Going high-tech
Houston Business Journal
If you think high-tech is the wave of the future in Texas, think again. It's the wave of the present.
Despite the presence of such companies as Compaq Computer Corp., Kent Electronics and the host of 3D seismic or Internet-related companies that line the Houston business landscape, the city still gets a bad rap when it comes to technology. In fact only Austin gets such credit, often called the Silicon Valley of the Hill Country.
But high-tech business statewide isn't just a pipe dream. It's a reality. According to the American Electronics Association, the high-tech industry in Texas employs some 313,000 people, more than the agricultural and the oil and gas industries combined.
Growth in the state's high-tech industry has been robust. Two of the three major high-tech sectors -- telecommunications and software and computer-related services -- posted double-digit job growth during the first half of the 1990s. high-tech manufacturing increased 4 percent.
Texas exported $29 billion in high-tech products in 1995, the second highest amount among all the states. In fact, 43 percent of the total $68.8 billion in Texas exports for 1995 involved high-tech products, according to the AEA.
Finally, high-tech jobs pay well. AEA reports that the average wage for a high-tech worker in Texas in 1995 was $47,019, compared to the overall average private-sector wage of $27,147.
A recent report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says the major factors building the state into a high-tech center "include the state's central location and proximity to Mexico, easy access to commuter and cargo transportation, a relatively low cost of living and relatively low real estate prices, access to colleges and universities and the state's business climate."
But all this rosy news is colored by a note of warning issued by both the Fed and AEA. Both conclude that key to the continued growth of the high-tech industry in Texas is access to skilled labor. A quality educational system and quality candidates accessing it is essential to maintaining and further developing that pool of talent.
To ensure that the state's expanding high-tech industry does not slip away, local businesses must continue to encourage and support education.
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