The Rise of the Creative Class in the Usa

Although many may think this, the Creative Class is not just made up of people with college degrees. According to The Rise of the Creative Class, "Across the entire United States, nearly three-fourths (72.2 percent, to be exact) of adults with college degrees are members of the Creative Class. But less than 60 percent (59.3 percent) of the members of the Creative Class have college degrees" (Florida). Holding a Creative Class job brings economic benefits that extend beyond those of going to college.

As of 2010, the Creative Class included more than 41 million Americans (1/3 of US workforce). Richard Florida divides the occupations of the Creative Class by two: Super-Creative Core and Creative Professionals. The Super-Creative Core includes occupations such as scientists and engineers, professors, novelists, artists, actors, designers, writers, editors, and architects- basically those who produce new forms or designs that are readily transferable and widely used. The second core group, "creative professionals", includes those who work in knowledge-intensive industries, such as financial, business management, technology, legal and health care. These jobs require creative problem solving, drawing on complex bodies of knowledge to explain issues, and usually a college degree. Personally, my goal is to work in the fashion industry as a marketing director or editor-for a blog, designer, or magazine. These jobs require a level of problem solving and creative thinking that would classify it as a Creative Class job. The fashion industry itself is constantly evolving and requires those who work in it to always be thinking about what is next. Marketing Director's must figure out how to reach their audience and brand the company they are working for. An editor must be able to pinpoint products that their audience will enjoy and write reviews and articles that will spark interest. As a Communication Studies major I feel that I am prepared to join the Creative Class in the fashion industry. I feel equipped with the right tools to be successful in my work, which includes being able to talk to people, pinpointing what an audience wants, and public speaking. I have learned how to problem solve and think of the box through different group projects, such as in Small Groups in Communication. During this class we had to come up with a business plan and analyze the dynamic of our group team "meetings". This also made me more aware of the type of team member I am and how I interact with others. These observations will be helpful to me as a member of the Creative Class.

Since my goal is to work in the fashion industry, it makes sense for me to pick New York City as the place I want to live-as it is the fashion capital of the United States. When evaluating this city, it had high points and low points regarding its ranking for the creativity index's and the cost of living. The Tolerance Index is made up of three key measures- the Gay Index, the Foreign-Born Index, and the Integration Index. Basically this analyzes how tolerant a city is to minority groups and racial integration. Surprisingly, New York City was not ranked on the top thirty of Tolerance Index as of 2010. However for the Bohemian Index, which measures the level of creatives (artists, writers, designers, etc) in the city, NYC ranked number 1. This may because of the high number of creative outlets and opportunities available in the city. The Creative Class is attracted to NYC for this reason. An example of this could be the amount of specialty schools, cafes for creatives to meet, museums, etc. The Open to Experience Index measures how willing the citizens of the city are to try new things. NYC ranked fourth on the openness-to-experience by metro, which is 35.8% of the creative class share. This index shows that people with personality types that are agreeable and open are more likely to move to