The US is a world leader when it comes to technology, research, innovation, and education. Every year, thousands of international students move to the US for their higher studies. For students, it’s always helpful to choose the university or college in the vicinity of a tech hub. In this post, we will look at the top emerging tech hubs in USA for international students.
Living in Silicon Valley is a dream of any tech professional or tech enthusiast. Not just that, nowadays students are seeing the merit in getting their studies completed in a tech hub. Silicon Valley has risen to prominence in recent years but it is now not the only Tech Hub. In this age of technology, the world is witnessing the emergence of new student-friendly Tech Hubs outside Silicon Valley.
Advantage of Staying Close to a Tech Hub for International Students
Staying close to a Tech Hub comes bearing a lot of advantages, the primary ones being the network and culture. Being surrounded by like-minded people, with whom you can discuss your ideas, make plans, even start a company is no less than a blessing.
In addition, being immersed in the culture of the tech world helps you keep track, maintain your pace, and give all you’ve got to your dreams. An underrated feature of a Tech Hub is the energy, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the energy in that space fuels your passion. Mentors and Teachers who are in the space and deal with real-life experiences can give you a great perspective about the dynamics of your subject.
Personally, I found this strategy pretty helpful when I studied abroad. I also recommend the same thing to the folks who work with me on their applications. Read best biotech-pharma tech hubs in the world.
While it’s important to look at the university rankings, costs, culture & social life; location of the university is also a very critical component while choosing the right university. Given the current economy and competitive job market, you should try every thing than can increase your employment chances.
Why is there a rise of tech hubs outside the Silicon Valley?
For a long period of time, the Silicon Valley has been stealing the sole limelight as the biggest tech hub in the US, and even on the planet. But, in the last couple of years, several other student cities are also catching up. Before we look at the emerging tech hubs in the US outside the silicon valley, we will try to understand why it’s happening.
Costs, Logistics, and Hiring/Retaining Tech Talent
The operational costs in the Silicon Valley are incredibly high. For entrepreneurs, a location outside the Valley can help them to control the real estate (work-space) costs, salaries, and taxes.
With the rise of the gig economy and remote working, many remote startups are getting formed. Collaboration tools and cloud technology that allow people work from anywhere and potential increased regulation of local tech business are also promoting tech ventures to look beyond the Silicon Valley.
Operating from outside the Valley also helps to a grow creatively and technologically.
“Undistracted by industry fads and intrigues, remote startups can focus their efforts on advancing technology and creating new sources of revenue. This atmosphere of innovation and creativity has been pivotal to Integrate’s success—and it’s something that wouldn’t have been possible had we launched in Silicon Valley. We would certainly have gotten lost among the thousands of me-too tech providers scrambling for their market share.”
– Hart Cunningham, CEO, Integrate (as quoted by Wired).
Additionally, there are thousands of startups in the Valley. So, it’s also not too unusual that few employees leave a startup and join another one with more funding.
Silicon Valley has one of the richest talent pools in the world. Stanford and UC Berkeley each produce around 1,500 engineering graduates every year, who refill and expand the ranks of the 150,000 computer scientists and software developers working in California. Hence, the churn rate is very high in the Valley.
Mindset Differences
In the Silicon Valley, the quest for growth all too often trumps sustainable unit economics and profitability. Quite often, startups end up hiring too many employees prematurely and chasing ambitious growth targets.
In the Valley, the attitude or belief is “high-risk grow-or-die approach”. Whereas outside the Valley, startups focus on both growth and profitability, build resiliency into their models, charge for the value they create from the get-go, and take a long-term outlook.
The tech industry in the US has diversified substantially in the last decade. Many entrepreneurs are staying in their hometowns and starting up there. They are no longer wooed by the glamour of the Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley is focused on disrupting established industries. Outside the Valley, entrepreneurs are putting more focus on creating new industries.
Too often, Silicon Valley start-ups collapse under the weight of hypergrowth–Harvard Business Review
Silicon Valley Companies Don’t Innovate Anymore – The Atlantic
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Top Rising Tech Hubs in USA
Austin
Apple’s $1 billion campus, 5,000 Oracle employees, scooter mania, and a growing startup scene – there’s a reason Austin has been dubbed “Silicon Hills” and the no. 1 city for startups in the US.– Business Insider
Austin is a vibrant millennial city with an entrepreneurial spiritand a passion for unearthing new discoveries.
Tech giants like Google, Facebook, Apple, Oracle, Samsung, Dell, IBM, etc. have a solid presence in the area. The top verticals in Austin are eCommerce, Software, and Cloud.
Some of the key factors making Austin one of the top tech hubs are growth in tech employment (37%), young population (31%), low rent-to-income ratio (19%), and startup density (17%). There are around 6,500 high-tech businesses, and 90 incubators, accelerators, and coworking spaces in Austin. In 2018, venture capital deals made in the city totaled 124.
The living costs in Texas are comparatively pretty low and the state has no state tax for any student who is looking for campus employment or post-graduation.
Raleigh
Like Austin, Raleigh also offers low operational costs for businesses along with affordable in-demand tech talent. As per Forbes, Raleigh is the 2nd fastest growing major metro city in the US, after Austin.
North Carolina’s research triangle consists of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. It’s home to some of the nation’s top research universities, including Duke, NC Central, NC State, and UNC-Chapel Hill. The triangle includes hundreds of companies and organizations, including IBM, RedHat, Cisco Systems, Citrix, Pendo, GlaxoSmithKline, Lenovo, and the National Institutes of Health.
According to Forbes, NC State has spawned more than 170 university startups, which have generated $1.7 billion in VC funding.
Denver
Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, Apple, and other big companies have campuses set up in Denver. Denver’s Information industry grew 7.5% in the past year, three times more than the county-wide average. Developers are offered a significantly large salary amount in Denver, currently, there are more than 10,000 developers in the city. Compared to Silicon Valley Denver offers a much reasonable cost of living and thus encourages more individuals to be a part of it.
Dallas
Dallas is also considered a tech hub of the Southwest. In fact, mobile app development in Dallas is booming. Amazon Tech Hub in Dallas adds more than 600 workers, over 100,000 square feet. The average tech salary in the city is close to $100,000. Dallas-based companies have rolled out more than 134,000-tech jobs in the past 12 months.
Atlanta
The Atlanta Tech Village is the fourth largest tech hub in the U.S. It partners with larger corporations like Turner, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola. The companies in the city have raised hundreds of million in venture capital funding. Software Development, Java Development, and Data Analysis are the fields that are in high demand in the city.
Seattle
Average tech salaries of $109,628 are just one proof of how well established the Tech Hub in Seattle is, along with the fact that it hosts top companies like Microsoft, Amazon & Facebook. The fact that this city is getting more recognized as a Tech Hub, contributes to people’s decision of moving to Washington State. Seattle is also the birthplace of Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee chain.
Read Small Town vs Big Cities – Which is Better while Studying Abroad?
Boston
We all know innovative technologies like AI & Robotics have helped Boston put its name on the map. Bostons’ creation of 95,000 jobs in just the last year is enough to vouch for the opportunities it provides. Venture capitalists are showing huge interest in the local startups. Women are a major part of the tech ecosystem, which is another interesting fact about Boston.
Tampa
Forbes acknowledging Tampa in the “Top 10 Best Cities for Young Entrepreneurs” is enough for you to consider moving to this place if you want to explore the horizons of the tech world. Just the 50 IT companies have created about 2,100 jobs and more jobs are being created as more companies are getting ready to call this home.
Baltimore
All sorts of tech professionals, mainly software and system engineers are in high demand in the city. The average salary of a tech professional is $100,080 which is enough to say “business is booming”. Baltimore ranks 21st in net tech employment with estimated 136,129 workers in the tech field. The tech sector’s contribution to the local economy is around $21.6 billion.
St. Louis
Boeing, IBM, Wells Fargo are the primary employers in this area. St. Louis enjoys a growth rate in the tech industry of 23.3%, compared to a national average of 9.1%. St. Louis could be an obvious choice for someone looking for a city that is young, affordable, and tech-savvy.
San Diego
Tech job listing has seen a whopping 37% growth in the past year. The average salary of a tech professional in this city is $109,428, which is comparatively higher with respect to the other tech hubs. San Diego Tech Hub is a collaborative, diverse & positive environment attracting many tech enthusiasts.
Los Angeles
As per Bloomberg, Los Angeles could be the “Next Silicon Valley”.
Los Angeles is comparatively more happening, sunnier, and cleaner than the San Francisco Bay Area. If Silicon Bay area has got Stanford and UC Berkeley. Los Angeles have got Caltech, USC and UCLA to attract talent pool.
Dominated by Hollywood and the entertainment business, Amazon, Netflix & YouTube have prominent presences in LA. Additionally, Snap, SpaceX and Tinder are also based out of LA. Top tech verticals in LA include Consumer Web, Digital Media, and eCommerce.
LA (in South California) is close to North California (Silicon Valley). So, it’s pretty feasible to set up meetings with Silicon Valley titans or lure talent to move. More importantly, the rents are not as sky-high as in San Francisco or Palo Alto.
Featured Image Source: Amazon
References: BuiltIn, Uncubed, CompTIA, Worth, Educations.com, Web Line India, CIO.com.