Silicon Valley Leads Statewide Job Growth

By Robert Wear

The Silicon Valley is leading the rest of the country out of the recession with increased jobs, income and initial public offerings last year, according to a new regional report.

Russel Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, said that with 92,000 new jobs in a year, the region is "back to what we haven't seen since the dot com."

With the rapidly growing number of new startups in the area, the job hunt has become slightly less stressful. Many of these brand new companies are looking to fill entry-level positions with recent graduates that have diverse academic backgrounds. Many of them are open to hiring students that have degrees in liberal arts and other less specific disciplines. Apple and Google hire more Santa Clara graduates into non-technical, than into technical positions, according to Elspeth Rossetti, director of the Career Center.

Silicon Valley saw a 3.6 percent growth rate between 2011 and 2012, compared to 1.7 percent statewide. Incomes also rose 2.2 percent.

Many Santa Clara students have noticed a difference in the market for graduating seniors.

"I've seen how the growing job market has made it easier on a lot of my friends at this school to find jobs compared to my friends at other schools," said senior Amando Argueta-Vogel.

This has caused many students to look for careers in the Silicon Valley post-graduation.

"Having gone to Santa Clara, I feel like we're in a perfect position to contribute to the ever-progressive job market here in the Silicon Valley," said senior Will Usdin.