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Posted by: mturnipseed on 03/09/2010 06:39
Updated by: mturnipseed on 03/09/2010 06:39
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00
Exploring Brain Drain In Reverse
Exploring Brain Drain In Reverse
by Lisa Pinson, Kerntax Intern
March 9, 2010
Emily Wingle, a 2008 Broadcast Journalism graduate of Azusa Pacific, has moved home three months ago after working in a broadcast internship in Memphis, followed by an outdoor educational camp. When the camp wasn’t able to financially support her position, Wingle came home hoping to gain experience in her desired field: broadcast journalism.
Wingle is one of many potential young professionals that had made the trek back to Bakersfield. A glut of college graduates from outer cities and states are now returning back home after dismal job attempts elsewhere.
Exploring Brain Drain In Reverse
by Lisa Pinson, Kerntax Intern
March 9, 2010
Emily Wingle, a 2008 Broadcast Journalism graduate of Azusa Pacific, has moved home three months ago after working in a broadcast internship in Memphis, followed by an outdoor educational camp. When the camp wasn’t able to financially support her position, Wingle came home hoping to gain experience in her desired field: broadcast journalism.
Wingle is one of many potential young professionals that had made the trek back to Bakersfield. A glut of college graduates from outer cities and states are now returning back home after dismal job attempts elsewhere.
On Monday March 8th, Kevin McCarthy hosted a local job fair at The Mariott in order to bring awareness of open positions throughout town. McCarthy shares his inspiration for putting the conference together. “I’ve been doing a small business conference to export more. I just see the economy continuing to turn down and a lot of people are unemployed so I spoke with some employees to try to match people together individually. And I thought, why don’t I just put a big fair together itself. The turnout is more than I thought, so you see the economy has a greater need for it. And also from the perspective that a lot of the employees here have some very good quality jobs to actually look for.”
Job fair attendee, Nick Dillenbeck graduated from AI in Santa Monica majoring in Animation & Graphics. After college, Dillenbeck aspired to get a job in the animation field or in art design, but when he couldn’t find a job within Santa Monica, he moved back to Bakersfield to work at Best Buy. When asked whether there was a specific job he was looking to obtain, he replied: “Not quite in my specific job area, but you never know, so I came here just to check.”
Professionals often fear the pattern of “brain drain” within Bakersfield. This often occurs when bright young students relocate to another city for college. After they have graduated, they often remain in those metropolitan cities once they have obtained entry-level jobs. The past year, however, could signify anything but a brain drain with more returnees making Bakersfield their home.
Richard Chapman of the Kern Economic Development Corporation understands the logic behind doing so. “We have a pretty low percentage of a population with a college degree. So if I have a college degree and I am considering staying in L.A., where everyone in my building has a degree and is looking for a job, or coming to Bakersfield where my family is still there, and they know people in the business arena, and most of the jobs are that are hiring are frankly for college degree jobs, I would go to Bakersfield.”
Since moving home, Wingle hasn’t entirely altered her career goals, however, she realizes that earning a job within her preferable field will take more time. “I know I need to get a job whether or not it’s in my field, but I would still really like to be working in a T.V. or radio station. I’m willing to work my way up, and I’m willing to work unpaid, but I would like to start somewhere.”
Not only will these graduates face economic challenges, but they will also have to find a way to adapt to both familiar and unfamiliar living circumstances.
Many returnees will come to find that a plethora of their childhood friends have moved on, and this will provide them with the need to adapt to new sources of networking.
Lainey Walker, a 2008 Communications graduate of SDSU had worked the front desk at San Diego’s Hilton for nearly a year before she decided to quit her job due to stressful circumstances. Unfortunately, finding work in San Diego was becoming scarce and expensive, therefore she moved back home with her family to develop a new career path while saving money.
“My parents are great, and I think they respect the fact that I am an adult. But it is hard. You’re used to living on your own and then you come back in your parent’s wing. You have to deal with some rules. It’s not like the high school rules where you have a curfew. You have the freedom, but they want you to keep the house clean and they tell you to make your bed everyday. It feels as if you are regressing a little bit. You feel like instead of moving forward in life and becoming more like an adult, you are becoming less of an adult.”
Richard Chapman remains optimistic regarding what Bakersfield has to offer graduates moving home. He states that because Bakersfield has three degrees of separation, as opposed to six, networking is more easily retained.
Chaplin believes that graduates alone are not the only ones that can benefit from the networking that a larger smaller town has to offer for he is convinced that Kern County will be able to make an economic profit from more educated employees.
“(Bakersfield) is in a tough position because a lot of employers won’t come here unless we have a higher and more educated workforce. Number one, we would probably get higher waged jobs here. Number two, even retail like Whole Foods or Nordstrom. Most of them look at the college-educated population within six to ten miles of the project. Even our services are being affected. So we are caught in this cycle where we can’t recruit people because we don’t have the amenities but we can’t get the amenities until we get more people here.”
So what should college graduates be doing with their time while their future is in limbo? Melanie Butler, CSUB’s career director advises potential employees to find temporary or part time work in order to gain experience. She also suggests that graduates should search for a paid internship, because it would require them to not only gain experience but to make enough money for food and shelter.
Unfortunately, paid internships are sometimes difficult for college graduates to come by. Wingle became mildly frustrated when companies wouldn’t allow her to intern for free. She explains, “One company told me that their lawyer told them that it was illegal to pay their interns or to not receive college credit. The other company hasn’t called me back, so I don’t know.”
Above all, Butler motivates graduates to avoid being discouraged. “There’s always job openings even if you can’t see them. There’s always people quitting their jobs, retiring, or moving some place. So there are always jobs, but there just are not a lot of them right now. They are not carefully visible. You need to search in more creative ways.”
It could be wise for young graduates to volunteer and participate in the community in order to avoid a larger gap in one’s resume while they are job hunting. That way, they are gaining skills they may not have already possessed. More importantly, however, they are taking the focus off of themselves and unto others, which will decrease potential depression that ordinarily occurs with many individuals of all demographics when they are unemployed.
As of now, Emily Wingle is working part time as a sales clerk at the boutique, Lush. She has also been given the opportunity to work not only behind the counter; but behind the scenes. Lush has allowed her to be responsible for their advertising and promotions.
Lainey Walker, whom had spent the past month volunteering at Glenwood Gardens, has now been offered a part time position as the Assistant Activities Director.
As for myself, I have been interning for Kern Tax Payer’s Association the past four months. Through my internship I have been attending board meetings throughout town and writing articles based on those assemblies. I have also been volunteering for none other than Bakersfield Express in my free time when I am not hunting for full time work. As a result, I now have plenty of writing samples I may be able to contribute with job applications.
In the 1995 film Kicking and Screaming, four college graduates whom still dwell in their college town four months after commencement, spend most of their time griping about their pending future. Chris Eigeman’s character Max laments, “What I used to be able to pass off as a bad summer could now potentially turn into a bad life.” Truth is, time is valuable. A full-time job may be difficult to acquire in these sour times, but a positive attitude and openness to a path less taken may develop into a more rewarding destiny.
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