The state of Louisiana has experienced a large part of the young, college-educated population leaving the state to find other career opportunities for decades. This pattern has been referred to as the “brain drain.”
University of Louisiana at Lafayette economics professor Gary Wagner, explained in a broadcasted interview with Louisiana Public Broadcasting, “Louisiana is not doing very well these days when it comes to college educated people. If you go back to 2000, which is the longest period in time that we have data, in the last 21 years we’ve lost about 110,000 college educated people, on net.”
In addition to those young people leaving, their parents and grandparents tend to follow them out-of-state after they retire to be closer to them.
According to Red River Radio, Ernie Roberson, who spent 29 years as the Caddo Parish Registrar of Voters, explained what happens when those people leave the state.
“And that’s where they took not only themselves, they took their money, and their house payments, and their car payments, and all their business. And so, it affects the entire economy,” Roberson said.
UL Lafayette students share what they plan to do after graduating, specifically if they plan to leave Louisiana.
Connor Guidry, a sophomore nursing major, shared his plans about pursuing a career as a travel nurse.
“I have to gain experience before I travel. I think I’ll probably stay in Louisiana while I gather the experience I need. After I have gained the necessary years of experience, I plan on traveling the country to be able to explore and experience the different sights and atmospheres that each state has to offer while doing something that I love,” Guidry said.
Caroline Dubois, a sophomore majoring in human development and family science, plans to get her master’s degree in Louisiana. After that, she’s not sure where she will end up with a job.
“It kind of just depends on where I could find the best work honestly,” Dubois said.
Gabby Vice, a sophomore majoring in speech pathology, plans to go to graduate school, probably at UL Lafayette and then will either go home to Lake Charles or stay in Lafayette to find a job.
When asked why she wants to stay living in Louisiana, she said “My family and I’ve always lived in Louisiana, so I don’t really have that desire to move.”
Olivia Todd, a senior general studies major, explained she started college five years ago with a major in hospitality management and tourism. A year ago she ran into some classes she just couldn’t get past, like accounting and statistics, and realized she should switch over to general studies because she would be able to finish quicker.
“I’m still looking forward to doing career stuff with the hospitality and tourism industry. I’m hoping to maybe get a job with either like a convention planning team or like a tourism bureau somewhere,” Todd shared.
Todd values travel and what one can learn when traveling.
“I do want to travel with my career. That’s like a big thing for me, is being able to travel. I did a lot of traveling when I was little and I loved it. And I also traveled when I was a student here, I did study abroad, and I also loved it. It’s just being able to see different cultures and like their life and like how they live it and what they do and the differences. Learning about all that stuff, It’s just, it’s so great,” Todd said.