Where Baytown jobs are posted, and how to tell a real one from a scam

Jobs in Baytown come through a handful of doors: the state's job board, the companies' own career sites, contractors and staffing firms, the unions' apprenticeship programs and the public employers. Here is where each one posts, and the warning signs that a job offer is not a job.

The state job board and job center

WorkInTexas.com is the Texas Workforce Commission's job board, and it is free to use. In Baytown, Workforce Solutions runs a career office at 4308-B Garth Road, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It helps with resumes and interviews, and it can pay for some training through scholarships, on-the-job training and registered apprenticeships. It also has free computers and printers.

The plants and the big employers

Refineries, chemical plants and hospitals post openings on their own careers sites, and that is where the application goes, even when the job also shows up on a general job board. Search the company's site for "Baytown." Our employer guides cover what each big employer hires for and how.

The public employers post their own openings too:

• The City of Baytown posts jobs on its GovernmentJobs page.
• Goose Creek CISD posts teaching and support jobs on the careers page of its website.
• Lee College and Harris County post on their own sites.

Contractors, staffing firms and turnarounds

Much of the work inside a plant is done by contractors, especially during a turnaround, when a unit shuts down for maintenance and thousands of extra workers come in for a few weeks. That work is often hired through staffing firms and contractor offices rather than the plant itself. Our staffing firms page lists the local ones, and coming for a turnaround explains how the season works.

No honest employer will send you a check to deposit and then ask you to send part of the money back.

Union apprenticeships

The building trades train their own through paid apprenticeships. Pipefitters Local 211, for example, runs a five-year apprenticeship with classes two nights a week; first-year apprentices earn 55 percent of journeyman pay, rising each year. Applicants must be at least 18, have a high school diploma or GED, pass a math test, complete an OSHA 10 course and interview with the apprenticeship committee. There is no cost to apply, and the training is tuition-free, though apprentices buy their books. The nearest school is in Deer Park. Boilermakers Local 132 is in Baytown.

Beyond Baytown

Baytown's skills travel. Federal jobs, such as civilian jobs with the Coast Guard, post on USAJOBS. For oil and gas work around the world, energy job boards such as Rigzone list openings by job type and location. Our world's refineries page explains where the industry is.

Free job-search help from the city library

The Sterling Municipal Library lists free online tools for job seekers on the City of Baytown's website. Job and Career Accelerator helps with resumes, interview skills, job searching and choosing a career. Learning Express has test preparation and skill-building, including the GED test. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook shows average pay, required education and job outlook for many jobs, which helps when you compare a plant job with a hospital or warehouse job. The page also lists a Texas driver license practice test that covers cars, motorcycles and the commercial driver license (CDL), Excel Easy for learning spreadsheets from the beginning, and LearnFree, which has free tutorials on computers, math and work skills and asks you to create a login. Ask at the library desk if you need help getting started.

How to spot a scam

The Federal Trade Commission's advice is plain:

• "Don't pay for the promise of a job. Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job."
• No honest employer will send you a check to deposit and then ask you to send part of the money back.
• A job that promises a lot of money in a short time for little work is almost certainly a scam.
• If a placement firm asks for a fee in advance, walk away.

Read the fine print

• Apprenticeship terms are Pipefitters Local 211's own and change with each contract. Other trades have their own programs and rules.
• Job board names and pages change; when in doubt, start from the employer's main website.
• We list staffing firms from the HERE directory; we do not rank them, and none paid to be listed.

Before you go

• Make a WorkInTexas.com account and keep your resume there up to date.
• Get your safety orientation and, for port work, your TWIC card before you need them; our training page explains both.
• See who's hiring now and jobs with no degree.

Getting in the door: Training that gets you through the gate; Work gear: what you need, who pays, where to buy; who's hiring now; the employers.

Sources

• Workforce Solutions Gulf Coast, Find a Career Office (https://www.wrksolutions.com/find-a-career-office)
• Texas Workforce Commission, WorkInTexas.com (https://www.workintexas.com/)
• City of Baytown, Job Opportunities on GovernmentJobs (https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/baytowntx)
• Goose Creek CISD, Careers (https://www.gccisd.net/careers)
• Pipefitters Local 211, Apprenticeship FAQ (https://www.pipefitterslocal211.com/apprenticeship-faq.aspx)
• USAJOBS (https://www.usajobs.gov/)
• Rigzone, Oil and Gas Jobs (https://www.rigzone.com/oil/jobs/)
• Federal Trade Commission, Job Scams (https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/job-scams)
• City of Baytown, Job Seekers and Test Takers (library databases and practice tests): https://www.baytown.org/235/Job-Seekers-Test-Takers