Although moving back home or staying in Austin can provide comfort, taking a chance on a new job and new location can provide personal growth and development. Aside from applying skills to a new job, moving provides the chance to apply life skills to new obstacles, like making friends as a working professional and balancing a dating life with a full-time job. 

Alumna Heather Worth planned to find a sense of community and friendships once she decided which city she would work in.

“I wanted to work with green energy, and I was very interested in sustainability and enterprise,” Worth said. “I cared about being in a big city.”

For many, job stability and salary security are major reasons to consider a greater regional scope for a job hunt. Inflation, layoffs and resignations motivate graduates to pack up and move. Moving for a job can help new graduates gain work experience and bolster resumes. Eventually, that willingness to move can lead to a dream career in a dream city.

 A popular reason for leaving Austin could be hybrid or remote work, letting new graduates explore a vibrant area. The past few years have shifted the perspective of what a work week should look like and how to use time more efficiently, and these “office” options allow students-turned-new employees to save on gas and time spent commuting. Another perk of a remote or hybrid position is a location with a lower cost of living than Austin, letting young professionals save their money. 

Daphne Wolfe, the assistant director of career management at Texas Career Engagement, said that UT graduates tend to leave Austin to pursue jobs in their ideal location after graduating from UT. University was a time to discover oneself and adjust to an unfamiliar environment, but after graduation is a wonderful time to challenge yourself once again by stepping out of your comfort zone.  

Students may want to think back to the organizations and activities at UT that positively impacted their educational career to figure out the best career path for them. 

“We encourage students to think about how they found community at UT,” Wolfe said. “Looking at those places where they’ve always relied on encouraging them to seek those places out when they get to their new city.”

Pursuing familiar hobbies and organizations in new environments allows graduates to find comfort while stepping out of their comfort zone to let their career blossom. While graduation may mean classes end, UT career resources are available past receiving your diploma. HookedIn, an online community offering a network of Texas alumni can be a resource to learn about other city’s communities, similar to a campus student org fair. 

The University’s resources and a student’s time at UT equips young professionals to push their boundaries and move away from the city they spent their college career in. If searching for work in Austin hasn’t produced the desired results, there’s no better time to explore other locations. The potential growth, stability and advancement opportunities make moving after graduation an opportunity that UT graduates should take because Austin will always be around. 

Washington is a Russian, East European and Eurasian studies graduate student from Los Angeles, California.