[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

So, I've noticed two things lately about the economy of Connecticut.

1) (DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be offensive, just an observation). There have been a lot of threads started by people who seem to be moving to Stamford/Hartford from India. More than likely Insurance and IT people. While great for them for getting (and taking) that opportunity, what about the people who live here already. I'm guessing that many will be on a H-1B Visa and this will be a short term assignment. The cost is likely less to hire an individual from India but will that sustain CT? I think having pride in your State is a big driver for success. People who have the qualifications and get passed over for "cheaper" labor will no longer want to work for a company and will leave. What you then have is a rotating door of individuals who have zero skin in the game (community wise).

2) There has been some major real estate deals in the Hartford Area (to the tune of $20m plus paid for buildings and condos.) Is this a sign that major players see CT as a deal and are getting in on the ground floor just as CT economy is about to skyrocket?

We have long had people from other countries come here looking for information. Sometimes it bothers me when they say things like "I can only afford up to $1,000 per month for a 2 bedroom apartment in an area with good schools near Stamford". It breaks my heart to say that they just are not going to find it.

As for Hartford, what usually happens is that after a recession, investors begin investing in major cities like New York and Boston until prices explode and then they start looking at more affordable areas like Hartford. That seems to be what is beginning to happen. I just saw that Chinese investors paid $2 billion for the Waldorf Astoria hotel. That is a lot of money. You could likely buy a quarter of downtown Hartford (maybe more) for that much. Jay

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

So, I've noticed two things lately about the economy of Connecticut.

1) (DISCLAIMER: This is not meant to be offensive, just an observation). There have been a lot of threads started by people who seem to be moving to Stamford/Hartford from India. More than likely Insurance and IT people. While great for them for getting (and taking) that opportunity, what about the people who live here already. I'm guessing that many will be on a H-1B Visa and this will be a short term assignment. The cost is likely less to hire an individual from India but will that sustain CT? I think having pride in your State is a big driver for success. People who have the qualifications and get passed over for "cheaper" labor will no longer want to work for a company and will leave. What you then have is a rotating door of individuals who have zero skin in the game (community wise).

My other half works in HR for a large, Fairfield County firm. It's more in-depth than simply "lower salary".

Indians, like Asians, have always placed a premium on education. Their universities stress math and engineering to a much higher degree than American universities. Add a large English speaking population, a tiny turnover rate in comparison to their American born colleagues, and you get viable candidates for US corporate opportunities.

In short, Indians have equal or better skills, and are more reliable. Don't blame them for it, blame the generations of lazy here in our own country.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

My other half works in HR for a large, Fairfield County firm. It's more in-depth than simply "lower salary".

Indians, like Asians, have always placed a premium on education. Their universities stress math and engineering to a much higher degree than American universities. Add a large English speaking population, a tiny turnover rate in comparison to their American born colleagues, and you get viable candidates for US corporate opportunities.

In short, Indians have equal or better skills, and are more reliable. Don't blame them for it, blame the generations of lazy here in our own country.

True. Jay

[mlassoff]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

My other half works in HR for a large, Fairfield County firm. It's more in-depth than simply "lower salary".

Indians, like Asians, have always placed a premium on education. Their universities stress math and engineering to a much higher degree than American universities. Add a large English speaking population, a tiny turnover rate in comparison to their American born colleagues, and you get viable candidates for US corporate opportunities.

In short, Indians have equal or better skills, and are more reliable. Don't blame them for it, blame the generations of lazy here in our own country.

Bingo.

I used to consult for Cognizant-- Providing technical training for workers in Hydrabad and Bangalore and then orienting them as they moved in to their positions here in the US.

US Engineering and computer science grads are scarce-- and American students are now dominated by minorities (many of whom are children of immigrants). These folks make major sacrifices to come over here and generally make for dedicated workers.

If you want to stop H1B's, encourage American kids to become qualified for these positions. Often the legal costs of an H1B outweigh the difference in salary these folks make initially when they come over. I would also note that Indian H1B's seem to pretty quickly reach parity with their American counterparts in salary.

[BPt111]

CT and Rhode Island did'nt make the list 4 New England states did


The 10 States With the Best Quality of Life - 24/7 Wall St.

[Mr_250]

The link below is the a report put out by NEEP about Connecticut's Economic Outlook. It gives some really good overall highlights.

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/asse...HB10516108.PDF

Page two paragraph ends with the phrase.."This implies no net job growth for Connecticut in 26 years." We are in the same place, job number wise, as we were in 1988. Time to bring back the trans-ams and big hair. FREE BIRD

Another interesting tidbit... "The fact that Connecticut faces an estimated state budget deficit of approximately $1.28 billion starting in fiscal 2016. Approximately one - half of the shortfall will result from previously negotiated, mandatory pay increases for state workers." As I have been quoted as saying earlier, the only way a person will be able to live in CT in 5 years is be on welfare, be extremely rich or be a State Employee. The middle class is done in CT which is really hurting the State.

[Mr_250]

In regards to the Visa talk. Found this nugget of knowledge, CT has the highest demand for STEM workers from Asia/India.

Fed: CT has highest demand for computer, math worker visas | HartfordBusiness.com

So...CT boast some of the best public schools in the Country, yet we have the HIGHEST demand to IMPORT workers from other Countries so we can fill STEM spots? Something seem backwards here. With all the great schools in CT and the smart people we produce we can't keep the CT students employed here?! Does anyone see the irony?

[FutureTown]

We have amazing K-12 schools here, but, other than Yale, we have nothing in the leagues of some of the other states do. UConn is a great school, but, compared to some other public schools, we're nothing amazing. UC Davis isn't even the best or 2nd best UC school, yet, I personally believe it's a better school, especially in terms of medical and science research.

Let's take NC for example. Other than the fact that they have Duke, they also have UNC which is probably 2nd to UVA on the East Coast in terms of Public Universities, not to mention, they have a plethora of other state schools that rival or exceed ours. We have some nice private universities, I don't think anything is better than Davidson or Wake Forest, really.

Basically, my point is that CT's university education needs to be revamped big time. Many folks coming out of great public schooling here will go to NYC/Boston for their undergrad and find a job somewhere in that region. I see this often, even with my classmates from my town. The reason for the big disconnect might be cause the towns officiate their own public education while the universities are taken care by the State Government.

I've also noticed another shift where people will work elsewhere in their 20s, maybe even early 30s and will come back to Connecticut to settle down and find jobs in CT's industries in Hartford/Stamford/New Haven.

Also, CT's industries are heavily reliant on math and computers. Insurance industry, for example, basically screams those two subjects. India is BIG on IT, so, it's only logical they find people there with the skills/abilities the company needs. Which is why you see so many in the Manchester area.

[FutureTown]

Out of curiosity, can anyone run figures for Massachusetts? I want to see how Connecticut compares to its rival New England state in terms of economic climate, lol!

I think their outlook is more positive thanks to Boston. We just don't have a concentrated place like that. I don't mind too much, considering how there's a big disparity in Western/Central Mass and Eastern. Stamford/Norwalk/Danbury take care of the (South)Western portion of CT while Hartford is our anchor in the center. NH serves the South. It's a nice distribution.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

In regards to the Visa talk. Found this nugget of knowledge, CT has the highest demand for STEM workers from Asia/India.

Fed: CT has highest demand for computer, math worker visas | HartfordBusiness.com

So...CT boast some of the best public schools in the Country, yet we have the HIGHEST demand to IMPORT workers from other Countries so we can fill STEM spots? Something seem backwards here. With all the great schools in CT and the smart people we produce we can't keep the CT students employed here?! Does anyone see the irony?

I think this is more of a supply problem, not a matter of kids from Connecticut staying in the state. The demand for STEM majors is high but there just are not enough kids going into it right now. The computer industry has drawn the pool down to low levels. This coupled with the baby boomers retiring have left a large hole for employers. A good portion of Connecticut's economy is STEM based so of course it would need to import workers. There is a national push to get more kids into STEM which is why you see so much about it now. Unfortunately STEM requires a certain type of person usually proficient in math and science and not all kids are able to move into the field. Jay