It is now routine for Raleigh to be ranked among the best places in America to live and work. In May, Forbes ranked Raleigh as the best place to do business and the second most innovative city in America, only behind Austin.
With both the global and national economy still limping from the recession, this ranking certainly provides some cheer, but it may not mean enough in absolute terms. A lot more needs to be done if growth is to be achieved in a real sense.
Raleigh has withstood the economic onslaught better than any other city in the country and stands a chance to be the economic front runner in the near future. This provides a great opportunity to State and the students studying here. It means better job opportunities and a chance to work with the nation’s best without having to relocate across the country.
This opportunity also calls on students to be prepared to face this challenge. It is obvious now that simply graduating with a 3.5 or greater GPA is not enough to survive in the current job market. It is necessary to differentiate yourself from the crowd, be it through work experience, research or other leadership experience during college.
Rather than being disheartened by this increased competition, students should embrace the opportunity that will help them increase their caliber and add to their personality. A professional experience apart from regular classes helps build confidence and prepares students for a smoother ride ahead. Such activities are no longer optional but an added pre-requisite to the GPA cutoff.
In addition to this, students should look at pursuing a minor in a field that strategically complements their primary career choice. Having a minor in statistics has allowed me to see things in a different light, and the involvement with the department has provided opportunities I wouldn’t have known even existed. For example, in my statistics class I’ve learned about software programs I would never have come across in my chemical engineering curriculum, and to my great surprise and happiness, these programs have often helped me in my core studies for many purposes.
Such small additions to our learning make our development more holistic and mature. We should make sure the lessons of this economic downturn are not lost on us, and we should prepare ourselves for an increasingly competitive, but also more promising, future.
Another issue emerging from this recession is that corporations and governments which earlier dismissed sustainable initiatives as expensive roadblocks to growth are beginning to ingrain sustainability into their corporate philosophy. Almost every company in any field today has a page or at least a few words on their website about its sustainable initiatives. Everyone at the workplace certainly seems to have sustainability in the back of their minds.
While this renewed interest in climate change is driven as much by consumer interest and pressure, the recession has forced the industry to look at green in a new light.
While for a vast majority, this simply means increasing productive efficiency to minimize losses, quite a few global behemoths are looking ahead and making sustainability a part of their corporate culture. Companies such as SAP, a global IT solutions provider, have a new position on their board for the Chief Sustainability Officer. These officers are not simply PR agents for the company but are being given a greater say within the company.
The biggest message to take home from all this is that a lot of these green initiatives could well have been possible in the pre-recession era, but huge losses have forced companies to rework their business models to incorporate new elements which are now required by the current global economic status. And these elements are here to stay for the better. It is up to students and young entrepreneurs to understand and accept this challenge and make an opportunity out of it.
Given the acumen of students on campus and our exposure to the best business region in the country, we hope this will not be so hard.
