State auditor says our degrees are "plugging the drain" but half of us are still leaving. Where are YOU going after graduation?

[TinaVV]

Back in 2023, State Auditor Shad White dropped a report called "Plugging the Brain Drain: Investing in College Majors That Actually Work." The thesis: Mississippi spends money educating us, and then we leave. And he had the data to prove it .

The numbers that stuck with me:

• Education and Health Professions grads? Stay in Mississippi.
• Business, Engineering, Biological Sciences grads? Get the hell out within three years .
• Median income for recent grads who stay? Lower than those who leave.

So here's my question to the forum:

If you're an engineering major at MSU or a finance major at Ole Miss, are you planning to stay in-state after graduation? Or is the goal to get to Atlanta, Dallas, Charlotte, or Nashville?

I'm a junior accounting major at Southern Miss. I love Hattiesburg. But every recruiter at the career fair last week was either from out of state or hiring for out-of-state offices. It feels like the system is designed to export us.

Also: The GCU study that just dropped says 81% of us choose majors based on "passion" and only 19% for "guaranteed high income." But Gen Z cares more about money than millennials did . So which is it? Are we chasing passion and hoping it pays off? Or are we lying to ourselves?

Drop your major and your post-grad plan (MS or not MS). I'll start: Accounting, aiming for Jackson or Gulf Coast, but recruiters keep pushing Atlanta.

 

[DafnaCross]

The 2023 Shad White report showed that Education and Health Professions grads tend to stay in-state, while Business, Engineering, and Biological Sciences grads leave within three years . Why? Those fields have stronger job markets elsewhere. The median income gap between stayers and leavers is significant.

But here's what's interesting: MSU's First Destination Survey shows 56% of their employed grads actually work in Mississippi . That's higher than the state average. And 70% of those continuing education stay in-state . So retention varies by school and program.

Your accounting degree gives you options. Jackson and Gulf Coast have solid firms—Forvis, HORNE, HRK all recruit at Southern Miss . But if you want Big 4 experience, Atlanta pulls hard. It's a trade-off.