I am a Brain Drain Statistic

Every once in awhile I feel compelled to put my writing shoes on . . .
This time, it was in response to a blog post I read in the Central Penn Business Journal regarding the brain drain.

I suddenly found myself wasting over an hour structuring a response that ended up being too long, so I’m trying to legitimize my time by posting the unabridged response here. Bear with me.

I tend to agree that this article would have been stronger without the blatant name-dropping. I’m also disappointed that the suggestions offered in Mr. Hartzler’s post are so vague.

Why not talk about how WebClients negotiated with ValueClick to keep young talent in Central PA? Couldn’t that prove to be a positive, community-building model for certain Central PA business owners reading this?

Why not encourage these Web firms to get more involved in the surrounding area? None of the companies listed in this post, or in these comments, mention internship programs on their respective Web sites (I’ve only counted 1 with an open FT position, though I realize this isn’t as controllable). When I was a Web design instructor at HACC, I was never approached by Central PA-based firms to establish a relationship between students [potential employees] and the local market. It’s no surprise that my students felt forced to look outside of Central PA, and I think some sort of program is definitely worth investigating (or at least blogging about here).

I agree that Harrisburg needs to “focus on residential development, retail shopping, multiple entertainment venues and other amenities and resources found regularly in larger cities,” but why not paint a picture of the pros, cons, and realistic possibilities of mixed zoning within the city? Explain why Midtown’s Capitol Heights look like a suburban, cookie-cutter ghost town–while downtown seems to only support similar bars with revolving names.

Talk about how these firms have affordably and culturally benefited by setting up shop in the city rather than outside of it. Perhaps more importantly, point out how the community has benefited from these firms. In either case, don’t compare where they set up to a larger city. It’s not the market’s potential that keeps firms in Central PA so much as it’s the climate of home to the employees.

My response above may be overtly critical, but I am a statistic of your brain drain (under 30 with a master’s degree now living in the NYC area), and I have seen friends in that area move to larger markets because such questions weren’t being answered, much less asked.