Is Detroit The Next Silicon Valley?
Could the motor city be turning into tech town usa? In a CNN Money special, Detroit’s automotive related technology boom is highlighted for its recent increase technology related jobs. Tech job openings rose 82% in Detroit, with companies like Google and Ford hiring engineers en masse.
According to the report, Google says this will be its biggest hiring year yet in Detroit. Furthermore, Doug Van Dagens, Director of Ford Conected Services Solutions, says there is a tech boom and his sector will be doubling in size over the next few years and tripling over a three year period.
Detroit tech workers make an average salary of $71,000 per year, less than Silicon Valley but above average for the auto industry. Several engineers are interviewed during the video, explaining how competitive the tech sector has become, how engineers are being enticed to stay and that a movement to rebuild Detroit is a driving force behind the recent hiring spike.
One engineer explains that there is significant potential within the city to flourish economically because the economy had crippled Detroit, however the city is developing significantly in the technology sector. Technology within the auto industry is becoming more efficient and competitive. Even though Detroit is not as big as traditional tech centers like Silicon Valley, this city is the central core in the Midwest for technology, growing financially and technologically at an astonishing rate.
[Source: CNN Money]
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