Grads flee Mitten for better jobs

Lindsey Poisson

One of the many joys college graduates are facing — or will face in the coming weeks and months, depending on the amount of procrastination — is the inevitable job hunt.

Not only does this provide an excellent excuse to update one’s professional wardrobe, but it also sets into motion the stressful task of searching online job postings and preparing for the most annoying interview question of all time, “Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years?”

It wasn’t until Friday that I thought seriously about where I might end up post-MSU. I spent most of the day — about 10 hours — traveling to and from an interview with a Pennsylvania newspaper. Perhaps to the shock and dismay of my critics, it’s among the serious prospects and offers I’m taking into consideration.

But none of them are in Michigan.

Could it be a subconscious survival strategy, or maybe just that I’ve lived in Michigan all my life and want a change? Anyone who lives in Michigan knows how bad the situation is here. Of course, almost any media outlet will claim the national economy is doomed as well.

On a national scale, the unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among those with at least a bachelor’s degree, the unemployment rate was 2.1 percent in the same month. Employers are expected to hire 8 percent more graduates this year than in 2007, despite an original increase projection of 16 percent, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

In Michigan, the outlook is comparably worse. The state unemployment rate went up to 7.2 percent in February — one of the highest in the nation. The state’s college graduate unemployment rate probably isn’t far behind.

Many graduating classes have dealt with scary statistics and horrifying trends. They’re also told that in the grand scheme of things, those with more education tend to fair better than those without. Most numbers can be looked at from either a half-full or half-empty perspective.

Of course, it all depends on the industry. While more technical fields actually are growing and offering staggering starter salaries, banking and business appear to be tanking mightily as the national economy teeters on the edge of recession.

The newspaper business itself is undergoing vast restructuring. As some newspapers are just starting to branch out into using multimedia content — several of which have no idea how to fit it into their coverage yet — many employees are being approached with buyouts, and many positions are being eliminated. Although this might be good news for entry-level reporters who can grab those recently bought-out jobs, the overall outlook shows an uncertain and shaky future.

There are some jobs available in Michigan — in any given career — but that alone isn’t enough to keep graduates here. With noncompetitive salaries, roads riddled with pot holes and funding problems galore, there are plenty of features that make the mitten state unattractive.

And after 21 years of enduring Michigan weather, I’m done.

Yet without its graduates, Michigan’s fate is sealed. Those educated, qualified graduates carry an immense burden as much-needed saviors, capable of boosting the “high-growth” industries Michigan lawmakers are desperately trying to promote.

Without the brain power needed to transform the manufacturing-oriented economy, there’s no hope.

Anyone with a shred of home-state loyalty can feel the pressure. Michigan might have many positive attributes and great potential, but individuals just starting off in their careers aren’t in a position to endure rising state taxes and lack of development when there are better alternatives elsewhere.

Down the line, hopefully the state will finally get it together enough that graduates won’t want to flee. But right now, I imagine that in five or 10 years, many graduates — including myself — probably won’t be in Michigan.

Lindsey Poisson is the State News opinion writer. Reach her at poisson4@msu.edu.

Published on Tuesday, April 8, 2008