The Brain Drain??

[propar80]

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...NEWS/710030326


I thought this article might stir up some interesting discussion in regards to why SD high school kids may be going out of state to college, or leaving after they graduate from one of our in-state colleges.
There is also some interesting forum discussion on the Argus website.
Not to sound like a moderator, but let's be grown-up enough to keep our political views out of it???

I know from personal experience, since I left SD for 10 years ago after HS and came back, this article touched home a bit.
I personally just wanted to see something different, and thought I knew everything at 18. Going away was probably good for me considering how niave I was, but looking back, an education from SDSU would've been awesome. I'm still hoping for that "honorary degree"!
This is also one of the reason's SDSU decided to go D-1, which of course a lot of folks scoffed at, at the time.

Go Jacks!!

[filbert]

Re: The Brain Drain??

My opinion is that SD continues to be held back mainly by an excessively risk-averse mindset. I think that's been changing for a long time, but it's still there and you see it in things like the hostility to SDSU's D-I move.

Change is hard, and sometimes it's not for the better. But usually failing to change with the times is worse.

[Jacks#1Fan]

Re: The Brain Drain??

My opinion is that SD continues to be held back mainly by an excessively risk-averse mindset. I think that's been changing for a long time, but it's still there and you see it in things like the hostility to SDSU's D-I move.

Change is hard, and sometimes it's not for the better. But usually failing to change with the times is worse.

Amen brother Filbert! Discussion of going Division 1 was seen as almost heretical by a large number of people in the state at first. There beginning to see the value of changing to keep up with the times!!

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: The Brain Drain??

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't come close to qualifying as SD's brightest, but the reason I moved to Milwaukee was pretty simple. It came to down to an ability to earn a living for my family. When determining where to pursue a career in the legal profession, my prospects for staying in SD were pretty low. It came down to pure population figures and the opportunities a larger population provided, especially in the legal profession. That's not to say there aren't great oppotunities in SD and many lawyers who are earning an excellent living. Problem is, my odds of becoming one of them, or even landing a job with a decent starting salary out of lawschool, was much lower in SD than in Milwaukee. From there it becomes a slippery slope. Once you start your career and begin earning your professional reputation, the harder it becomes to give all of that up and move back to SD to essentially start over. Add to that the large salary hit I would likely take and the move back to SD is less likely to happen than me starting at QB for the Jacks next year. I love SD and will always consider myself a SDakotan (as does my wife), but its unlikely I'll ever be able to move back.