The Brain Drain

by
Lauren Silverman
Thursday, November 5, 2009

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Michigan does a great job producing college graduates, but struggles to keep them here. The exodus of educated young people has come to be called brain-drain. It’s a threat to Michigan’s future because those packing their bags are crucial to an economic recovery.

Michigan has 15 public universities that serve almost 300,000 students each year. But almost half of these students leave the state after they graduate. That means Michigan has the 8th worst migration rate in the nation. Even South Dakota, Alabama and Idaho do a better job keeping college graduates in their states.

There used to be a steady stream of college graduates flowing in and out of Michigan, but that flow has turned into a sputter that businesses fear will dry up altogether. In 2008, Michigan lost a total of 15,000 students with bachelor’s degrees to other states. And according to Michigan Future, an Ann Arbor based think tank, over half of the college graduates that left the state don’t ever plan to come back.

Melanie MacEachern is one of those graduates. She’s about to finish up at the University of Michigan with a degree in Art History and Classic Civilization. “I don’t think I’d stay here, to be honest,” she said.

Ken Darga is Michigan’s State Demographer. He says up until 2004 Michigan didn’t have a brain drain problem.

“But then as Michigan got deeper and deeper into a one state recession the people moving into Michigan went down and the number moving out went up and so we did have a brain drain that reached a peak around 2006,” Darga said.

Every state thinks it has a brain drain, but ignores the fact that migration rates for young people tend to be much higher than any other age group.

Britany Affolter-Caine is the Manager of Intern in Michigan. It tries to keep Michigan’s college grads in-state by connecting them with local businesses. She knew the problem was bad, but she was shocked when she saw the census data in 2007.

“If you look at the state and the number of students, age 22-29 with a bachelors degree or higher, no other state in the union lost more than Michigan, except for one, and that was Louisiana — that was just after Katrina!” she said.

But Darga insists the problem is exaggerated. He says every state thinks it has a brain drain, but ignores the fact that migration rates for young people tend to be much higher than any other age group. Besides, he argues, the number of recent college graduates leaving has leveled out, and it’s a tiny percent of the total state population.

While 15,000 people may not be a mass exodus in a state of 10 million, it is an exodus of brain power. The problem is simple: the people leaving Michigan are the people the state needs most.

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  • Michael
    I think that Michigan is still known as a manufacturing economy and many of the top jobs in growing industries are not based on manufacturing. Other states have more to offer for college graduates looking for tomorrows jobs in research and development within many high tech sectors. I have a BSME and an MBA from Michigan school and I left the first chance I had. The benefits of leaving far outweighed the benefits of staying and hoping for work. To move meant better wages, a more stable economy, more people my age who were also young professionals and a city that was more attractive to live in. I was raised thinking that all major cities were run down dumps like Detroit, Flint and Saginaw so you can imagine how surprised I was when I when i started to travel more domestically. Where I was living in Northern California cities were vibrant, cleaner, the economy was diverse and strong and there was a clear group of people who were working young professionals who lead dynamic lives, people who worked hard to succeed and had a continual thirst for knowledge. It might be here in Michigan but it is nowhere near the same feeling as it is in other areas. I think people who are very determined to have a great job in a growing industry that is high tech and fast paced have little reason to stick around Michigan. If you travel and look around at what other places have to offer it is clear how far behind the state of Michigan is and why young people leave and don't come back.
  • There's one reason I didn't stay in Michigan after I graduated from U-M with a degree in philosophy -- I got into grad school at U-M, but they didn't offer me any money. I moved to Buffalo, NY (which is a lot like Michigan!) because SUNY offered me a teaching package. Why would I spend money on graduate school when another university offers me the opportunity to teach and make money while I study?

    There's a saying that grad school is the new college -- in the sense that the really good jobs now require a graduate degree. If Michigan wants people like us to stay, find ways to give us the resources we need -- teaching opportunities while in school, grant money, etc.!
  • Bill from Livonia
    I caught this story on the way to work Thursday. Couldn't you have found someone else to serve as your example? When I heard the young woman complaining that she would have to go out of state because she couldn't find a local job with her art history and classic civilization degree, I, and everybody over the age of 30, nearly ended up in a ditch we were rolling our eyes so hard. Of course she can't find a job, she has a degree in art history! And classic civilization!! Trust me, a person studying art history and classic civilization really has no interest in getting a job because there are maybe 1.5 such jobs nationally - even when the economy is booming. You pretty much lost me from that point on. If you had interviewed someone with a degree that used to automatically mean a job upon graduation, like accounting or engineering, and that person has to go out of state to find work, well then you'd of had a story. But art history, come on.
  • silverla
    Steven -

    You raise a valid point: the state of Michigan needs a wide variety of people to stay here if it going to make it through the recession a stronger, better prepared state. From my interviews, however, I've learned that it isn't just students passionate about art leaving the state - it's young people passionate about social justice, young people looking for jobs in renewable energy industries, aspiring teachers, and so on. I will definitely try and give you a feel for the different types of people leaving, and staying, in the state later on in the series.

    I hope you listen in on future shows and let me know what you think!

    Thanks -
    Lauren
  • steven
    A bit elitest! Those that have left are those the state needs most! Maybe you are not from a family of industrial production. There is something to be said for those who work with their hands, actually producing a useable product as opposed to your chosen interviewee in art. A lot more consideration of balance in future stories would give a significant boost to credibility.
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