Most plan to learn, leave: Graduates of big state colleges won't stick around, poll shows

BYLINE: Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press

Apr. 29--More than half the students at Michigan's three biggest universities say they'll leave the state after graduation -- with nearly half of those saying they will do so to find jobs.

But while the state's high unemployment rate shapes the opinions of the students interviewed for The Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll, some experts say the perception of a lack of good jobs in the state is worse than the reality for young people looking to start a career in Michigan.

Those experts point to thousands of positions in the health care, financial services and information technology fields -- many at small- to mid-size companies -- among the 34,000 total jobs listed in a statewide job bank.

They also say the promise of Google in Ann Arbor, a major medical complex being built in Grand Rapids and a little-known IT explosion in the Lansing area offer hope for graduates of the state's universities.

"The picture is not as bad as it appears," said Kelly Bishop, director of the career center at Michigan State University.

College graduates are finding jobs in the state, he said.

Michael Casey is among them.

When he tosses his cap at his MSU commencement Saturday, he'll know that he has a job waiting as a financial analyst with an automotive supplier in Troy.

"I had other offers, which weren't as good of pay, out of the state," in Chicago and Tennessee, said Casey, 21, of Redford Township. He begins work in June at Arvin Meritor. His choice came down to family and love for southeastern Michigan.

Although Casey had good luck in his in-state job search, many of his classmates are giving up on the idea of working in Michigan after graduation -- at least for now.

Fifty-three percent of the 640 students surveyed at MSU, Wayne State University and the University of Michigan say they expect to move away, according to the poll, taken by phone April 9-16. The poll was conducted by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

At U-M, just one in four students said they expect to stay in the state after graduation.

Excluding out-of-state and foreign students, the number expecting to leave the state dips to 46%. But almost three in four native Michiganders who plan to leave said they are open to returning.

Of those who said they plan to leave Michigan, 47% said they'd go where there are good jobs and 24% just want to try living somewhere else.

"As much as I love Michigan, it really comes down to the job issue more than anything," said Justin Rumao, 22, of Canton.

A mechanical engineering major at MSU, he's interned at the Erlanger, Ky.-based Toyota Motors Engineering & Manufacturing North America. When he graduates next year, he hopes to work there, but he said he'd eventually move back to Michigan for graduate school or a job.

"What's great about living here is the fact that you can experience four seasons year round," he said. "The people are always nice. There's always something to do."

Phil Gardner, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at MSU, said negative talk about Michigan's job picture, mostly by public officials, has convinced many students not to even bother looking for a job in the state.

"We've talked them into this situation," he said.

Attractive opportunities

Here are examples of opportunities that might be attractive to state graduates:

--Google, which opened an office in Ann Arbor last year, says it will hire for 1,000 new jobs during the next five years.

--In the Grand Rapids area, at least 2,800 health care jobs -- and thousands more in related support positions -- are expected to open during the next 10 years, according to a study by Deloitte Consulting. They will come from the Van Andel Institute, which is tripling its lab space, making room for 400 more researchers, as well as the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital expected to open in 2010, St. Mary's new Hauenstein Center for the treatment of neurological disorders slated to open next year, and MSU's expanded Grand Rapids medical school campus.

--Polytorx, a company that makes a new, durable form of concrete reinforcement, is headquartered in Ann Arbor with manufacturing operations in Ypsilanti. It expects to create 1,800 jobs within five years.

--Auburn Hills-based United Solar Ovonic is expanding its solar panel manufacturing business in Greenville, with plans to add five plants -- and 200 jobs per plant -- by 2010.

--An information technology boom in the Lansing area has led to a demand for graduates in that area, said Kate Tykocki, a Capital Area Michigan Works! spokeswoman. She said there are about 300 to 400 IT job openings in the Lansing area.

One problem is that most students don't know about those jobs, said Kurt Metzger, research director for the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.

Some Michigan companies are recruiting in other states and countries to fill their jobs, he said.

"We need to be telling our universities and telling our students that there are a lot of good jobs here," he said. The Michigan Poll found that students attending U-M and MSU are the most likely to leave the state, with 57% and 56%, respectively, saying they plan to go to another state or country when they graduate. WSU students are more likely to stay put, with 44% saying they plan to move.

Imran Usmani, a 23-year-old junior at Wayne State who is studying computer science, said he's likely to leave the state when he graduates next year but hopes to return eventually.

A native of India, Usmani grew up in Saudi Arabia and says his WSU degree will bring a higher salary in those countries. "I've got to go back because I don't think there is a good opportunity for me in Michigan," he said.

"When I have a secure job, and have earned enough money, I probably will come back to start a business or something over here."

Tykocki of Michigan Works! said people like Usmani with degrees in computer science and technical fields are in demand in Michigan, especially at small and medium-size businesses near Lansing.

"Students just don't know that the opportunities are here," she said.

What Michigan is missing

The 24% of students polled who said they'd leave Michigan because they want to see what it's like to live elsewhere exacerbate a so-called brain drain -- the flight of young, educated workers -- that Metzger says is predominant in Midwest and Northeastern states.

"Brains are going where the population is going" to the South and West Coast, he said.

The poll confirmed the popularity of those areas, as well as Chicago and the East Coast.

Wanderlust likely will take Patricia Hines, a WSU freshman, to warmer climes.

"I'd like to see what it's like to live somewhere else," said Hines, 20, of Detroit.

A nursing major, she has her eyes set on Atlanta. She doesn't like Michigan's weather, cost of living and things it has for young people to do.

No matter how well the state markets its job offerings, Robert Camaj, 21, of Farmington Hills said the key is in giving young people other reasons to stay.

Camaj, who graduated Saturday from U-M, wants to live in a community with vibrant shopping, cleaner streets, better public transit and more culture.

"Detroit will always be my home, but for one thing it's kind of scary -- in terms of crime and things like that," said Camaj, who plans to attend law school in New York City in the fall.

Contact KRISTEN JORDAN SHAMUS at 313-222-5997 or kshamus@freepress.com.

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