As FGCU’s graduates from this summer walk into the work force, they can be rest assured that there will be a mass of jobs available to them in Southwest Florida. From Orlando, Cape Coral and even Port St. Lucie, Florida is ranked among the top metro areas with the highest projected job growth.
According to Forbes, this economic spark began in the early 2000’s, when home prices jumped 120% between 2000 and 2006. However, when the Great Recession crisis hit in December of 2007, Florida was one state among the entire nation affected. Now, employment rates look promising, Florida leading with the fastest growing addition of retail jobs of any state in 2013. Tied with Austin, Texas, Naples is ranked top in the best cities for future job growth.

Recent graduate Amanda Smith has found her niche in Southwest Florida, “I’m in a salaried position already with the local non-profit Susan G. Komen SWFL as their marketing/communications director and I LOVE my job.”
Matt Mramer, another FGCU graduate, has also found work right out of college, but not in Florida. “I’ve already have a position lined up with ESPN Cleveland and I expect to translate that nicely into a full-time opportunity for myself in the future.”
For FGCU students and soon-to-be grads, services such as internship searches, job fairs, and resume and cover letter help are provided to students through Career Development Services.
Shown on the Career Development website, from 2013-14 to 2014-15, employer registrations and jobs posted have increased for FGCU students. A sample list of “Where FGCU Grads Get Jobs” consisted of local businesses, such as Chico’s, Lee Memorial Healthcare, Target, Hertz, Wells Fargo and many more.