Latest reports highlight growth in Silicon Valley, Massachusetts
Oh, to be young again … and in the possession of a computer science degree.
While nation’s overall job market remains murky, a new national survey and reports from both coasts show a continuing increase in the availability of technology-related positions, particularly for new and soon-to-be-new college graduates.
From today’s Boston Globe:
In August, (Joe) Ristaino, 21, will graduate from Boston’s Wentworth Institute of Technology with what’s become a golden key to a high-paying starter job: a bachelor’s degree in computer networking.
EMC Corp., the giant data storage company in Hopkinton where he had interned, liked him enough to offer a full-time job. But he declined, instead taking a position with data networking titan Cisco Systems Inc., another company where he’d interned, that included a move to the warmer climate of North Carolina and a starting salary of $72,600, not counting benefits.
“I’ve basically got my dream job, and I couldn’t be happier,” Ristaino said.
Wentworth reports that it fields more inquiries from eager employers than it has graduates to fill the jobs, according to the story.
A survey released last week by the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicates that employers overall have become more bullish about the class of 2011.
In September, employers projected hiring 13.5 percent more new graduates from the Class of 2011 than they hired from the Class of 2010. Employers responding to NACE’s (most recent) survey upped that increase to 19.3 percent.
“This is the first time since 2007 that we’ve seen a double-digit increase in spring hiring projections. That’s a good indication that the job market for new college graduates is gaining momentum,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.
On the West Coast, a report on March employment trends sees tech hiring compensating for job losses in other sectors. From a story in the San Jose Mercury News:
Growth in two of Bay Area’s three metro regions — San Francisco and Silicon Valley— held Bay Area overall losses to only 300 jobs. The East Bay lost 5,200 jobs, while the San Francisco-San Mateo-Marin region gained 3,600 and the South Bay gained 1,400, the EDD reported. The figures are adjusted for seasonal changes.
“This is a recovery led by tech,” said Stephen Levy of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy.
As for the bigger picture – and a less rosy one – The Wall Street Journal today takes a deep dive into globalization and its impact on American jobs. One interesting aspect of this story is the reluctance of U.S. multinationals to even provide specifics regarding their workforces here and abroad. “We will decline to comment on future hiring or head-count numbers,” Kimberly Pineda, director of corporate public relations for Oracle, told the Journal.
I wonder if the company would try giving that same answer to Congress. Just wondering.
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