Countless Massachusetts college graduates, who have been long-time Massachusetts residents, want to leave their home state behind and move to areas rich with career opportunities, and known for providing the best networking systems in the country.
Despite the close-linked communities of the Boston area and its businesses that are surviving the challenges of the changing economy, new college graduates think it’s smart to look at California and more southern U.S. regions as homes for settling into a career.
Dan Vaks, a 2010 graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and a Massachusetts resident since childhood, moved to California two weeks ago to prove, he said, “that the move is worth the risk.” The 23-year-old holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and now works for Vwebrx.com, an Information Technology firm which preforms medical data dispensaries, and which will give him connections to thrive in his career field.
“California has the perfect equation for people my age to start a structure for business,” he said.
Despite the fact that he has family on the west coast, Vaks found the main draws of California to be the easy-going climate and the amount of business exposure that is available to him as recent graduate looking to start his career. Currently, he maintains the firm’s website, makes sure unneeded or confidential medical data is protected and deleted, and makes sure that medical orders are packaged and recorded correctly. He says that, even though he makes only minimum wage, that the job is perfect for him.
“Money is competitive out here, but minimum wage is more than Massachusetts,” said Vaks. “But working at this firm now will give me the connections to start my own business in a couple of years.”
Vice President and General Manager, Patti Healy, of Executive Coaching Services (ECS), an outplacement company with three locations in California, feels that parts of the economy are slowly recovering, mostly due to the strong social networking opportunities that are arising. The 16-year employee of ECS said that she sees how active networking increases college graduates’ chance for a job offer or company-pl
aced position, therefore drawing more graduates to the West Coast in their hopes of finding career success.
“I have regularly seen the list of companies that are moving out of California and it’s huge. This demonstrates that the financial climate may not be as prevalent going forward,” said Healy. “But still, the value of social networking prevails when people consider careers in California.”
Healy said that, despite business losses in California, new graduates still think the state is the best place to have a chance of becoming successful and overcoming economic hardships. She sees that social networking is strengthening job opportunity for students and even her own clients, and said that there is no better place networking than California. Networking gives people an effective way to reach recruiters, large corporations are constantly looking for new working, but specifically those with particular skill sets and strong online profiles.
“More recent graduates are going to work at temporary agencies and internships to try and get their foot in the door and promote the skills they have,” said Healy. “They really need to be able to figure out what they can do, who they can know and how to connect with people if they’re going to be successful.”
Once they make these social connections, career newcomers find that being successful in their careers is easier. Therefore, Healy said that California is the perfect place for these graduates because today’s university students are taught to utilize social connections and to find jobs and networking groups.
Recent graduates can put themselves at a one-up on the economy, as older career executives and managers recently getting laid-off no longer have the same “new-talent aura” about them. Many of these workers aren’t trained to use technology as their primary networking tool. Healy sees the value of sites such as Linked-In and Twitter, and helps her clients think creatively.
“So many people are laid-off and have to reevaluate their skills and figure out what they can recreate with those skills, and social networking allows for that,” said Healy. “College kids, though, grew up on using technology to communicate and therefore already have those skills.”
She explains that many the veteran workers she sees come from companies that use the economic downturn to weed out older workers who have higher compensation and benefit needs. Because of this, companies accept the flooding of new graduate applications, yet look for characteristics that can replace the intelligence of older workers without the need for extra money and benefits. Therefore someone like Vaks is a perfect fit for a company looking for new employees; young and educated.
A senior kinesiology major at UMass-Amherst, Hollie Musto, 22, has her own plans for moving out of state following graduation. The Westwood resident is applying to Western University (California) and St. Augustine (Florida) for graduate school, as she is definitely not looking to continue school or settle her career in Massachusetts.
“I want to try some new schools,” she said. “Plus, schools in Boston aren’t cheap and living in Boston is inconvenient and expensive. I haven’t gotten any offers for discounts or in-state student financial funding either.”Musto is looking to get her doctorates in physical therapy (PT), and said that, despite how Boston excels in PT, she does not want to start her life there. She said that meeting new people in different areas of the country provides opportunities for her to have stronger social connections and be more successful in her field of study.
“Physical therapy is really competitive these days, and I think that the more people I know the better my chances are of getting noticed when I’m ready to start my career,” she said.
Mike Grant, 21, a senior environmental science and public health double major and environmental science teaching assistant at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is yet another example of a student looking for a graduate-level education outside of Massachusetts. He is most interested in Johns Hopkins (Maryland), as he would receive a 50 percent tuition waver his first year there, and a 75 percent waver for his second. He says that these aids add to his interest in moving out of Massachusetts for graduate school, especially since, according to The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Massachusetts, the annual cost of for one adult went up by 34% between 1998 and 2003, and continues to rise.
Grant also interned at Johns Hopkins for a summer, doing research on the Maryland economy. This gives him the networking capabilities in Baltimore, as after completing his master’s and PhD, his goal is to work for an epidemic intelligence service that sends its employees around the world to control disease.
“I have a chance to get full funding at Harvard, but Johns Hopkins would give me the funding, as well, and I already have such great connections down there,” said Grant. “Everyone’s concerned about getting a job, but now it’s facing the truth; if you can’t get one, go to graduate school and make connections.
Despite the close-linked communities of the Boston area and its businesses that are surviving the challenges of the changing economy, new college graduates think it’s smart to look at California and more southern U.S. regions as homes for settling into a career.
Dan Vaks, a 2010 graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and a Massachusetts resident since childhood, moved to California two weeks ago to prove, he said, “that the move is worth the risk.” The 23-year-old holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and now works for Vwebrx.com, an Information Technology firm which preforms medical data dispensaries, and which will give him connections to thrive in his career field.
“California has the perfect equation for people my age to start a structure for business,” he said.
Despite the fact that he has family on the west coast, Vaks found the main draws of California to be the easy-going climate and the amount of business exposure that is available to him as recent graduate looking to start his career. Currently, he maintains the firm’s website, makes sure unneeded or confidential medical data is protected and deleted, and makes sure that medical orders are packaged and recorded correctly. He says that, even though he makes only minimum wage, that the job is perfect for him.
“Money is competitive out here, but minimum wage is more than Massachusetts,” said Vaks. “But working at this firm now will give me the connections to start my own business in a couple of years.”
Vice President and General Manager, Patti Healy, of Executive Coaching Services (ECS), an outplacement company with three locations in California, feels that parts of the economy are slowly recovering, mostly due to the strong social networking opportunities that are arising. The 16-year employee of ECS said that she sees how active networking increases college graduates’ chance for a job offer or company-pl
aced position, therefore drawing more graduates to the West Coast in their hopes of finding career success.“I have regularly seen the list of companies that are moving out of California and it’s huge. This demonstrates that the financial climate may not be as prevalent going forward,” said Healy. “But still, the value of social networking prevails when people consider careers in California.”
Healy said that, despite business losses in California, new graduates still think the state is the best place to have a chance of becoming successful and overcoming economic hardships. She sees that social networking is strengthening job opportunity for students and even her own clients, and said that there is no better place networking than California. Networking gives people an effective way to reach recruiters, large corporations are constantly looking for new working, but specifically those with particular skill sets and strong online profiles.
“More recent graduates are going to work at temporary agencies and internships to try and get their foot in the door and promote the skills they have,” said Healy. “They really need to be able to figure out what they can do, who they can know and how to connect with people if they’re going to be successful.”
Once they make these social connections, career newcomers find that being successful in their careers is easier. Therefore, Healy said that California is the perfect place for these graduates because today’s university students are taught to utilize social connections and to find jobs and networking groups.
Recent graduates can put themselves at a one-up on the economy, as older career executives and managers recently getting laid-off no longer have the same “new-talent aura” about them. Many of these workers aren’t trained to use technology as their primary networking tool. Healy sees the value of sites such as Linked-In and Twitter, and helps her clients think creatively.
“So many people are laid-off and have to reevaluate their skills and figure out what they can recreate with those skills, and social networking allows for that,” said Healy. “College kids, though, grew up on using technology to communicate and therefore already have those skills.”
She explains that many the veteran workers she sees come from companies that use the economic downturn to weed out older workers who have higher compensation and benefit needs. Because of this, companies accept the flooding of new graduate applications, yet look for characteristics that can replace the intelligence of older workers without the need for extra money and benefits. Therefore someone like Vaks is a perfect fit for a company looking for new employees; young and educated.
A senior kinesiology major at UMass-Amherst, Hollie Musto, 22, has her own plans for moving out of state following graduation. The Westwood resident is applying to Western University (California) and St. Augustine (Florida) for graduate school, as she is definitely not looking to continue school or settle her career in Massachusetts.
“I want to try some new schools,” she said. “Plus, schools in Boston aren’t cheap and living in Boston is inconvenient and expensive. I haven’t gotten any offers for discounts or in-state student financial funding either.”Musto is looking to get her doctorates in physical therapy (PT), and said that, despite how Boston excels in PT, she does not want to start her life there. She said that meeting new people in different areas of the country provides opportunities for her to have stronger social connections and be more successful in her field of study.
“Physical therapy is really competitive these days, and I think that the more people I know the better my chances are of getting noticed when I’m ready to start my career,” she said.
Mike Grant, 21, a senior environmental science and public health double major and environmental science teaching assistant at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is yet another example of a student looking for a graduate-level education outside of Massachusetts. He is most interested in Johns Hopkins (Maryland), as he would receive a 50 percent tuition waver his first year there, and a 75 percent waver for his second. He says that these aids add to his interest in moving out of Massachusetts for graduate school, especially since, according to The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Massachusetts, the annual cost of for one adult went up by 34% between 1998 and 2003, and continues to rise.
Grant also interned at Johns Hopkins for a summer, doing research on the Maryland economy. This gives him the networking capabilities in Baltimore, as after completing his master’s and PhD, his goal is to work for an epidemic intelligence service that sends its employees around the world to control disease.
“I have a chance to get full funding at Harvard, but Johns Hopkins would give me the funding, as well, and I already have such great connections down there,” said Grant. “Everyone’s concerned about getting a job, but now it’s facing the truth; if you can’t get one, go to graduate school and make connections.
