Member-only story
The Biggest Workforce Challenges this Decade
My day job and how I have earned a living and supported my family for the past twenty-two-plus years is as an economic development professional. Prior to that, I spent my first seven years out of college as an Adult Probation Officer serving in a pit of humanity called 26th & California.
As an economic developer, I mostly spend my days meeting and otherwise communicating with businesses, brokers, investors, landlords, colleagues, and elected and appointed officials. I sit at a table wearing a suit with a microphone in front of me three nights per month, twice at City Council meetings and once at an Economic Development Committee meeting. It is not a career for the faint of heart, but it pays our bills.
Most people think of new businesses coming to their town when they think of what economic development entails and, truth be told, that is the main thing that the elected officials and commissioners are most often concerned with. Especially around election time.
