Best Classes New York

New York is the fourth-largest state in the country, and it is home to some of the largest and most important economic and commercial hubs in the nation. In addition to NYC, which houses much of the global financial industry, it is also one of the largest agricultural hubs in the US, and it is a major player in the newly emerging microprocessing and nanotech industries. While most people associate New York with NYC, the entire state has thriving and abundant economic opportunities for professionals looking to leverage their tech skills in in-demand career roles.

An Overview of Major Industries in New York

Tech & Innovation

New York has spent the better part of the last twenty years aiming to revitalize various parts of upstate New York by making it as appealing as possible to the tech industry in hopes of replacing displaced manufacturing work. This has been a fairly successful endeavor, as the northern corridor of the state, colloquially known as Tech Valley, has established itself as a major player in the national push to bring microchip and processor manufacturing jobs to America. These manufacturing companies, which include GlobalFoundries and Micron, are looking for a range of different tech professionals who can help lay the groundwork for new tech manufacturing hubs across the state.

Since New York is primarily emphasizing the development of new tech manufacturing plants, it needs to employ mechanical engineers who design the infrastructure required to produce these chips and processes, and it needs architects and construction professionals who can build the physical locations in which these manufacturing lines are located. Beyond this, the huge influx of capital into the region has expanded demand for professionals working in investment and banking related to business finances, since these companies will need to hire analysts to determine the direction that these plants take once they are operational. Finally, software engineers and developers will need to work on designing and programming the automated aspects of the manufacturing process, since the complexity of working with microchips and processors require delicate calibration, and the companies are constantly looking for ways to improve the process. 

Finance & Investing

Home to the NYSE and some of the largest investment firms in the world, it is unsurprising that the financial industry plays a major role in the NY state economy. While most of the jobs are located in NYC, with major players like Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and others located within the boroughs, the rest of the state is also deeply connected to the industry, both owing to their own relationship with the financial industry and the large number of professionals working remotely within these industries (the Hudson Valley is home to a huge chunk of these professionals). If you are interested in working in finance, it will come as no surprise that New York is a state to look at for career opportunities.

The financial industry primarily hires professionals who have the training and skills needed to minimize risk and identify the best path forward for themselves and their clients. This means hiring data analysts or experts who can keep up with the speed of the market and ensure that all of the financial decisions they are recommending are based on observable, repeatable data-driven phenomena rather than pure gut instinct. Another aspect of this is the emerging importance of machine learning and AI in the FinTech industry. Financial firms want every edge they can possibly get, meaning that AI is an attractive new tool that professionals are looking to maximize the value of it while they still can. Thus, many large firms are hiring machine learning specialists who can program and train algorithms that will give financial firms, investment bankers, and everyday retail traders a bit more information and a better set of tools for making long-term and short-term financial decisions.

Tourism & Hospitality

Famous for its “I Love NY” slogan and branding, the NY tourism industry is a massive field, owing in no small part to NYC being one of the most frequently visited cities in the world. In addition, there is an active push on the part of state and local chambers of commerce to direct additional flow of tourism to the rest of the state. Upstate NY has some of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the country, and there are a number of major attractions from Buffalo to Syracuse to Rochester and Albany. The Finger Lakes region is a destination for wine lovers, and there are hundreds of specialized museums, art exhibitions, and wildlife preserves all across the state.

The tourism industry and its component parts all work to hire graphic designers, digital marketers, brand ambassadors, and social media specialists who can work to ensure that their particular message is being received. This includes the state attempting to make visiting New York into a tourist destination and individual cities and attractions advertising the opportunities available in the region. For example, the New York State Fair in Syracuse brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors, meaning that the state, city, and all of the event attendees and merchants have a vested interest in working to make the outreach as visible as possible.

Agriculture & Farming

While NYC is thought of as the ultimate urban space, New York as a whole is still one of the major agricultural producers in the country. In particular, NYS dairy production is fourth in the nation, trailing only Idaho, Wisconsin, and California. The state is a major player in the wine industry, with its own unique history and horticultural tradition, and since the state produces so much milk, it also produces unique and storied cheeses. While it does not immediately seem like a place for tech professionals, the agricultural industry relies heavily on mechanical engineers and software engineers who can design and build the tools (both physical and digital) that make the farming process easier and more effective in the long term. This is especially true for the small, artisanal dairy farms, vineyards, and butcher shops that make upstate such a diverse agricultural region.

Education & Healthcare

New York State has a huge number of private and public universities and research institutions, all of which rely heavily on tech experts to continue their service to the public good. This includes engineers and designers who build the new technological developments that other sectors rely upon (for example, the techniques developed in earth and forestry management schools contribute heavily to the success of the agricultural industry) and the administrators who make the day-to-day operation of these research institutions possible.

Beyond education, New York also has a significant footprint in the healthcare industry, on both the developmental side of the equation (with the development of breakthroughs in healthcare) and the insurance and provider side of the equation. These systems require significant administrative oversight to operate, and huge amounts of data are collected, which need to be stored and protected, necessitating the work of a significant number of administrators and information security experts.

Learning Tech Skills in New York

If you want to learn tech skills in New York, you are in luck, because there are a lot of options available to you, both for in-person and online learning. If you live near enough to NYC to commute, you will have a bevy of different options from public and private training providers, including Noble Desktop, which offers in-person classes in Manhattan. Even if you don’t live in or near NYC, the SUNY system offers top-quality continuing education training across its 64 institutions, and there are even more private and nonprofit training options available for aspiring professionals, regardless of where you live in the state.

On the other hand, even if you don’t live close enough to NYC to commute, you still can take classes from providers like Noble Desktop through live online classes. These courses, which are taught by live instructors in an online setting, give students the chance to get hands-on training from expert instructors without needing to leave their own homes. Students will have a significantly larger catalog of courses to choose from (ranging from basic, one-day introductory courses to months-long professional development opportunities), and students can pick and choose the courses that are best suited to serve their long-term needs. Students will leave these courses career-ready and prepared to start working immediately, thanks to the lessons that are built on practical, real-world examples of the kinds of work they’ll be pursuing after graduating.