/Mississippi brain drain hits home

Mississippi brain drain hits home

The Mississippi Department of Transportation commissioners approved a one-million-dollar contract to CDW-G LLC on June 28. CDW-G LLC is an information system provider located in Vernon Hills, Ill. This contract was for a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement, which licensed the product to the state over three years. CDW-G LLC received the lowest bid of all three competing quotes. Commissioner Dick Hall asked about the bids and Melinda McGrath (executive director of MDOT) replied, “There isn’t any Mississippi company that could bid on this contract?” “Just take a look at how many computer science undergraduates are leaving our state,” Hall asked. The Humanities Council and Rethink Mississippi hosted the first part of a series of happy hours that aimed to spark conversation about why young people are leaving Mississippi. Jake McGraw, representing Rethink Mississippi, was the series moderator. “We are not performing as badly as other states like Alabama. McGraw pointed out the U.S. Census data for the past five years: Mississippi’s population grew by a mere 0.8 percent between 2010-2015, which is half the growth of Alabama, the state with the lowest growth. McGraw stated, “It’s an multiplier.” “I think the problem is that for every person who leaves, it becomes easier for the next person in their place.” Dean Jason Keith of Mississippi State University’s Bagley College of Engineering stated that the college’s goal is to help students find jobs within the state. Keith stated that fifty percent of our graduates get jobs in Mississippi. “We work closely with the Mississippi Development Authority, in collaboration with Mississippi State University’s Office of Research and Economic Development, to do more to bring more industries to our state. We have a good number, and we are trying to increase that number to make Mississippi a more engineering-based state. Why is Mississippi struggling to retain its computer science students? CompTIA, an advocacy group for the information tech industry, conducted a study that found that tech occupations were still highly in demand in 2015. Computer occupations had twice as many jobs in 2015 than all other jobs. California and Texas were the top two states in this ranking, with high-tech industry employment and high salaries. Although Mississippi was in the top three for percentage of women working in the tech industry (38.5 percent), it came in at the bottom for tech employment and tech wages. Mississippi had half the number of tech workers employed by private companies in Mississippi, compared to adjacent states like Alabama. According to Dr. Donna Reese (department head at Mississippi State University’s Computer Science Department), the answer lies in the Mississippi number of companies involved in computational science. Reese stated that while I don’t know the exact figures, about half of our engineers stay in Mississippi for (Mississippi State University)’s college of engineering, but in computer science, it is only 25% to 30%. “And that’s probably because we don’t have the large IT industry that students can work for. We lose a lot students out of state, to places like Fed-Ex in Memphis and International Paper in Huntsville, Alabama.” However Reese notes that Mississippi employers such as Bomgar or C Spire are trying to reverse this trend. C Spire’s senior manager for media relations, Dave Miller, stated that Mississippi has a significant problem with the shortage and demand for information and technology-related skills and capabilities. It has not been encouraged historically as an academic area, and it is evident in the increase in students who have received STEM-related accreditation. Miller stated that there is a constant demand for technology skills. We are now in a digital economy. The internet is becoming more and more dependent on you. Keith stated that the zeros and ones that make the internet work — (they) are) the engine that makes it run. Keith also said that he believes the state has done “very well to offer incentives for industry to locate here.” Students with all degrees have the opportunity to find jobs in Mississippi. Reese is optimistic about pilot programs such as Computer Science for Mississippi. This joint effort between Mississippi State University (Mississippi Department of Education) aims to prepare students from 34 districts for careers in computer science. Reese stated, “I believe getting more students exposed to these types of careers at an early stage would help us get a wider segment of the population interested in these kinds if careers.” “That could result in more of them staying, and contributing back the state economy,” Reese said. Support this work by making a regular donation today to celebrate our Spring Member Drive. Our reporters give a human face to policy’s impact on everyday Mississippians by listening more closely and understanding their communities. To ensure that our work is aligned with the priorities and needs of Mississippians, we are listening to you. Click the button below to let us know what you think. Republish this Story You can freely republish our articles online or in print under a Creative Commons licence. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. By Zachary Oren Smith, Mississippi Today
July 13, 2016, Why are educated young people leaving Mississippi?
Here is my Cliff Notes version of 1. Our economy is currently the worst performing in the country.
2. A lack of quality cultural/entertainment offerings.
3. Our oppressive culture & social structure that crushes anything that looks like nails.
4. Our educational system is chronically underfunded._x000D
5. Our corrupt political system. Forbes Magazine recently ranked Mississippi the most corrupt state in America.
6. Political leaders are unable to or unwilling see beyond their political base._x000D
7. Chronic racism and bigotry
8. Poor national image (see #7)
9. The legislature (see # 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 8)
10. Tate Reeves and Phil Bryant (see # 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 8)
11. From 1876 to 2011, Mississippi was under the control of Democrats through laws like HB1523 (see # 6, 7, 8 and 9, 10, respectively). They caused a lot of damage over 135 years. The Republicans will need to reverse the damage done over generations. Patience, young grasshopper. I have never mentioned the Republican Party or Democratic Party. But, the democrats who ran the state for all those years were redeemers (Google Mississippi Redeemers), who were the fathers of blue dog democrats as well as Dixiecrats. The key is not the party’s name, but the underlying ideology. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redeemers It is definitely a shift in ideology that occurred 5 years ago. Give them some time. That’s fair, right? As you believe, this shift in ideology did not occur five years ago. When Nixon introduced the Southern strategy, the Conservative Democrats that have governed Mississippi since 1817 started to abandon the Democratic Party. This is what I meant when I said that the underlying ideology was more important than the party label in keeping Mississippi at the bottom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy So, conservative ideology is a problem? That’s Texas, Tennessee and Florida. It’s not a problem, I’m pretty sure. Monolithic labels are what you like. Conservative political ideology is not the problem. In a brief comment, I only briefly covered the basics of Mississippi’s political history. I recommend Mississippi Politics The Struggle for Power 1976-2008 Second Edition by Jere Nah and Andy Taggart. It is available at The University Press. These Republicans are important to note. It won’t be in five years. Not ever. Huh? I could swear that the Governor, our legislature, and 2 US Senators have been conservatives since I moved here in 1996. Musgrove, Barbour, Bryant etc.
If MS residents continue to blame others and play the victim, MS will always be #50. Are you a man? Don’t whine and get involved. Mississippi continues to pass crap like HB1523. Why would young people want live in a state still believing it’s 1861? (with a little flag on its state flag to prove it). Oh, yes. It’s all the flag’s fault. It’s the flag’s fault. All problems solved. It wasn’t the flag’s fault, he merely pointed out that it was a sign of the problem. It’s part of our history. It’s settled. It was voted on 15 years ago. It’s not a part of the state’s past, but it doesn’t necessarily represent every tax payer citizen. It’s a right that you have, and it should be displayed on your property or person. However, it doesn’t reflect the state of today. It may reflect the state, which is the problem. I have changed my mind. Keep the flag. It should serve as a warning for anyone considering moving to Mississippi or setting up a business there. A) It is not properly contextualized because it is on our state flag. It is not the symbol that people should identify their state with. This flag should be shamed and demonized in the same way as the Nazi flag. The flag of Germany doesn’t have the Nazi flag.
B) The flag can be changed at any time. The salute and the nazi flag are both banned in Germany. The neo-nazi hate group has found a substitute flag: the stars or bars. We must take down the MS flag if it was responsible for its failure. Flag is not the only problem. It is an area where we can begin to show that we are open to change. It should be taken down, as I have argued for it for years. This is what MS has allowed itself to be. The flag is associated every hate group in America. How can the flag be properly contextualized? The rebel flag is just one part of the flag. Just like the Confederacy is only one piece of our history, so is the Confederacy. Contextualized. It is impossible to erase the past. Look up “context”. Mississippidude is an example why Mississippi will always remain a cesspool. This would be the first step on a long road to recovery. Admitting that you have a problem is the first step of the twelve-step program. You have not yet reached this step. Yes, there is a problem. It doesn’t start with a piece or cloth. That’s absurd. You don’t know what a strawman argument even is. You didn’t say that the flag was the “first step” on a long road to recovery. The problem is not caused by “a piece” of cloth. It is rooted in backward attitudes. This symbol is not the flag, but a piece of cloth. This is not the flag! It’s the people who have been put in ofc. Drummin’ and Otis are right. I know several college-educated, young friends who have left the state. Three of my friends are in the healthcare field, one is a teacher and one is in computer science. Many more of my friends are considering moving following the passage of this year’s bills, including H.B. 1523. The government seems out of touch with most residents of the state, and especially the younger generation. It seems that the clowns who control the political base continue to vote for them. They are now getting what they want. As the state becomes less progressive, younger people are more progressive. Many people are affected by the political direction of the state. This has real-life consequences for their quality of life and economic well-being. The most likely to leave are those with the best chance. Drummin’ said that those who remain are older, more tied down and/or have fewer resources. Mississippi, again, welcome to bottom. I am (relatively), young and well-educated, and I love it. I don’t feel compelled to leave because of a law protecting religious freedoms. I am drawn away from Mississippi by the promise of better opportunities elsewhere. I need a better salary, and these jobs are rare and far between. You can bring more high-paying jobs to the state, and I’ll be happy for my entire life. It will amaze you how quickly this solves most of our problems. Your 5 year comment was wrong. Kirk Fordice was elected 25 years ago in 1991. Since then, large portions of the state government have been controlled by Republicans. Yes, large pieces. There has been a stodgy Democrat influence over the years. It has been almost all R since recently, with the exception of one AG who is due to retire. As long as there are bills like HB1523, Mississippi will not allow industries to locate. Have you noticed what happened in North Carolina lately? While you may love the bill, surely you realize that it is an economic throttle. ?