BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A lot of people were looking for work and many of them were sipping iced and flavored hot javas at the Fourth Careers and Coffee jobs expo held at the Brownsville Events Center.
As the crowd mingled around more than 50 exhibitors/vendors were on hand offering company-engraved souvenirs, colorful brochures and sign-up sheets to anyone interested in a particular employment position.
The employers included a number from the local, state and federal government sectors while others were from the school, construction, and marine industries.
But the biggest job magnets came from the two new companies creating the most jobs and paying what some attendees said are the best wages.
Those two are LNG Rio Grande and SpaceX. The first, based at the Port of Brownsville, employs today more than 1,800, while the latter has more than 3,000 between full-timers and contractors at its Starbase facility on Boca Chica Beach.
And, as the two companies continue to hire, the number of job applicants keeps rising.
That was shown at the six-hour job fair held Wednesday, Oct. 16, as line after line of people interested in working at the two companies outnumbered the rest by many times.
“I am here because I would like to get a job at SpaceX,” said Brownsville resident Ruben Cano as he stood in one of the lines. “I am an electrician.”
Rene Cano said he came from Harlingen with the same idea.
“I have a job cutting trees along power lines,” he said, “but it would be nice to work there.”
He said he either heard or read SpaceX pays some $18 an hour for some jobs like driving workers from one place to another.
And although the lines in front of the two company tables were longer than the rest, others were looking for work elsewhere.
Javier del Angel said he would like to find a job at Southwest Key, a company he said works with migrant children.
Others said they stopped by as many asten different places in hopes of hearing from one or more prospective employers later on.
Some of the employers interested in hiring said they pay decent wages and encourage people to apply.
The Brownsville Police Department is one of them.
The entry level wage for a police officer on a year’s probation is $39,711 a year and jumps to $53,220 and $76,328 for an Officer 1 and 2, respectively.
In addition, they also have seniority steps offering $1,200 to $6,120 more for officers with six and 20 years on the job.
That does not include other perks like overtime pay, night differential, assignments and SWAT duties.
The US Army is also hiring, constantly.
A recruiting officer said the base salary is $2,600 a month.
He said it may not be a significant figure but the job offers medical, eye and dental insurance, room and board, and education tuition as well as other benefits.
Some employers said this year’s fair was the biggest they have participated in and vowed to return next year.
The expo was hosted by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation.
Editor's Note: Here, below, is a video interview with Brownsville City Commissioner Tino Villarreal, Jr, about Careers & Coffee. It was conducted at the expo.
