Florida: Not Business As Usual For Millennials!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Enterprise Florida for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

For those who have little or no first-hand experiences, the mention of Florida might conjure up images of Spring Break or retirement.  But for that vast time between college and the Golden Years, Florida has boundless opportunities to grow and innovate.  There’s a massive talent pipeline and workforce.  And Florida colleges have strong strategic partnerships with major businesses.

Here’s a look at why Florida should definitely be on your career and business radar.

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The Florida Talent Pool

From a business standpoint, high quality employees are the lifeblood of the future.  Would it surprise you to learn that the National Chamber Foundation recently named Florida as having the number ONE talent pipeline in the United States? Florida Talent runs as deep as the waters that surround the state. Well developed integration between educational institutions and business has resulted in a talent pipeline that, as Tony Carvajal puts it, “gets it all right.”

Florida’s Connected Educational Institutions

There was a time when a diploma and a handshake awaited you at the end of your college career.  Today, that’s not enough.  And Florida’s colleges have done something about it.  Take a look at the example below of how businesses such as Siemens, EA Tiburon, GE, NASA, Pratt and Whitney, Verizon . . . and many more . . . are working in conjunction with education.

Florida’s Cutting Edge Technology Industry

With a history deeply rooted in Aerospace, is it any wonder that in Florida Innovation has grown into an innovative high tech center?  Florida today is a cross section of the world’s leading technology companies, including 5,000 information technology companies alone. And the breadth of technology is impressive.  Digital media.  Medical technologies.  Nanotechnology.  Modeling and Simulation.  Optics and Photonics.  Sustainable energy.  The list goes on, and reaches into every aspect of modern life.

Florida’s Business Climate and Growth Potential

The Florida Business climate has been ranked in the top five nationally.  According to Enterprise Florida, here’s why:

• Quality of Life.  With great weather, abundant recreation and cultural choices, and an affordable cost of living, both companies and employees love to call Florida home.
• Workforce.  A talent pipeline estimated at nearly ten million.
• Trade.  Like no other place in the western hemisphere, there’s access to virtually all of the global markets.
• Infrastructure.  Florida’s number two ranked infrastructure connects and moves people, products, and ideas quickly and efficiently.

Florida:  Made For Millennials

As Ryan Schram of IZEA said, “what millennials want is a 24/7 integrated lifestyle.”  They want to feel supported and inspired to pursue and “achieve their own visions for their careers and their lives.” That’s easy to play into with an environment that is fully supportive of technology and has a truly visionary outlook.  Plus, the future holds a multitude of career options.  Consider these noteworthy facts:

• Florida Institute of Technology raised $123.3 million for its Create The Future campaign.
• Jacksonville has clocked a 72.4% expansion in tech employment and 17.4% STEM job growth since 2001
• Three of the nation’s twenty fastest growing technology areas for 2017 are in Florida

Whether you’re pursuing company visions, or career visions, what better place to do that than Florida?