Careers, Jobs and Education Resources for: Chicopee, MA
Chicopee (pronounced /ˈtʃɪkəpi/) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States of America. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is made up of several neighborhoods, the result of the city's origin as a collection of villages in the northern-most part of Springfield, which it seceded from in 1848. These villages are now represented by the neighborhoods of Aldenville, Willimansett, Chicopee Center (Cabotville), Chicopee Falls, and Fairview. Although once defined by the predominant nationality of its immigrant occupants, historically largely Polish and French Canadian, these neighborhoods are now occupied by people of many cultures while still maintaining their historical, ethnic charm. The city ha... (from wikipedia)Massachusetts Fast Facts:
Location, Location, Location...: Massachusetts is located in the New England region of the northeastern U.S., the eastern half of the state is made up of urban, suburban and rural areas, while the western half is mostly rural.
Cities: The capital and largest city is Boston, followed by Worcester and Springfield.
Behind the Name: Massachusetts is most commonly known as the “Old Bay State,” referring to the Cape Cod Bay where early American settlements were based.
A Closer Look: Massachusetts is the most populous of the six New England states.
Did You Know? Massachusetts has been noteworthy throughout American history and not just for its major league baseball and pro football champions: Plymouth was the second permanent settlement in North America; the original ‘Patriots’ staged the famous 1773 “Boston Tea Party” in protest of unfair British taxation and Massachusetts was the first state to abolish slavery.
Massachusetts Careers and Employment:
Population: 6,497,697 (2.3% increase since 2000) - 51.5% Female, 48.5% Male (2008 U.S. Census Bureau).
Business Environment: Ranked 36th in Forbes Magazine’s “Best States for Business,” 2008.
Top Industries: In terms of paid employees, according to a 2008 U.S. Census Bureau study: (1) health care and social assistance; (2) retail trade; (3) manufacturing; (4) accommodation and food services; and (5) professional, scientific and technical services.
Taxes: Income Tax, 5.3% and Sales Tax, 5% (Federation of Tax Administrators).
Cost of Living: 120.5 in relation to the “National Average” of 100 (Federal Cost of Living Index).
Quality of Life: Ranked 6th of 50 states by CNBC, 2009.
Weather: Average Temperature (In °F) – Jan: 24.87; Apr: 45.43; July: 70.37; Oct: 49.69 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
K-12: Ranked 1st of 50 states in “Academic Achievement” by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2009.
Massachusetts Economics:
In General: Massachusetts is a national leader in higher education, health care, high technology and financial services, and the state that initiated the industrial revolution continues to be an important manufacturing state. The types of jobs available in Massachusetts require a large number of professionally trained workers, such as doctors, engineers, scientists and technicians.
Service Industry: Community, business and personal services such as private health care, private schools, law firms, computer programming and engineering companies are the most important service sectors in Massachusetts.
Agriculture: In terms of revenue generated Massachusetts’ top five agricultural products are greenhouse and nursery products, cranberries, dairy products, sweet corn and apples.
Manufacturing: Computer and electronic products, such as computer equipment and microchips, are the state’s leading manufactured products, followed by communication equipment including broadcasting devices, military communications systems and telephone equipment. Fabricated metal products (ammunition, guns, hand tools, knives, stampings, valves) and chemicals (pharmaceuticals, cleaning products, photographic materials) are also notable sectors of the manufacturing industry.
Fishing: Massachusetts is one of the leading commercial fishing states; the state’s commercial fishing industry delivers a broad range of product including cod, flounder, haddock, lobster, clams, crabs, herring, squid, swordfish and tuna.
Did You Know? The city of New Bedford accounts for nearly half the scallops produced across the nation.
Massachusetts Education:
In General: Massachusetts has 31 public and 91 private institutions of higher education, several of which rank as the most renowned institutions in the United States. There are more than 40 colleges located in the greater Boston area alone.
In the Rankings: U.S. News and World Report rankings: National Rankings – Harvard University (#1), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (#4), Tufts University (#28), Brandeis University (#31), Boston College (#34), Boston University (#60); Liberal Arts Rankings – Amherst College (#1), Williams College (#1), Wellesley College (#4), Smith College (#18), Mount Holyoke College (#27), College of the Holy Cross (#35).
Online Education: There are myriad accredited online universities offering degrees in the state of Massachusetts.
A Closer Look: Massachusetts boasts an excellent state college system, the University of Massachusetts, with five prominent campuses across the state.
Did You Know? As of 2008, Harvard University held the second largest financial endowment of any non-profit organization in the nation, second only to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. [Ed. Note: Leave it to Bill Gates to ‘outclass’ Harvard; Gates left Harvard during his junior year to begin a ‘little’ computer company…and the rest is history.]
Sources: In addition to specific citations noted in this “Career Information” section, supplementary source materials include: the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service; Netstate.com; Education-Portal.com; USCollegeSearch.org; and Wikipedia.com.