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Photo by Tracy Moniz |
| Sharon
Lee thinks many university graduates will want to stay
in London. |
The key
to a well-paying job seems to be a higher education. But Londoners
with university degrees may go elsewhere to get that job.
University
graduates living in the London area earn less than graduates
in nearby cities.
Londoners with degrees earn an average of $48,000 a year,
about $4,000 less than they could make in cities such as Hamilton,
Windsor and Sarnia.
Will
graduates stay in London?
Sharon
Lee, career services coordinator at the University of Western
Ontario, specializes in employment trends.
Lee believes
many Western students will stay in London after graduating,
despite the potential to earn more elsewhere.
"We
have a high component of our student population from the London
area anyways. Of course, there is the quality of life component
as well. So many people like the smaller community in terms
of living and working," Lee says.
While
salaries in London may be lower, it also costs less to live
here, another reason why some choose to stay.
London businesses fall short
London
also has a higher percentage of people with university degrees
than nearby cities. This makes London an attractive place
to do business.
|
|
Photo by Tracy Moniz |
| Students
studying at Western's Weldon Library. They may have to
be more selective of the city they choose work in. |
But Rebecca
Coulter says many employers moving into London are looking
for people who will work for minimum wage, not people with
degrees.
Coulter
is an associate professor of education at the University of
Western Ontario.
"We
have the phone centers and that kind of thing moving in, which
is not going to keep our university graduates, clearly, in
London. So we need to be looking at bringing in industries
which need university and college trained people," she
says.
Many degree
holders work at the University and in the health sector -
two areas where the province controls wages. Coutler says
this is also a major reason for lower salaries.
A
look at the facts
- 24.3
per cent of Londoners have a university degree
- An
average home in London costs about $143,000
- Canadians
working full-time in 2000 earned an average annual income
of $43,231
- 2.7
per cent of Canadians in 2000 earned salaries over $100,000
- High
earners are predominantly male, over 35 but before retirement
age, and professionals with one or more degrees
- Men
made up 84 per cent of those who earned over $100,000
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