Nice Payoff

Dallas-Fort Worth tech jobs rate among the highest paying in the U.S.

Indeed calculated the average salary for 158 tech occupations in 25 metro areas.

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Dallas-Fort Worth sits in the top 10 among American tech hubs where the paychecks of tech workers stretch the furthest, a new study shows.

The study, conducted by Austin-based job website Indeed, ranks 25 of the country’s tech hubs based on where the average tech worker’s salary is highest when adjusted for the local cost of living. DFW appears at No. 7 on the list, with an identical actual salary and adjusted salary of $101,649.

While DFW ranks seventh overall, it’s in first place for the average adjusted salary of two tech occupations:

Data scientist — $140,000
iOS developer — $125,000

To compile the ranking, Indeed calculated the average salary for 158 tech occupations in 25 metro areas using annual salary information posted on Indeed between August 2016 and July 2017.

The Austin area shows up at No. 3 in the Indeed ranking, with an average actual tech salary of $103,914 and an average tech salary adjusted for cost of living of $103,394. Among the 25 metro areas, Austin ranks first for the average adjusted salary of a front-end developer ($115,578).

In Central Texas, a $100,000 tech job “will get you more bedrooms, avocado toasts, and climbing-gym memberships” than a $100,000 tech job in coastal California, according to Indeed.

The Houston area doesn’t fare as well in the Indeed ranking. There, the average actual tech salary is $97,751, but the average tech salary adjusted for cost of living is $98,631.

At No. 1 on Indeed’s list is Charlotte, North Carolina, followed by Atlanta (No. 2); Austin (No. 3); San Francisco (No. 4); Seattle (No. 5); and San Jose, California (No. 6).

In last place, at No. 25, is Miami-Fort Lauderdale.

“After Charlotte and Atlanta, four leading tech hubs — Austin, San Francisco, Seattle, and San Jose — follow in a near tie for adjusted tech salaries,” Indeed says. “That means that the premiums in those eye-popping San Francisco and Silicon Valley paychecks get entirely wiped out relative to Austin and Seattle when the Bay Area’s high living costs are factored in.”

Indeed adds that while a tech salary goes furthest in Charlotte and Atlanta, the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, and Seattle offer “a richer selection of tech jobs to choose from, with salaries that will stretch nicely.”

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Cruise control

Tesla's Robotaxi rideshare service is now self-driving around Dallas

X/Tesla Robotaxi

Tesla Robotaxi service has launched in Houston.

Tesla’s Robotaxi service has taken to the streets of Dallas. In a brief statement Saturday, April 18 on its X social media account, Tesla Robotaxi says the autonomous rideshare service launched in Texas’ two biggest metro areas - Dallas and Houston.

“Try Tesla Robotaxi in Dallas & Houston!” Tesla CEO Elon Musk says in a reposting on X of the Robotaxi announcement.

One of Robotaxi’s competitors, Alphabet-owned Waymo, beat the Tesla service to the Dallas, Houston, and Austin markets. Another competitor, Amazon-owned Zoox, has Dallas flagged for its autonomous rideshare service.

Robotaxi previously kicked off in Austin, where Tesla is based and manufactures electric vehicles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Nearly 50 Robotaxis operate in Austin, where the service’s inaugural rides happened last year, and more than 500 in the San Francisco area.

Of the three rides logged in a 31-square-mile area in Dallas as of Monday morning, the average fare was $7.96 and the average trip was 3.5 miles, according to an online tracker of autonomous rideshare services. The tracker showed only one Robotaxi was on the roads in Dallas.

As of Monday morning, a 25-square-mile area in Houston had two Robotaxis on the road, according to the online tracker. The average fare for five recorded rides was $11.34 and the average trip was six miles.

“We want Robotaxi pricing to be simple and easy for you to understand,” says the Robotaxi website. “Initially, as part of our introductory program, we will charge a simple, affordable rate plus applicable taxes and fees for all rides within the available service area.”

The tracker shows the Robotaxi in Dallas did not have a human aboard to monitor each trip, and only one of Houston’s two Robotaxis did not have a human monitor in the driver’s seat.

For now, all passengers ride in Tesla Model Y cars. Robotaxi operates from 6 am-2 am daily.

To use the service, you first must download the Robotaxi app, which works only on iPhones.

Robotaxi lets you stream music and adjust climate settings and seat positioning from the Robotaxi app or the vehicle’s touchscreen. Climate and media settings are stored in your Robotaxi profile and automatically transfer from one vehicle to another. If you own a Tesla, certain profile settings and media preferences are available in your own car as well as in a Robotaxi.

In January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Musk said a “widespread” network of driverless rideshare vehicles would be operating in the U.S. by the end of this year, CNBC reported.

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