On July 26th, Centerpoint hosted author, journalist, and professor George Donnelly to discuss growth opportunities in the Boston area. He also spoke about his course at Suffolk University, which educates college students about the Boston economy. Many interesting facts and thoughts resulted from our discussion. Here are a few takeaways:
- Our biggest advantage, our higher education system, isn’t properly leveraged to our best advantage. We don’t capitalize on it like we could. Imagine the advantage of producing 150,000 graduates per year, yet students in Boston go through school knowing almost nothing about what companies are doing all around them.
- Boston increasingly is international. The forces of globalism have discovered Boston. Capital and people migrate toward the smartest, most innovative regions in the world, making Boston a net winner in global commerce. It’s being acutely felt in real estate, both residential and commercial, with overseas investors betting heavily on the region’s growth.
- Boston faces serious obstacles to growth. It’s not just a talent shortage. It’s the price of housing; the lack of reliable transportation; the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Our success creates a weakness.
- Although we don’t brag about it, the Boston economy – the eastern MA economy – is the best in the country. The area ranks first in the biotech, health care, medical device, and education growth sectors.
We welcome you to read George’s Book, “The Boston Economy: Understanding and Accessing One of the World’s Greatest Job Markets”, which not only explores our economic state, but also provides advice about how to get an internship, identifies some of the hottest companies and jobs in the area, and explores the paths taken by recent local graduates along with the lessons they have learned. The book is an excellent read, and also makes a great gift for area professionals, college students or recent graduates.