As the state with the highest average salary in the nation, Maryland Employment is most concentrated from the Baltimore area to the Washington,D.C., suburbs. These areas are packed with bioscience and pharmaceutical manufacturers, financial firms and prestigious research centers. Maryland’s median salary, by the way, was $68,000 in 2007.
Maryland unemployment
Maryland unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) increased from October 2008 to October 2009 by 2.5% to a rate of 7.3%
[Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]
Maryland Employment Opportunities
Maryland is a tourism hub with its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay and the Nation’s Capitol as well as its own numerous historic monuments and parks. Baltimore is home to an exciting waterfront, sports teams and museums; and Annapolis, Maryland’s capital, claims many visitors to its historic city. These diverse offerings result in high employment in tourism jobs, including hotels, restaurants and retail shopping.
Maryland ranks third in the nation for life sciences. A major Maryland employment opportunity is the over 350 biotechnology firms that make up the life sciences hub. In addition, Maryland hosts the headquarters of almost every major federal health program: the federal Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the National Institutes of Standards and Technology. In addition, Maryland is home to the prestigious John Hopkins University, J Craig Venter Institute, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and such companies as Celera Genomics, Human Genome Sciences and MedImmune (AstraZeneca). In addition, the University of Maryland system is known for its medical and other research efforts as well.
On a 12,000 acre campus in Beltsville, Maryland, is the National Agricultural Research Center. For the D.C. suburbs in Maryland, there are many job opportunities within D.C. itself. Maryland employment includes positions, both executive and administrative, inside a myriad of federal agencies and private firms. Engineering, technology and science backgrounds are always in high demand in D.C. and in the many technological firms in Maryland. The U.S. military is also a large employer in Maryland. The service industry is very important because so many large installations and government campuses require support.
Financial firms and insurance firms have made their home in the Baltimore-D.C. corridor. Many such firms keep a large presence in the area to be close to the seat of federal power. Manufacturers in Maryland make transportation equipment, food products, electrical machinery, electronics, chemicals, primary metals and even missiles. Although in decline due to the dominance of the paperless internet, the area has also been home to printing and publishing industries. Information technology remains a major industry for the entire area. Shipping, importing and exporting are all important to Baltimore, a major port city. The state’s other geographic regions are primarily focused on farming in the Piedmont plateau and fishing and tourism in the coastal plains along Chesapeake Bay.
Maryland Employment Resources
For technological and financial opportunities you might try the private firm of Jones Networking at www.jonesnet.com. All Lines Employment Agency serves Baltimore and the Washington D.C. metro area. It can be found at www.allinesplacements.com. To find out more about Baltimore living and employment opportunities, go to the Baltimore Country Chamber of Commerce website at www.2chambers.com/baltimore_county,_maryland.htm. Another private firm serving central Maryland is The Hanover Group at www.thehanovergroup.net. They will accept resumes.
The Maryland Hotel and Lodging Association keeps a job bank for potential employees of their industry. If interested, the website is www.mdlodging.org. Management Recruiters of Baltimore is a good website for Maryland Employment: www.mribaltimore.com. Grant Morgan and Associates in Silver Spring, MD, serves the job market in the Maryland suburbs of D.C. Its website is grantmorgan.com. Tiger Personnel Services also helps job seekers in the Maryland/metro D.C. area. Its website is www.tigerpersonnelinc.com.
The University of Maryland lists job openings on www.umsa.umd.edu/usm/employment. This provides links to its 14 different affiliates and campuses.
Maryland Living Conditions
As stated, Maryland has the highest average salary earned in the nation. It also has the fifth highest ratio of people to the square mile. This isn’t surprising since it is the 19th for population totals and the 42nd for land.
Much of Maryland is congested by traffic. However, Baltimore has a good bus system. Washington, D.C., has an excellent bus and rail system that extends into the Maryland suburbs. The Baltimore-Washington International Airport serves 800 flights a day. This makes BWI a major part of Maryland employment.
The standard of living is expensive in the D.C. suburbs up to and including Baltimore. The rest of the state fares a bit better. Rents in the more populated areas start at $1,000 and can be cost prohibitive. Fortunately many salaries are higher to keep up with rent costs. Venture into southern Maryland along the Chesapeake or western Maryland, near West Virginia, and costs drop significantly.
Climate ranges from hot summers averaging in the 90s to winters averaging in the 20s and 30s. Snowfall is common but only enough to call out the snow plows on a few occasions annually.
Baltimore has a high poverty rate and a correspondingly high poverty rate. Washington, D.C., is the same but the Maryland suburbs of D.C., including Chevy Chase and Silver Springs, have a lower poverty rate and much lower crime rate.
Maryland Employment
For those seeking excitement coupled with a good paycheck, Maryland employment offers many diverse opportunities from government to education to medicine/research to manufacturing and business. The busy Baltimore-D.C. corridor is popular as a place to live and work. Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay area are less busy but have an attractive quality of life. Finding your place in Maryland employment is a sound investment in a positive future.
