Apple is in the process of building a billion-dollar campus just a mile away from their current campus in the Domain and should be open for business by 2021. The new Apple campus will be about 3 million square feet, with 2 million square feet dedicated to office space and research and development, and the other 1 million square feet will be for ancillary space.
What will this huge presence in Austin mean to the tech community? Let’s break it down for you.
Currently, Apple has about 7,000+ workers in Austin and the surrounding area. The new, 133-acre facility will employ about 5,000 people when it opens, and that number may grow to house up to 15,000 people. This means more opportunity to land a position with Apple or with one of the tech companies who lose employees wooed away by Apple. Possible jobs with Apple include engineering, research and development, operations, finance, sales and customer support. In fact, if Apple meets its hiring goals in Austin, it could soon become the city’s largest private employer, superseding H-E-B and Dell. Across 50 states, the company already employs 90,000 people, according to a statement, and “is on track to create 20,000 jobs in the US by 2023”.
Apple and other giants like Amazon and Facebook make Austin more enticing to smaller tech companies because of its giant tech talent pool. According to UT Professor John Sibley Butler, “It’s about talent. It’s about know-how. It’s about science, and Austin is a beautiful city.” Apple’s presence is helping to create a domino effect drawing tech companies around the nation to settle in Austin. Tech professionals are becoming more in demand and with giants like Apple seeing Austin’s potential, that demand is growing each year, leading to more opportunities for those looking for a career in technical fields.
One beautiful thing about that is you don’t have to have a 4-year computer science or engineering degree to begin a career in the tech industry when there is this much demand. Coding bootcamps and online development training tools are excellent avenues to build and hone skills needed to secure an entry-level tech position. Coding bootcamps such as University of Texas Coding Bootcamp and others like it, provide full stack web development training certification within a few months. Also, there are endless online training tools which help individuals learn, improve and polish coding language and programing skills, so for those who want to get in the game, now may be the time. As Apple continues to lead growth in Austin, demand for qualified technical professionals will continue to expand and create an atmosphere wherein employees and potential employees have a variety of lucrative and self-accommodating options. That is a good place to be.
For homeowners, especially in the North Austin/Round Rock area, the presence of Apple is good news. Residential and commercial real estate prices have been on an upward trajectory in the Austin area in recent years. The growth of the city’s tech ecosystem has been largely behind it, as its startup scene has flourished and larger tech companies have set up large offices, like Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Oracle. The downside for real estate owners will be an increase in taxes. For buyers, less inventory is consistently driving up property values in Austin, escalating prices. For residential and commercial renters, cost will continue to increase as the city struggles to keep up with the influx of new people and industry.
All in all, Apple will bring many benefits to the tech community. Ultimately, it will be up to the individual to seize opportunities as Apple enlarges the technical playing field in Austin.
