New Graduates Are Starting A Career, But Where is a Good Spot?

Starting a career after high school or college can be a daunting challenge. You just graduated and now you're looking for what's next, your new career. You need a good kickstart. However, where is the best place for that, or better yet, where are the best cities to begin and set up a bright future.

WalletHub says that from their new survey right here at home might be a good idea. Grand Rapids is in the top 20 cities in the country to begin your career coming in at number 20 and beating out cities such as San Francisco, Washington D.C., Indianapolis, Nashville, Columbus, Huston, San Diego, Chicago and many more.

GRAND RAPIDS

WalletHub based their findings on a number of things including availability of entry-level jobs, monthly average starting salary, and housing affordability among other factors.

The top five cities to begin a career are:

Atlanta
Orlando
Salt Lake City
Columbia, South Carolina
Tampa

So, where should you not be looking to start a career? The bottom five cities that don't measure up are:

NEW YORK CITY

New York City
Gulfport, Mississippi
Newark, New Jersey
Detroit
Santa Clarita, California

Isn't that surprising the NYC is dead last, with Detroit not far behind. Yikes!

DETROIT

There are many other factors that weighed in on their decisions, job-market saturation, housing affordability and commuter-friendliness, included in the criteria I listed above.

The good news is new graduates are entering the market at a good time, since there is currently an employment shortage and many places are eager to hire. In fact, employers plan to hire 14.7% more graduates from the Class of 2023 than they did from the Class of 2022.

Best wishes graduates!