One of the most exciting aspects of graduating that many college students look forward to is the question of where they will be relocating. Many factors play a role in graduates deciding where they want to move to such as the culture of the area, the proximity to family members and most importantly where they are offered jobs.
Whether they know it or not, graduates tend to migrate to places with economies that are doing well. These places tend to have more resources available to them, allowing firms to hire more people. Areas with economies that are booming also have more employment opportunities because of the various industries these places are likely to have.
For graduates, the best economic move for their future would be to seek jobs outside of North Carolina. While showing measurable improvements, the North Carolina economy still lags behind in an array of areas.
North Carolina has still not recovered from the effects of the 2007-2008 recession. The median household income within the state has risen since its downfall after the recession, but is still slightly lower than the incomes in 2007 and 2008. Overall employment has shown a promising upward trend, but the employment to population ratio — the rate that is much more reflective of the population’s wellbeing — remains below recession levels at around 59 percent, compared to 62 percent before the crash.
The situation is worse for people who graduated with intent to become educators. For early childhood educators (pre-K and child care instructors), more than half of them “cannot afford the local cost of living on their hourly wage.” The situation for these workers worsens when looking at rural counties. And while teacher pay has shown to be moving on a positive trajectory in the state, North Carolina’s average teacher salary is still far below the national average. In March of this year, the average teacher’s salary reached $50,000 for the first time ever. The national average for teachers is $58,950.
Graduates who choose to stay in North Carolina will also be burdened with the seemingly inescapable gender pay gap. North Carolina women with full-time, year-round jobs earn a median $36,113 in comparison to the median $42,039 of their male counterparts. The equal pay laws that we have implemented have been ruled as “weak” by the American Association of University Women.
Many of these problems seem to be continuing for the foreseeable future. An economist at UNC-Charlotte proclaimed that slow economic growth would continue in North Carolina.
An exception to many of these economic problems would be to locate somewhere in the Triangle. Here, jobs for college graduates are in high supply and many of the nation’s graduates have migrated here as a result. Remaining in North Carolina in this instance would ostensibly be a good financial move, but one that is still limiting for someone in this demographic. As Forbes writer Preston Cooper claims, “The early twenties ought to be the most mobile period of one’s life, especially for recent college graduates undergoing a major life transition.”
There are dozens of other locations around the U.S. that offer similar, if not better, conditions for graduates. Cities like Houston, Nashville and Denver have quickly turned into hubs for recent graduates because of the appealing conditions in these areas.
A Gallup poll conducted in 2014 showed that 33 percent of Americans expressed interest in wanting to leave to the state they reside in. Many are unable to either because of ties to the area they live in or because of financial barriers. Graduates who are offered jobs in new areas will rarely have to face either of these problems, yet only 12 percent of young adults with bachelor’s degrees moved in 2016.
North Carolina grads should seize their opportunity to explore different parts of the country if possible. With so many areas across the country currently booming, it would be a disservice to limit oneself to North Carolina.
