ACG National Capital
The recently announced recipients of ACG National Capital’s 2011 scholarships, Kyle Hutton, Ashley White, Elizabeth Moran and Scott Shuffield, are all incredible examples of the talent being developed in the colleges and universities across the Washington, D.C. region. The four recipients, and the rest of the students who were nominated, are only a small part of the large and steady pipeline of future business leaders the region is producing.
But what’s going to await these students and the rest of the upcoming graduating classes in the Nation’s Capital? Well, other than the negatives of traffic congestion, long commutes and a high cost of living, according to Kiplinger, the future for recent graduates in the Washington, D.C. region is very bright.
Kiplinger’s recent “10 Great Cities for College Grads” list analyzed major U.S. cities across a handful of different criteria to pick the top ten for recent college grads. These criteria included: health of economy, rent affordability, access to public transportation, overall cost of living, culture, nightlife and the percentage of people ages 20 to 24.
Washington, D.C. came in fifth in the nation, behind only New York City, Charlotte, Baltimore and Colorado Springs.
The reason why Washington, D.C. is such a hot spot for recent graduates has nothing to do with the sheer number of gourmet cupcake establishments and famous watering holes, either. The ranking was based heavily on the state of the city’s economy.
According to Kiplinger, D.C. led the U.S. in job growth in 2010. Much of this growth was in government positions and government-related sectors, such as like public health, homeland security and legal services.
Thanks in large part to the Federal Government, D.C. is expected to add 25,000 jobs between now and 2012. The government presence also keeps the economy somewhat insulated from economic turbulence and instability. In addition, city boasted a median income over $10,000 higher than the national average in 2009.
I read recently that China was capping the amount of Doctoral graduates it produces because these highly-educated Chinese cannot find jobs – even in an economy that is supposedly growing at about 9% annually. It is good to know that the kids in the nation’s capital area will have better prospects.