The following is an approximate transcript from an episode of my podcast series, “Come Recommended Comes to Your City.” The focus is Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC. Want Come Recommended to come to your city? Send an e-mail to comments@comerecommended.com.
Heather Huhman: Welcome to “Come Recommended Comes to Your City,” a podcast series in which we uncover city-specific entry-level job market data, tips and techniques through an interview with a local expert. I’m Heather Huhman, founder and president of Come Recommended. As a reminder, Come Recommended is an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level job candidates with the best employers.
Today, we’ll be discussing the internship and entry-level job market in the “Research Triangle” area of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina with Gary Alan Miller. Gary is assistant director of business internships in University Career Services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. For the past 15 years Gary has held a variety of counseling and managerial roles in higher education. His professional focus is on helping students define what success means to them, then helping them define and achieve goals related to that definition.
Welcome Gary, and thank you for being here.
Gary Alan Miller: It’s my pleasure.
HH: Overall, what are three words you would use to describe the internship and entry-level job market in the Triangle?
GAM: Right now I’d use: cautious, steady and stable.
HH: What would you say are the flagship industries of the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area?
GAM: The flagship industries of the area have historically been health care, technology and education.
HH: How often do people move around and/or change jobs in the Triangle?
GAM: I don’t think it’s that uncommon for someone to move around within and across sectors. There are such strong connections between the main industries here—tech, science, research, education and so forth—that it’s not hard for those circles to overlap in many areas. But, I don’t think it happens any more or less here than other areas.
Regarding physically moving from city to city, I’m not sure how often that happens directly related to occupation, since the entire area is pretty compact. Commuting to or from Raleigh to Durham or Apex to Chapel Hill or Cary to Hillsborough, these are all tolerable commutes. A metro area like Atlanta has a larger footprint than the combined cities of the Triangle.
HH: Which industries do you think are up-and-coming in your area?
GAM: There is a very strong creative and entrepreneurial vein that runs through the area that leads to innovative small businesses, as well as feeding into those historically-strong fields. So, we’re always seeing new ventures developing and there are large and small companies that represent all types of industries from entertainment to banking to nonprofits. I think we’ll also see new spins on the science/health/tech sectors that have always been strong here, whether it’s biotech or “greentech” or similar areas.
HH: Which industries in the Triangle do you think will rebound the most quickly from the economic downturn?
GAM: Health care is a steadying force in down economies and for us that’s not just been on the provider front with nursing jobs and so forth. We’ve seen a lot of hiring taking place on the business and logistics side of health care, as well.
HH: How do you think the economic downturn has changed the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area?
GAM: Although we’ve felt it in some job losses and in a general “malaise” of hiring, I don’t think it’s dramatically changed this area when compared to others across the country or even across our own state. The real estate market never experienced a big bubble here, and the housing market was much more stable than elsewhere. So, when combined with our historically-strong industries, I think the Triangle has fared very well in the downturn, comparatively speaking.
HH: Can an entry-level professional or intern live comfortably in the Triangle based on their industry’s average salary?
GAM: Definitely. In fact, this area seems to be a relocation destination exactly because of it’s affordability and livability. It’s also a very comfortable place for recent graduates and interns due to the general “young” feeling of the area. When you have more than a dozen colleges and universities in such a small geographic area, graduates of which often stay in the area after graduation, it’s easier to find a community as a young professional here.
HH: What networking opportunities are available in the Triangle?
GAM: There are numerous. In fact, one thing I have noticed in the past year or so is a more visible and active network among professionals. I think the downtown underscored the value of the network, and there seems to have been an uptick in the number of networking events taking place. Some of them are surrounding social media, like the Triangle Tweetup events that have taken place. There are other networking events focused on young professionals, technology professionals, and so forth always taking place, along with conferences and less formal gatherings.
HH: What major changes have you seen take place since you began working in the Triangle?
GAM: I returned to the area in 2008, having lived here for 5 years in the late-1990s. So, I don’t quite have the longitudinal view necessary to see recent changes. But, comparing 2008 to my time from the 1990s is quite interesting. The Research Triangle Park seemed to lull in the early 2000s after the dot-com bust. But, it feels like a resurgence is set to take place there. Again, the level of entrepreneurship here is really impressive, and we see really creative companies like Spoonflower and Lulu and others popping up all the time. I think the most impressive thing to me, however, is the general stability of the area and how much hadn’t changed in the ten years I was away.
HH: Where do you see the job market trends in the Triangle going in the short-term and long-term?
GAM: In the short-term I think there will continue to be a cautious approach to hiring, even in the historically-strong industries. But, as the economy rebounds, I think we’ll get back to the consistent and steady growth that comes with the innovation that the area is known for.
Comments