A recent study conducted by CareerBliss.com, a job listings website, ranked Detroit No. 13 on the list of the 20 worst cities to find a job. The study factored unemployment statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings spanning a six-month period in 2012 and more than 14,000 company reviews sent in by current and former employees.

Professor David Sheridan teaches a freshman seminar in Detroit where students spend one week in Detroit, visiting organizations and people connected to the city’s creative economy.
Sheridan said in an email he heard from an architect the population in downtown Detroit is growing rapidly, leading to a lack of living space.

“While it is clear that Detroit continues to face many challenges, it is also clear that many people are finding Detroit to be a great place to live, work and play,” Sheridan said.

Sheridan said the ranking should be critically viewed for various reasons, including not mentioning the role educational degrees play in employment.

“A complex city like Detroit can’t be encapsulated in single number or ‘score,’” Sheridan said. “Lists like this offer a very reductive way of talking about cities.”

Special education sophomore Nicole Kleinschmidt said Detroit’s ranking sounds fair.

“Obviously with the auto industry (problems), people don’t want to move here,” Kleinschmidt said. “My parents talk about it all the time — ‘when you graduate, get out of Michigan.’”

Kleinschmidt said she is not worried about finding a job because she has heard special education teachers are in high demand in Michigan. She said she would move out of the state if she had to, but she hopes to stay in the mitten.

Sheridan said the list does not shed a true or positive light on the city of Detroit.

“The CareerBliss list feeds a negative and misleading story that young Michigan residents hear and repeat too often: that to find a rich and satisfying life, you need to move to Chicago or San Francisco. That’s not true,” Sheridan said. “If you don’t believe me, go ask the thousands of young people who are having a blast in Detroit right now.”

Linda Gross, associate director of MSU’s Career Services Network, said it is the responsibility of the job seeker to find the employer, especially when it comes to the growing employment opportunities in small and medium-sized businesses.

“Don’t chase a job, chase an employer,” Gross said. “You don’t just want any job, you want the right job (that will) help (you) grow.”

Gross said the one of the most important things to consider when looking for a job is how the skills learned at MSU — in the classroom, through internships, study abroad and leadership opportunities — will benefit an employer.