Study Ranks Best Cities to Start One's Career

Where in the country should seniors seek fulfilling professional jobs with plenty of advancement opportunities?

Salt Lake City, Utah, Madison, Wis., and Sioux Falls, S.D., top their respective lists for best large, medium and small markets in which to start a career, according to a recent issue of the National Business Employment Weekly's college edition.

G. Scott Thomas, who wrote "The 30 Best Cities for New College Graduates," noted in the article that "rankings are based on an analysis of recent employment and economic trends in 318 metropolitan areas, as well as future prospects for those locales."

"We also looked for other qualities that are important to recent graduates, giving extra points to areas that have affordable rents and are willing to accept outsiders," Thomas said.

The magazine's rankings may have little effect on the plans of Harvard students, whose dreams often run to the big and metropolitan--attributes notably missing from the cities that made the list.

"I plan to live in Warsaw, then in New York," said Devin M. Agran '93-95, a Los Angeles native.

Agran said she would live in New York because "I'm interested in book and magazine publishing and most of my friends from Harvard are there."

Funke Sangodeyl '97 said "I've never been to any of these cities, so I don't know anything about them."

"I'd like to be in an urban environment because there's a lot more going on."

But the report says that may not be a good career move. In large markets--defined as having more than 500,000 jobs in the local economy--the top five are Salt Lake City; Indianapolis; Nashville, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky., and Greensboro/Winston-Salem, N.C.

In medium markets--with 150,000 to 500,000 jobs--the top five were Madison; Austin, Texas; Lake Country, III.; Raleigh/Durham, N.C., and Omaha, Neb.

The small-market group was headed by Sioux Falls; Provo, Utah; Bolise, Idaho; Santa Fe, N.M., and Rapid City, S.D.

Representatives of highly-ranked cities such as Indianapolis and Omaha said they were pleased that their communities finally got the recognition they said they deserve.

Kathy Pharo, an accountant at the Madison, Wis., Chamber of Commerce, said: "Our unemployment rate has been under 3 percent for over 3 years, so that's one of the lowest rates in the nation."

"People can find jobs here if they have appropriate training and credentials. Once you get a job it's fairly well-paying," she said.

Karen Yakovac, a media relations specialist from the Indianapolis Project, a non-proud organization which publishers information about Indianapolis, said her city ranks among the top 30 because it has " a diversified economy, a lower-than-average unemployment rate, and lower-than-average housing costs."

Yakovac added that an efficient local government has helped to maintain the city's growth. The city has set back-to-back records for job creation in 1992 and 1993.

But at the career center of Sioux Fall's Augustana College, Doug Noteboom, the director, said he is not sure his city merits its top 30 ranking.

"It's my contention that the job market for college graduates is very competitive," Noteboom said. "Our community struggles extremely hard to find people to work at the $5 to $8 [per hour] wage rate."

Noticeably missing from the rankings are more well-known urban centers where recent graduates typically flock for employment, such as Boston, New York City and Los Angeles.

According to students and Chamber of Commerce officials in various cities, the point system only partially added up to a fair survey.

James F. Klocke, an official with Boston's Chamber of Commerce, disputed the city's exclusion from the top 30.

"A lot of new graduates find that work isn't as interesting as college," Klocke said, "but in Boston that's not the case because companies are doing innovative things and working with the best technology and the brightest people in the world.

Yakovac added that an efficient local government has helped to maintain the city's growth. The city has set back-to-back records for job creation in 1992 and 1993.

But at the career center of Sioux Fall's Augustana College, Doug Noteboom, the director, said he is not sure his city merits its top 30 ranking.

"It's my contention that the job market for college graduates is very competitive," Noteboom said. "Our community struggles extremely hard to find people to work at the $5 to $8 [per hour] wage rate."

Noticeably missing from the rankings are more well-known urban centers where recent graduates typically flock for employment, such as Boston, New York City and Los Angeles.

According to students and Chamber of Commerce officials in various cities, the point system only partially added up to a fair survey.

James F. Klocke, an official with Boston's Chamber of Commerce, disputed the city's exclusion from the top 30.

"A lot of new graduates find that work isn't as interesting as college," Klocke said, "but in Boston that's not the case because companies are doing innovative things and working with the best technology and the brightest people in the world.