The big news within the last two weeks is that EMC is expanding it’s operations in the Park with plans to hire up to 397 people in the $280 million expansion. This won’t do much for the majority of job seekers in the immediate area. But it will provide opportunities for out of work engineers and technologists willing to relocate. To understand why the RTP businesses continue to hire in spite of a falling domestic economy it is only necessary to look at why so many people are out of work in the first place.
When I was 29 years old I was still going to college frat parties with friends who were grad students. I know…lame. I hung around with one guy, Jake, who started a NC State campus student services site called The Wolf Web. The site now has thousands of registered users. Jake went on to find a job and make money. I’m sure he’s persevering through the down economy, I know his site certainly is. But Jake’s story was in stark contrast to many of the seniors and grad students I knew six years ago. If most were asked what they planned to do with their Sociology, Business or Spanish degrees after graduation they all had the same answers: “be a manager” or “start a business”.
They didn’t seem to understand the concept that they couldn’t manage anybody or anything until they learn a particular industry. And through the heightened sense of entitlement instilled by their high school and college counselors they presumed vast riches awaited them with any college degree. They absolutely refused to believe the bottom rung of the corporate ladder was waiting for them. Why shouldn’t have they believed it ? The graduates of the 90’s got to start at the middle or the top with instant stock options for the even the lowest positions in the company.
So armed with degrees in Early America Literature and weak Social Science skills the graduates descended on the job market by the tens of thousands. They entered into a market already saturated with useless middle management earning disproportionate salaries. None had the skills to perform the work necessary to generate revenue. They only possessed their perceived ability to “manage” those who do. In early 2007 reality began to slap a lot of people in the face who’s perceived value to a company was actually quite less than their actual contribution.
Much of this has to do with the education college graduates were, and are, choosing. “Choosing” is the operative word because given the choice of a career path in Engineering, Biotech or Computer Science they consciously decide not to risk the perception of being a geek. It’s not possible drink and worry about sex all the time if your heads in a book. Not many Chemical Engineering students can risk a daily hangover. So the answer seems simple: Take the path of least resistance and get the general education or cultural arts degree, hunker down and wait for a job being the boss. Ya, good luck with that.
RTP companies demand the best workers who can perform towards the bottom line. You must be highly computer literate with an advanced degree in a technical or biological specialization. The Biotech, Engineering and Technology sectors still have many vacancies for graduates and experienced jobs seekers with the skills to produce. These positions don’t include on the job training.
And I can’t close without mentioning how science and math courses took a back seat to bible study for a decade or two. This will be vehemently denied by many but it was in fact a contributing factor, no matter how slight, to the downfall of graduates with advanced technical degrees needed to fill the positions available in the tech sector.
As I write this President Obama is presenting the National Science and Technology awards for this year. He stated the federal government will invest 3% of the nations gross domestic product into science and technology education. This is how we will overcome the recession and put people back to work. If you’re an old dog who can’t, or won’t learn new tricks…. enjoy your unemployment check while it lasts.