If you're looking for a city to move to that has interesting job prospects, you should know that Huntsville, Alabama has one of the coolest economies around. Most of its income is derived from three industries with huge future potential and a fascinating mystique: space, defense, and technology. If you're tired of operating woodworking machinery in your hometown, check out what Huntsville's top three industries can offer you if you were to move there.
The centerpiece of the space industry in Huntsville is NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. As a counterpart to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida that actually launches the rockets, the Marshall Center is the hub for NASA's SR & ED (scientific research and experimental development) branch. Staffed by civilian engineers, administrators, and technicians, the Marshall Center does spacecraft propulsion research, trains astronauts, and designs and assembles modules for the International Space Station. Since all the payload experts are here, the Marshall Center also gets to monitor the space missions. To work here, you'll need a degree in aerospace engineering, physics, or chemistry, and a stellar resume.
The NASA civilians don't get to have all the fun, however. Huntsville's space and defense roots originate with the United State Army Aviation and Missile Command, which is based at the Redstone Arsenal. AMCOM does scientific stuff like designing and monitoring process calibrators in the wind tunnel, but they also get to do exciting jobs like test helicopters, airplanes, and rockets both in simulators and in real life. Except for contractors who are employed by the Department of Defense, all the staff are military. To work here, you need to be aerospace trained and also in the military.
All the cool governmental technology research that happens in Huntsville has acted as a huge draw for private companies in research and development, from communications giants to smaller outfits dedicated to developing strapping solutions for the metal industry. Much of this private sector activity is at Cummings Research Park, which is the second largest research park in the nation, second only to the Research Triangle in North Carolina. Tenants include companies like ADTRAN, Boeing, Hewlett Packard, General Dynamics, and Xerox.
So what are the chances of you landing a job in Huntsville if you quit your current job designing shrink sleeves for a food manufacturer? Pretty good, actually. Unemployment in Huntsville is only 7.6%, lower than the state average of 10.7%. The city has also ranked on the Forbes list as one of the top ten best places for doing business, and the number one city in the nation for engineering employment. If you have training in technical fields like engineering, information technology, aerospace, communications, or working in a laboratory, your chances are much better for finding a job.
|