Question:
I was born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia. When it was time
to choose a college, I looked at the colleges in West Virginia and
laughed. I go to school in Wisconsin now, and I don't plan to come
back to West Virginia. I realize that the "brain drain" is really
hurting the state, and I do love West Virginia -- it's certainly the
most beautiful place I've ever seen. But I am a computer science
major, and there are NO computer jobs in West Virginia. Out here,
I am an hour from Chicago and half an hour from Milwaukee. My parents
have been strongly urging me to move back to West Virginia, but I
didn't go to college for four years so I could move back to Wheeling
and work at Pizza Hut....
Answer:
I think the point here is that you do not need to work in a Pizza Hut.
You could start your own business for example. As a Computer Scienece
Major you could easily start your own computer school, act as a
consultant to business that have no clue what to do with the computer
on their desks, etc.
While it's true that you couldn't charge the $75 an hour you could
charge in New York or Chicago or the $45 you could charge in
Milwaukee, you could still charge enough to make a living since it
dosen't cost nearly as much to live in WV as in the major cities. It
is also true that if you want to become rich WV is not for you. But
then you have to ask yourself why you are getting this degree in
Computer Science... To get rich or to do something you want to do.
There is a difference...
Oh Yeah? How about the new FBI Fingerprinting Laboratory at Clarksburg? Or the
Bureau of Public Debt Facilities at Parkersburg? Then there is Internal
Revenue Service at Martinsburg, and the soon-to-be-there CIA offices. NASA is
putting in a facility near Fairmont. There is the Department of Energy Researc
h Lab at Morgantown. And let's not forget Software Valley.
As soon as I finish my Masters in Information Systems next year, I plan to move
back to the Wild & Wonderful so fast, that you'll catch a cold from the breeze
I create getting there. I know there are plenty of Computer Jobs; you just hav
e to know were to look.
Man, this is put like a 'true' West Virginian. The Government is always
the answer. One of these days, the well WILL run dry and the federal gov't.
will not be able to 'create' jobs for West Virginia. Do you want to know
the REAL reason private employer's stay away from WV like the plague???
1. Labor relation volatility. Can you say UMWA? The past 20+ years have
been a nightmare for the coal industry. As an example, let's look at
VW's mistake in Westmoreland County PA. They took on a work force made
up of mostly ex-UMWA members. The rest is history.
2. Highly uneducated workforce (relatively speaking). People may brag about
Raleigh County schools, I don't hear many braggarts from McDowell or
Wyoming counties.
3. Productivity lagging. This goes back to (1). Until the widespread use
of longwall mining came into being, productivity by industry had mining near
the bottom.
