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Intellectual Capital
On a per capita basis, there is no richer source for intellectual capital than Cambridge, with its world-renowned universities attracting and nurturing the finest minds.
University graduates and faculty have created the fast-growing businesses that characterize the Cambridge economy and also staff these companies. For example, by 1995 MIT had directly or indirectly launched 636 enterprises that employed 300,000 across the state with $10 billion in annual income for Massachusetts residents. MIT start-ups succeed at a rate approaching 90%, nearly double the national average for comparable businesses.
Moreover, in 1994 alone, Harvard and MIT's technology transfer offices licensed nearly 150 technologies to industry, generating 10% of the national total for patents issued to universities.
Boston and other neighboring communities contribute to the intellectual wealth of the area. Babson College, Boston College, Boston University, Brandeis University, Northeastern University, Tufts University, and Wellesley College boast nationally-ranked programs in business, law, dentistry, medicine, engineering, and other professional and graduate specialties.
The teaching hospitals in Boston and Cambridge are indisputably among the most distinguished such groups in the world, generating research that serves as a magnet for investment and entrepreneurial companies that help to drive the Cambridge economy.
Public & Private Jobs by Industry
Impressive Resumes
The average educational level in the City is especially high, with over 30% of the adult population (25 years and older) having a graduate or professional degree. Many of these degree holders have been recruited by Cambridge's successful businesses, but many are home-grown. For instance, there are 2,200 degree holders from MIT living and/or working in Cambridge.
Massachusetts as a whole also contributes to the extraordinary quality of the Cambridge work force. With nearly 100 public and independent four year colleges, Massachusetts is the country's leading educator. Many of the best students from these superb colleges and universities, as well as from leading universities around the world, gravitate to Cambridge to pursue further educational and professional opportunities.
Progressive Partnerships for Training
The city and the public and private schools have teamed up to provide young people with training opportunities in many critical areas, such as Harvard's building engineer program; weekly lab rotations in local hospitals; Lesley College's program for careers in education; the Cambridge Partnership for Public Education, a university/business coalition housed at MIT that supports placement and training for high school students; and the City's Office of Workforce Development, providing assistance to employers in need of personnel.
A World of Skills
Cambridge has a long tradition of welcoming cultural diversity, an essential quality for competition in the international business arena. Over the years, the City has attracted people of many nationalities with a wide range of talents and uniform industriousness. The result is that Cambridge offers a uniquely gifted and versatile work force, mastering all of the technical specialties and service skills demanded by today's business. The Cambridge Employment Program, a job matching service offered free to local employers, maintains an active database of job seekers from diverse educational and professional backgrounds.
Profile of Educational Attainment
Getting to Work
Of the more than 100,000 people who work in Cambridge, half live in the City itself or one of its immediate neighbors. About a quarter of the workforce commutes via an extensive public transportation network including two lines of the "T" (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority), a commuter rail system, a host of private shuttle services, and a bus network. The City's public transportation is highly efficient, minimizing stress and pollution, and enhancing productivity and the overall quality of life in the City.
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