Best Colleges in Detroit

Questions About Going to College in Detroit

How are the career opportunities for college graduates in Detroit?

Detroit used to be synonymous with the car industry. Come along for the ride as it reinvents itself. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors are still the big guys, but the city is focused on becoming the region’s employment and economic center. Good news for you – local businesses are superseding employment goals. The potential employers headquartered in the city are diverse—Compuware, Little Caesars, Quicken Loans and law firms Dickinson Wright and Miller Canfield. Good news if you majored in finance. Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank recently announced plans to move its Michigan operation center to Detroit. Put it all together and you can find jobs in fields like finance, HR, sales, and software. Make the search even easier with Pure Michigan Talent Connect. The website posts thousands of opportunities in the city and its environs. Prefer the out-of-doors? The mining and logging sectors have contributed more than 1,700 jobs to the economy in the last year.

Growing industries? What major companies/industries are hiring what type of graduates/skills in Detroit?

Detroit’s Woodward Avenue isn’t called Webward Avenue because someone couldn’t spell. The Motor City is home to five of the Inc.’s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies. Automotive consultant Urban Science has clients in more than 70 countries (did somebody say Mexico or Australia?). The company added more than 300 jobs in the last four years. Global law firm Dickinson Wright has seen a 53-percent revenue growth in the same time frame. DMC Consultants demolishes blighted and dangerous areas as fast as it expands. FutureNet is also in the tearing-down and building-up business. It’s grown 90 percent since 2010. Newcomer Walker-Miller Energy Services distributes energy efficient equipment to the city’s major utilities. Detroit has also caught the eye of Venture for America founder Andrew Yang. Young entrepreneurs from the nation’s top colleges and universities are following him to launch their companies in Motown.

Is Detroit more of a college town or a great place to start a career and family? What communities are best?

If you attended a school such as Marygrove College, University of Detroit Marcy, or Wayne State University, Detroit has a neighborhood for post-dorm life. Like to be in the middle of everything? The downtown area mixes historic architecture and new businesses, eateries and entertainment. Midtown is one of the fastest-developing areas. Healthcare professionals love the fact it is so close to Henry Ford Hospital. Want to top off a gyro or spanakopita with some baklava? Head to Greektown for the best Mediterranean around. Detroit may be reinventing itself to appeal to left brain people, but right brain types aren’t left out. The city has become somewhat of a mecca for 20-something creatives. The “New York Times” calls it the New Brooklyn, where artists can afford to live and be entrepreneurial. Detroit has some of the cheapest rents in the country – a typical one-bedroom apartment goes for $550 per month. There are also plenty of industrial spaces for everything from start-ups to experimental art projects.

What do the locals in Detroit like to do for fun?

There’s so much to do in Detroit you won’t even need a car. If you love the Motown Sound, go to Hitsville U.S.A. Experience Hendrix at the Fox Theatre. Into classical? Be sure to catch the Detroit Symphony at the city’s opera house. The Detroit Museum of Art showcases oils, prints, drawings and photographs from around the world. African American history comes alive at the Charles H. Wright Museum. Three million people can’t be wrong – that’s the number who visit Belle Island Conservatory each year. Certain buildings in Greektown resemble the Parthenon and Pegasus and the restaurants, stores and coffeehouses are just as authentic. More than 250 vendors sell fruits, vegetables, flowers, jams, and maple syrup every Tuesday and Saturday at the Detroit Eastern Market. Want to root for the home team? Cheer for the Lions at Ford Field or Tigers at Comerica Park (The Bears, oh my, are in Chicago).

What's the dating scene like in Detroit? Will I meet my perfect mate?

Speed dating, parties, pub crawls. You can definitely meet singles in Detroit. Singles events abound for whatever interests you – skiing, sailing, hiking, golfing. Not the outdoorsy type? Table for Eight hosts a relaxed dinner for four men and four women with similar interests. Perfect date restaurants are everywhere – Baker’s Keyboard Lounge (great jazz), Coat Insignia (great views), La Dolce Vita (great al fresco dining), Spa 1924 Grille (great bistro). The dating scene is skewed a bit toward the guys – the ratio of unmarried men to women is .9:1 – but that just makes the hunt for the perfect mate a little more interesting.