of the well known corruption and shake downs that city employees do daily BUT CS seems to do it as an art form.
Somebody is going to be the next Sugarland ..it could be the Brazos Valley but NOT with the civic attitudes that seem to be dominant in CS.
290 was upgraded to a full freeway (bypassing Hempstead and smaller communities) years ago, and in 2009 (I believe) was when construction on South Highway 6 concluded, and since that point, the College Station-to-Houston drive has two lanes at minimum, no stoplights, and all divided highway.

When did College Station become so development-antagonistic? I mean, with the type of leadership in charge today there's no way they would allow something the magnitude of a Post Oak Mall (as it was in the 1980s), even on the outskirts of town. And while College Station's opposition to development is well-known, why isn't Bryan stepping up? Their development restrictions are more relaxed than College Station's, and they've got Atlas, which they can use as ground zero for those higher-paying jobs.
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The Original AG 76
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In reply to PS3D • 7:10p, 12/15/17
AG
PS3D said:
The Original AG 76 said:
PS3D said:
The air conditioning plant consolidated jobs from northwest Houston. If it was located in College Station, they would have to hire all-new people or expect people to move here. Having it in Waller County is manageable for commuting.

I don't think Highway 6 is a problem nor that the US-290 expansion is a factor. Even 249 (from plans I saw) would just dump onto Navasota (it would be a different issue if it hooked into 40, but I digress). 290 development historically never panned out like it did with Interstate 10 and US-59 (I've said before on a different forum that it even in the early 2000s, it didn't feel like you were in "Houston" until Beltway 8, whereas US-59 and I-10 had development past Beltway 8 for years).

Even if College Station's leaders were being pills in terms of bringing better things here, why didn't Bryan step up to the plate? Imagine if they put money into revitalizing Briarcrest when they were doing their median project, like creating a "new downtown" with office buildings complementing Galleria Plaza and Wells Fargo Plaza and beating B/CS to the punch with a new "Medical Center"? Or modernizing Downtown Bryan with modern mid-rises?

And as for the poster that suggested partnering with the university, that's not a good idea considering the legacy of that and the people in charge of the university. When has that ever successfully worked?

Not to get into a derail regarding Daiken but their own presentation states that the estimated peak employment will be over 5000. They only consolidated a few hundred from Goodman . Virtually all of their shop floor people are new since they are all trained for the new processes and equipment. My only reason to mention Daiken was to point out that these types of potential businesses with those " high paying " jobs are largely out of bounds for BCS due to the transportation issue. In 40 years or so , IF the new interstate is built, that may change.
My point about similarity of 290 and 59 are based on history. US 59 , the Southwest Freeway, was possibly the worst most congested useless giant parking lot masquerading as a freeway on earth in the 60's and 70's , just like 290 is now.. Sugarland was a quaint small nothing berg with a single industry and a neat iconic building surrounded by ONLY farm land. Richmond /Rosenberg were pathetic gas stops on a horrible highway that no one even payed attention to as we struggled to drive to South Padre in 1976. Once 59 was modernized and improved Houston EXPLODED out that way . It is solid city from downtown Houston damn near all the way to the river. If you were not around in the 70's-80's you just can't appreciate the unbelievable magnitude of change and growth out 59.
Today the 290 corridor is poised to do the exact same thing. There really is only ONE direction for Harris County and Houston to grow. And the flooding problem even enhances the NW direction as the only viable way for Houston to grow. I honestly think that in a few decades we will see development out to Hempsted and the Brazos that rivals Ft Bend out 59. BCS COULD be poised to pick up a lot of people that work those mythical " high paying" jobs along the 290 boom IF we want to. I doubt I'll even be alive to see it but some of ya'll will . HOWEVER it will be significantly stymied if we allow a city to have some 26 year old kid sitting in some office with an arts degree to decide that a small business can not built an outdoor patio to grow and thrive because some city official thinks that that will cause them to not have enough parking spaces. WHY THE HELL is it the business of ANY city to tell a business how many parking spaces or water fountains or light fixtures or tables and chairs per square foot.... blah blah blah it needs. All cities do it as part of the well known corruption and shake downs that city employees do daily BUT CS seems to do it as an art form.
Somebody is going to be the next Sugarland ..it could be the Brazos Valley but NOT with the civic attitudes that seem to be dominant in CS.
290 was upgraded to a full freeway (bypassing Hempstead and smaller communities) years ago, and in 2009 (I believe) was when construction on South Highway 6 concluded, and since that point, the College Station-to-Houston drive has two lanes at minimum, no stoplights, and all divided highway. until you hit Barker Cypress and then it was full stop..or outbound it took longer to get from 610 to Barker than to get the rest of the way to BCS... I KNOW I LIVE THERE !

When did College Station become so development-antagonistic? I mean, with the type of leadership in charge today there's no way they would allow something the magnitude of a Post Oak Mall (as it was in the 1980s), even on the outskirts of town. And while College Station's opposition to development is well-known, why isn't Bryan stepping up? Their development restrictions are more relaxed than College Station's, and they've got Atlas, which they can use as ground zero for those higher-paying jobs.
I guess we are just not communicating..290 for the last 20+ years has been the worlds largest parking lot IN HARRIS COUNTY. I'm not talking about 290 around Hempstead I'm talking about trying to get from 610 to ANYWHERE in the evening or visa-versa in the morning. As long as 290 was a complete useless ribbon of concrete the growth in the " spear point " of Harris County was stifled. Just like the growth out US 59 was due to the disaster called the Southwest Freeway in the 70's. No one could get to Sugarland so why even try to develop out there. No one can get to Waller ( from anywhere in Houston) at anything close to rush hour so why bother. With the rebuilding and widening of 290 fixing to happen we should see a boom out in the country just like we saw in Sugarland to Richmond.
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PS3D
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In reply to The Original AG 76 • 7:52p, 12/15/17
The Original AG 76 said:
PS3D said:
The Original AG 76 said:
PS3D said:
The air conditioning plant consolidated jobs from northwest Houston. If it was located in College Station, they would have to hire all-new people or expect people to move here. Having it in Waller County is manageable for commuting.

I don't think Highway 6 is a problem nor that the US-290 expansion is a factor. Even 249 (from plans I saw) would just dump onto Navasota (it would be a different issue if it hooked into 40, but I digress). 290 development historically never panned out like it did with Interstate 10 and US-59 (I've said before on a different forum that it even in the early 2000s, it didn't feel like you were in "Houston" until Beltway 8, whereas US-59 and I-10 had development past Beltway 8 for years).

Even if College Station's leaders were being pills in terms of bringing better things here, why didn't Bryan step up to the plate? Imagine if they put money into revitalizing Briarcrest when they were doing their median project, like creating a "new downtown" with office buildings complementing Galleria Plaza and Wells Fargo Plaza and beating B/CS to the punch with a new "Medical Center"? Or modernizing Downtown Bryan with modern mid-rises?

And as for the poster that suggested partnering with the university, that's not a good idea considering the legacy of that and the people in charge of the university. When has that ever successfully worked?

Not to get into a derail regarding Daiken but their own presentation states that the estimated peak employment will be over 5000. They only consolidated a few hundred from Goodman . Virtually all of their shop floor people are new since they are all trained for the new processes and equipment. My only reason to mention Daiken was to point out that these types of potential businesses with those " high paying " jobs are largely out of bounds for BCS due to the transportation issue. In 40 years or so , IF the new interstate is built, that may change.
My point about similarity of 290 and 59 are based on history. US 59 , the Southwest Freeway, was possibly the worst most congested useless giant parking lot masquerading as a freeway on earth in the 60's and 70's , just like 290 is now.. Sugarland was a quaint small nothing berg with a single industry and a neat iconic building surrounded by ONLY farm land. Richmond /Rosenberg were pathetic gas stops on a horrible highway that no one even payed attention to as we struggled to drive to South Padre in 1976. Once 59 was modernized and improved Houston EXPLODED out that way . It is solid city from downtown Houston damn near all the way to the river. If you were not around in the 70's-80's you just can't appreciate the unbelievable magnitude of change and growth out 59.
Today the 290 corridor is poised to do the exact same thing. There really is only ONE direction for Harris County and Houston to grow. And the flooding problem even enhances the NW direction as the only viable way for Houston to grow. I honestly think that in a few decades we will see development out to Hempsted and the Brazos that rivals Ft Bend out 59. BCS COULD be poised to pick up a lot of people that work those mythical " high paying" jobs along the 290 boom IF we want to. I doubt I'll even be alive to see it but some of ya'll will . HOWEVER it will be significantly stymied if we allow a city to have some 26 year old kid sitting in some office with an arts degree to decide that a small business can not built an outdoor patio to grow and thrive because some city official thinks that that will cause them to not have enough parking spaces. WHY THE HELL is it the business of ANY city to tell a business how many parking spaces or water fountains or light fixtures or tables and chairs per square foot.... blah blah blah it needs. All cities do it as part of the well known corruption and shake downs that city employees do daily BUT CS seems to do it as an art form.
Somebody is going to be the next Sugarland ..it could be the Brazos Valley but NOT with the civic attitudes that seem to be dominant in CS.
290 was upgraded to a full freeway (bypassing Hempstead and smaller communities) years ago, and in 2009 (I believe) was when construction on South Highway 6 concluded, and since that point, the College Station-to-Houston drive has two lanes at minimum, no stoplights, and all divided highway. until you hit Barker Cypress and then it was full stop..or outbound it took longer to get from 610 to Barker than to get the rest of the way to BCS... I KNOW I LIVE THERE !

When did College Station become so development-antagonistic? I mean, with the type of leadership in charge today there's no way they would allow something the magnitude of a Post Oak Mall (as it was in the 1980s), even on the outskirts of town. And while College Station's opposition to development is well-known, why isn't Bryan stepping up? Their development restrictions are more relaxed than College Station's, and they've got Atlas, which they can use as ground zero for those higher-paying jobs.
I guess we are just not communicating..290 for the last 20+ years has been the worlds largest parking lot IN HARRIS COUNTY. I'm not talking about 290 around Hempstead I'm talking about trying to get from 610 to ANYWHERE in the evening or visa-versa in the morning. As long as 290 was a complete useless ribbon of concrete the growth in the " spear point " of Harris County was stifled. Just like the growth out US 59 was due to the disaster called the Southwest Freeway in the 70's. No one could get to Sugarland so why even try to develop out there. No one can get to Waller ( from anywhere in Houston) at anything close to rush hour so why bother. With the rebuilding and widening of 290 fixing to happen we should see a boom out in the country just like we saw in Sugarland to Richmond.
But with that in mind, Katy Freeway was horrible for years, in part, but not exclusively due to the railroad paralleling it, and even though construction on the reconstructed freeway begin until the mid-2000s, it was more or less solid development out to Katy, with Town & Country Mall (now CITYCENTRE) at Beltway 8 (Town & Country Village originally having been developed in the late 1960s), the Conoco (now ConocoPhillips) headquarters built in the 1980s at Eldridge, then some more office buildings before getting into the Katy sprawl (though it wasn't until the late 1990s/early 2000s when the highway-side retail began to take off). And that was all while Katy Freeway remained a six-lane mess that hadn't seen many upgrades at all since the 1960s. Northwest Freeway had the same amount of lanes and an almost identical set-up (admittedly finished out a bit later) but it never quite grew the same way that Katy Freeway did. Fairfield, certainly, has grown a lot, highway construction be damned. And either way, our increasingly undersized roads don't seem to have deterred development....
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Goose83
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8:31p, 12/15/17
AG
Wages have always been low here due to the student population, as they don't care as they're going to be moving on in a couple of years anyway.

Worse are the grad students who bring their wives/husbands with them who are looking for a skilled job that lasts for just a couple of years, and as before, they're willing to work at half the going rate while their significant other finishes getting their advanced degree. Therefore, more advanced jobs that would pay a reasonable wage anywhere else pay at (or just above) minimum wage.

God forbid if you're just a local schmuck planning on staying here, who's trying to buy a home or raise a family (I should know, as I was dumb enough to try). The employers here have everyone by the shorthairs, and they know it all too well.
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biobioprof
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In reply to Ornlu • 2:03a, 12/16/17
Ornlu said:
agrab86 said:
One clarification please: what do people here consider to be a high paying job? Is it $40K, $50K, $60K, $75K, $90K, or$100K+? Or are all my options too low to be considered high paying?
Short answer to that questions is "Depends on the industry".

Better answer: Aggieland is woefully short on jobs that pay in the 25th+ percentile for their industry. https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Wages/wages.aspx It's true across multiple industries (construction, social services, information technology, engineering, law enforcement, engineering, etc.). The exceptions seem to be post-secondary education and healthcare. It's worst in the entry-level positions for fields that require "any" degree - clerical, sales, office work.

This is because there is a huge oversupply of part-time, computer savvy college students who will do that type of work for $9 an hour. For example, 50th-percentile pay rate for a proposal writer for a design firm is $46,500 in Houston and $47,250 in Dallas. Searching for that job title on national job boards, I see two openings here in Aggieland for that description - at $28k and $32k. That's got to be in the bottom 5%.
Maybe my popup/ad blocker is affecting the something, but I'm not seeing how to get info out of that website.
I am not an economist, but I'm not buying that it's an oversupply of part-time computer-savvy college students that explains the phenomenon at all, much less across multiple industries and job types. I don't think the supply is as large as you think it is, and when I look at the jobs my students take after we've trained them up (sometimes adding a year or two after graduation), those employers are not looking for part-timers who are going to leave after a short time. The high paying jobs go to employees who can stick around long enough to accumulate the experience and institutional knowledge that make them worth the money.

I think there are a couple of factors on the demand side, including our poor history of leveraging the university's IP etc. I knew a few faculty who left A&M early in the genomics revolution because they couldn't get a good enough deal on going part-time or taking leave while getting their company going. We also have had a historically ineffective IP/Tech transfer operation that I know was one of Young's first priorities to work on when he arrived.

So if we've already historically kneecapped the main potential competitive advantage - the university - why would firms that offer high-paying jobs locate here over the possible competition, which includes other places with peer or better universities? Others have pointed out the isolation factor. There are other places that already have critical mass, which means that the ability to change jobs within a sector makes it less of a risk than going to a place where you would have to move your family if your employer doesn't work out.
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Joe Schillaci 48
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In reply to PS3D • 6:04a, 12/16/17
AG
PS3D said:



When did College Station become so development-antagonistic? I mean, with the type of leadership in charge today there's no way they would allow something the magnitude of a Post Oak Mall (as it was in the 1980s), even on the outskirts of town.
Finally, I got one in my wheel house.

Relocated here in the early 70's to work for an employer that did not have any dealings with the University.

Bryan ran things. Realtors were only showing homes in Bryan. My wife and I found some new construction in College Station and asked the realtor to show it. She was shocked. Her response was "why would you want to move out to the college". She did show it and we bought.

Bryan old guard hated College Station. When what I call the "bypass" was opened there was almost no business's there, everything was on Texas Ave (called Hwy 6 back then).

Also until the early 70's state employee's could not run for public office ie city council. The state eventually wiped out that rule and here came the professors flocking to the city council and school board. (I will not comment on my feelings on that). I was elected to a public office and at that time I was the only non-Phd on my board. They all delighted in publicly addressing each other as "Doctor" and me as "Mister" in public meetings (not behind closed doors), I purposely addressed them as "Joe, Sally" etc just to upset them.

Post Oak Mall developers wanted to build in Bryan on the "bypass". Mom and Pop stores fought it because they thought it would ruin their operations.

College Station actively pursued the Mall and won out. Sales tax money made College Station the "go to" city. Bryan began to dry up.


CS and Bryan were in a big fight over electricity. Bryan was overcharging and CS had to take it. CS told Bryan Utilities to "pound sand" and developed a relationship with Gulf States Utilities just as the energy crises hit. CS luckily had a low contracted price for power and Bryan utility rates soared.

Then Texas Instruments opened a facility here. Their address was Bryan but they were in the College Station power grid. TI was followed by Westinghouse and College Station became the big dog.

College Station turned into what they are today (make your own comments here) and Bryan got tired of being pushed around plus the Bryan "old guard" died off.

As for me, I got a better job with a Fortune 500 company that allowed me to live in the area. My children received an excellent education in College Station schools and Texas A&M and they moved to the Metroplex. I retired and moved there too to be near my grandchildren.

I was here for the wonder years but cringe when I come back and attempt to drive on Texas Ave. Give me DFW traffic any time.

Love BCS but I will probably never return to live.

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02skiag
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7:41a, 12/16/17
AG
Great post! Except for this ridiculous statement "Give me DFW traffic any time." I assume you enjoy torture.
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Joe Schillaci 48
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In reply to 02skiag • 8:07a, 12/16/17
AG
candyland02 said:
Great post! Except for this ridiculous statement "Give me DFW traffic any time." I assume you enjoy torture.
Retired so I do not drive everyday and certainly not rush hours.

Pick my times and live in a suburb and know all of the back roads.

Most importantly, ignore Central
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Oogway
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In reply to Joe Schillaci 48 • 8:14a, 12/16/17
Thank you for your perspective; that was a good read. It does seem (to me) that the triumvirate of A&M, Bryan and CS somewhat resembles a dysfunctional family that if united could do great things, but having squabbled and pursued so many personal competitive agendas over the years has not quite reached its potential. Some of the partnerships have struggled with this, along with the other outside obstacles and it is a pity as time and opportunity waits for no one.
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Joe Schillaci 48
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In reply to Oogway • 8:41a, 12/16/17
AG
Oogway said:
Thank you for your perspective; that was a good read. It does seem (to me) that the triumvirate of A&M, Bryan and CS somewhat resembles a dysfunctional family that if united could do great things, but having squabbled and pursued so many personal competitive agendas over the years has not quite reached its potential. Some of the partnerships have struggled with this, along with the other outside obstacles and it is a pity as time and opportunity waits for no one.
You are so correct. The divide is deep and while I have not lived in the area for several years I assume it still exists.

I do not have any way to confirm this but several old timers in College Station told me years ago that prior to the 1960's local (Bryan) banks would not loan money for homes in College Station.

IMHO early heroes of College Station were City Manager North Bardell and developer Bill Fitch. They have passed away but they both loved College Station and had a vision. They can not be memorialized enough.

When I moved here in the early 1970's Texas Ave South became two lanes with drainage ditches (no curbs) about a half mile south of the University. Population was about 12,000.

Here is a some history information on Post Oak Mall on the positive economic impact on College Station and the economic downturn of Bryan.

https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Post%20Oak%20Mall&item_type=topic
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BANA89
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In reply to (Removed:11023A) • 10:17a, 12/16/17
AG
andyv94 said:
BANA89 said:
Quote:
I'd like to see the cities and university partner up to do more to incentivize startups to start here. I believe the area has a lot that would be attractive to startups.
BTW, there are a number of us working on that.


Are you in the private or public sector? I might be interested
In investing in the town (besides real estate)
Private, I run an angel investment fund that acts as a sidecar fund to the Aggie Angel Network, the Maroon Fund which is a student run angel fund, among other related things. If you want more info PM me.
BANA Class of '86/'89 - Living in Aggieland!
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HRGuy
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In reply to Broncos • 11:15a, 12/16/17
AG
Yes,

The attractiveness of correct grammar cannot be overstated.
It is time to put the chairs in the wagon
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The Original AG 76
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In reply to BANA89 • 11:41a, 12/16/17
AG
I'm a bit curious. What is an " angel" fund ?
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biobioprof
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In reply to The Original AG 76 • 2:11p, 12/16/17
The Original AG 76 said:
I'm a bit curious. What is an " angel" fund ?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_investor
Quote:
An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an affluent individual who provides capital for a business start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. A small but increasing number of angel investors invest online through equity crowdfunding or organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share research and pool their investment capital, as well as to provide advice to their portfolio companies.(1)
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BANA89
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4:21p, 12/16/17
AG
Good answer by biobioprof, but basically they are individual investors that are not friends and family of the founders or management team. Entrepreneurs typically get funding from their own savings first then friends and family, then angel investors, then venture capital and private equity in decreasing percentages.

There are angel investments networks in most big cities (Houston Angel Network for example) and there's over a dozen in Texas, but personally it's pretty disappointing that the Aggie Angel Network is so small as well as the angel funds. They are a fraction of the size and investment capacity of the Baylor Angel Network for example.
BANA Class of '86/'89 - Living in Aggieland!
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BANA89
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In reply to [removed post] • 11:37p, 12/16/17
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Slocum on a mobile said:
I met an Aggie Venture Capital individual on my flight back from Seattle this week. I talked with him about putting an incubator here, and told him to ping me if he wanted to get something going.

FYI, there are three active incubators in Aggieland right now:
AM Innovation Center - formerly the Research Valley Innovation Center, high tech and science technology focused, a virtual incubator with no fixed location
Startup Aggieland - student focused, mission is primarily educational in nature but does have some student venture success stories, located in Research Park
Innovation Underground - primarily but not exclusively social venture targeted, located in downtown Bryan
BANA Class of '86/'89 - Living in Aggieland!
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In reply to BANA89 • 2:30a, 12/17/17
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In reply to [removed post] • 3:12a, 12/17/17
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Slocum on a mobile said:
Quote:
FYI, there are three active incubators in Aggieland right now:
I guess I'll just tell the guy to keep going with his incubator in Chicago and his one in Austin, keep his money in his pocket re: B/CS. You got it covered.
It doesn't mean there's not a mutual opportunity, just not that it would be the first here in town. There are a dozen or so incubators in Austin right now for example. It depends on the expertise and strategic niche they are looking to fill whether it would be best to partner with an existing incubator or start a new one. I'd be happy to give someone a feel for what's going on to anyone interested.
BANA Class of '86/'89 - Living in Aggieland!
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expresswrittenconsent
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3:17a, 12/17/17
Why so sensitive? FYI doesnt mean "F*** YOU, IDIOT"
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In reply to expresswrittenconsent • 1:00p, 12/17/17
Captn_Ag05
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1:39p, 12/17/17
AG
From reading, I don't think anyone had bad intentions. I like the passion, though. Maybe if we all put that energy towards the common goal we would have something.
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Captn_Ag05
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1:45p, 12/17/17
AG
By the way, any way staff can change the subject from don't to doesn't? It's driving me crazy.
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BANA89
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2:00p, 12/17/17
AG
People are getting distracted from the point, and Slocum, I never said anything about whether you knew about local incubators. It was a general FYI because many in the community don't know about them.

The fact is, most don't know about angel investment and it can be a big factor in generating new high quality jobs. Incubators can provide great assistance in company formation, launch and growth to provide those jobs. Many people don't know about either one because they are generally non-profit entities with little or no marketing budgets. You're generally going to hear about them through word of mouth and not from billboards or ads.

Again, if anyone wants to know more about angel investment, incubators, local startups, or whatever, feel free to PM me and I can help get you up to speed. And I'd be happy to help someone launch a new incubator or partner with an existing one, whatever works best.
BANA Class of '86/'89 - Living in Aggieland!
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expresswrittenconsent
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2:10p, 12/17/17
Maybe you 2 have history I dont know about but from just reading the thread it seems like bana is assuming nothing and you are assuming quite a bit and looking for a reason to be offended.
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The Original AG 76
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In reply to expresswrittenconsent • 3:41p, 12/17/17
AG
expresswrittenconsent said:
Maybe you 2 have history I dont know about but from just reading the thread it seems like bana is assuming nothing and you are assuming quite a bit and looking for a reason to be offended.
I'm sorry I even asked the question
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BANA89
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5:10p, 12/17/17
AG
I don't think I have an history with SlocumOAM, and I for one am not sorry TOAG76 asked the question. I just realized I didn't answer the original question, but replied to some of the follow on questions.

IMO, it's a two step process:

1. What we're really looking for is more QUALITY jobs, not just higher paying ones. Quality jobs with good companies are in demand regardless of whether they're the highest paying ones. Quality employees compete for quality jobs and stick around the area when they exist or move to areas they do exist. We have mostly smaller companies and service industry jobs as opposed to a good mix, and there lack a critical mass of quality jobs.

2. A critical mass of quality jobs in a competitive employment market causes an increase in pay to attract quality employees. This is a result of quality jobs and quality employees seeking those jobs.

To get there we need a healthy balance of growing companies that we already have, attracting companies seeking the positive attributes we have in the community (which we have a lot) and growing new companies from the strong assets we have. The most important asset we have is a large research university that can generate innovations that can serve as seeds for new businesses, which with leverage from incubators and angel investors can give the new businesses a chance to grow roots and stay here fueling the above...
BANA Class of '86/'89 - Living in Aggieland!
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agnerd
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11:51a, 12/18/17
AG
I commute 30 minutes to work in rush hour in West/NW Houston in a 4/2.5 house on a decent 1/4 acre with a 3-car garage, big swimming pool backing up to the park in a nice neighborhood with schools rated between BISD and CSISD that's jumped to $220k in value now. My salary is 40% higher than it would be in CS, and it seems my house is about half what it would cost in CS. The salary and housing differential combined is huge. My salary is probably below average at my company, below average for my college major, and yet future healthcare costs are now the only barrier to not retiring in my mid 30s. I could get fired today and would have a job with at least 90% of my current salary by the end of the week.

If you want to attract people to BCS, you have to be able to beat that or at least close the gap.
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techno-ag
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In reply to agnerd • 12:13p, 12/18/17
AG
agnerd said:
I commute 30 minutes to work in rush hour in West/NW Houston in a 4/2.5 house on a decent 1/4 acre with a 3-car garage, big swimming pool backing up to the park in a nice neighborhood with schools rated between BISD and CSISD that's jumped to $220k in value now. My salary is 40% higher than it would be in CS, and it seems my house is about half what it would cost in CS. The salary and housing differential combined is huge. My salary is probably below average at my company, below average for my college major, and yet future healthcare costs are now the only barrier to not retiring in my mid 30s. I could get fired today and would have a job with at least 90% of my current salary by the end of the week.
Yeah, but you live in Houston.
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halibut sinclair
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12:50p, 12/18/17
jja79
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In reply to techno-ag • 1:08p, 12/18/17
AG
Trust me, he doesn't. Not if he accurately described where he lives. He's near it, but not in it.

It has always struck me that the redundant nature of having 2 school systems, 2 police departments, 2 bureaucracies, etc doesn't really create an environment conducive to efficiency and organic growth. It seems to be just the opposite.

I think having 2 of each inhibits the type of growth people are hoping for.
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agnerd
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In reply to techno-ag • 1:48p, 12/18/17
AG
techno-ag said:
agnerd said:
I commute 30 minutes to work in rush hour in West/NW Houston in a 4/2.5 house on a decent 1/4 acre with a 3-car garage, big swimming pool backing up to the park in a nice neighborhood with schools rated between BISD and CSISD that's jumped to $220k in value now. My salary is 40% higher than it would be in CS, and it seems my house is about half what it would cost in CS. The salary and housing differential combined is huge. My salary is probably below average at my company, below average for my college major, and yet future healthcare costs are now the only barrier to not retiring in my mid 30s. I could get fired today and would have a job with at least 90% of my current salary by the end of the week.
Yeah, but you live in Houston.
THAT'S EXACTLY MY POINT!!! All things equal, I'd much rather live in College Station. But until CS can compete with the bigger cities, I will live in a bigger city and save a lot of money doing it. Then I will retire to College Station and further contribute to the inflated price of real estate around the University, which makes housing even less affordable and makes it harder to attract families, workers, and companies. If you want to deter people from moving to College Station, maintain the status quo.
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FlyRod
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1:51p, 12/18/17
I've noted in other threads that a growth model that targets olds almost exclusively does not seem like a remotely healthy thing at all. So this leaves us with a huge university and an equally huge retirement community of geezers. Fabulous.
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lost my dog
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In reply to FlyRod • 2:04p, 12/18/17
FlyRod said:
I've noted in other threads that a growth model that targets olds almost exclusively does not seem like a remotely healthy thing at all. So this leaves us with a huge university and an equally huge retirement community of geezers. Fabulous.
Well, it's fine if you're in one of those two groups. And they are the most politically active (except for the developers, who are happy to sell them houses.)

What you really want is to swap out the population of CS for that of a Houston suburb, and still keep Aggie football...but the things which make CS attractive to non-University folks can't be separated from the University.
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