Top 10 Hardest Working Cities in America -The JobNetwork

Top 10 Hardest Working Cities in America -The JobNetwork As a rule, Americans are a pretty hard-working bunch. After all, we’ve mythologized â€Å"the American Dream† as the reward for a lifetime of working hard and achieving a form of nirvana. We have a 34.4-hour work week, on average (in your face, Germany!), and are often terrible about taking our vacation days. Whether it’s working extra hours to make ends meet or to stay ahead of the workload, we put in our time. So what are the hardest-working hotspots in the U.S.? It’s a big country, and not every city is the same when it comes to working culture and time spent at work. This year, WalletHub has taken a close look at the work habits in 116 U.S. cities, and ranked them based on a number of factors like labor force participation rate, average work hours, and the number of workers with multiple jobs. Based on their findings, you may want to consider picking up stakes and moving to one of these metropolises for your own career. Let’s look at some of the ir hardest working cities, and the hottest industries in these moving-and-shaking cities.Anchorage, AKIf you’re a mainlander, Alaska might not even be on your radar for potential job opportunities and a strong working culture. With 42% of Alaska’s population and 47% of the state’s jobs, Anchorage is a bustling city with a strong presence in job sectors like the military (there are three bases located near the city), transportation, oil and natural gas, and tourism.Spotlight Industry: LogisticsAnchorage has become a major transportation hub, particularly in the shipping industry. FedEx in particular has set up shop in Anchorage, and considers it a major touchpoint for its global shipping program. The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport accounts for 10% of Anchorage’s jobs, and sees more than 500 intercontinental cargo flights every week. Additionally, the port at Anchorage is responsible for more than 90% of the consumer goods that go in and out of Alaska. If you’re looking for opportunities in the logistics field, think north!More jobs in Anchorage, AKPlano, TX and Irving, TXFar from the rugged Texas ranch image, Plano and Irving are thoroughly modern cities perhaps best known as a headquarters hub: companies like Frito-Lay, J.C. Penney, Pizza Hut, Capital One, Toyota North America, and Cinemark Theaters all call Plano or Irving home.Spotlight Industry: IT/TechnologyAmong its many corporate headquarters, Plano counts many of the major tech and telecommunications companies:Hewlitt-Packard Enterprise ServicesVerizonAlcatel-LucentEricssonDellInfosys TechnologiesSiemens PLM SoftwareGearbox SoftwareCA TechnologiesAegis CommunicationsNokiaEven if you don’t have a background in IT, these corporate headquarters also offer opportunities for people in different areas, like office administration, human resources, communications, etc.More jobs in Plano, TXMore Jobs in Irving, TXCheyenne, WYAs the capital and most populous city in Wyoming, Cheyenne is one of the smaller cities on the list, at just under 60,000 people per the 2010 census. But what it lacks in population, it makes up for in opportunity. This city has a low overall unemployment rate, and is diversifying beyond the agriculture and mining that have always been part of Wyoming’s fabric. As it grows and changes, the city has also been rated the â€Å"tax-friendliest U.S. city† by Kiplinger’s.Spotlight Industry: ManufacturingWhile manufacturing jobs are on the decline in many parts of the country, it continues to grow in Cheyenne. Fertilizer manufacturing, electronics, precision instruments, and restaurant equipment are among the plants that have established roots in the capital city, and the trend continues as companies look for new cities to concentrate their stateside manufacturing programs.More jobs in Cheyenne, WYVirginia Beach, VAWhile the â€Å"beach† part of the name accurately describes the coastal benefit s of Virginia Beach, this city is hardly a sleepy beachside hamlet. Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the commonwealth of Virginia, and the 41st most populous city in the country. Tourism is indeed a major factor in the local economy, but it is also a major port for the U.S. military, as well as a hub for agribusiness. Virginia Beach was rated in the top 50 in a recent Forbes survey of the best places for business and careers.Spotlight Industry: U.S. MilitaryVirginia Beach is home to three major military bases, with a fourth just outside city limits: the U.S. Navy’s NAS Oceana, the Training Support Center Hampton Roads, the Joint Expeditionary Base East located at Cape Henry, and the Joint Expeditionary Base–Little Creek. If you’re not interested in enlisting in the Navy, no worries- these bases employ thousands of civilian employees in support roles as well.More jobs in Virginia Beach, VAScottsdale, AZOnce described by the New York Times as â€Å"a d esert version of Miami’s South Beach,† Scottsdale is a vibrant Western city that has become a major destination for travelers looking for year-round sun and dry warmth.Spotlight Industry: TourismIn Scottsdale, tourism accounts for 39% of the city’s jobs, with about 7.5 million people visiting the city every year and bringing many millions in revenue. Scottsdale features more than 70 resorts and hotels, with 15,000 rooms. Career opportunities also flourish at other tourism-related businesses like spas, golf courses, retail stores, and restaurants.More jobs in Scottsdale, AZSan Francisco, CARight next door to Silicon Valley, San Francisco is considered the commercial and cultural center of northern California. The city scored high on WalletHub’s â€Å"direct work factors† section, meaning that work week hours and labor-force participation were both high. The long work weeks are likely driven by the innovative startup culture that has emerged in San Fr ancisco, which often values hustle over traditional professional structures.Spotlight industry: TechIt’s virtually impossible to talk about San Francisco these days without talking about its evolving tech industry, which has helped change the professional profile of the city. San Francisco is a highly diverse city, an American leader in many industries (including service/tourism, financial services, and higher education). But in recent years, the trend has moved into the tech sector, with biotech and high tech companies like Apple, Google moving in nearby.More jobs in SanFrancisco, CACorpus Christi, TXAnother Texas entry on the list (there seems to be a definite theme here!), Corpus Christi is located in the Gulf region of Texas, bringing a different culture and commercial profile to the list than Irving and Plano. As the deepest inshore port on the Gulf of Mexico, Corpus Christi has thriving oil/petrochemical and transportation industries, in addition to being a tourist dest ination.Spotlight Industry: Petrochemical Manufacturing and TransportCorpus Christi is in the midst of a â€Å"petrochemical boom,† meaning the city has become a major supplier for products created by refining petroleum and natural gas. The city’s oil refineries and petrochemical plants are at the forefront of providing chemical products to China and other developed countries around the world, with billions of dollars in development projects coming to the region by 2023.More jobs in Corpus Christi, TXWashington, D.C.Jokes about Congress aside, Washington, D.C. received high-marks in WalletHub’s survey of the hardest-working cities. As the U.S. capital, it’s tops in the presidential monument game, but also a large, diverse city that serves as a hub for a number of industries, in the public, private, and international sectors.Spotlight Industry: Civil ServiceIn Washington, DC the federal government is the largest employer, accounting for 29% of the cityâ₠¬â„¢s jobs as of 2012. Much of this is based on the sheer number of federal agencies that call the city home, but is also due to the fact that federal government jobs are often insulated from economic downturns that sometimes hit other cities (the government needs to keep running, regardless of external factors). The federal agencies also employ thousands of contractors, subsidiary businesses, and support businesses to keep things running smoothly. (Again, jokes about Congress aside.)More jobs in Washington, D.C.Sioux Falls, SDSioux Falls is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States (47th), and is definitively the fastest-growing city in South Dakota. Historically, mining and agriculture made up the backbone of the city’s economy, but in the 20th and 21st centuries, the city’s economic interests have diversified thanks to the state’s lack of corporate income tax.Spotlight Industry: Financial ServicesWhen you think of financial services, you might th ink of generic skyscraper buildings in large cities, processing data and crunching numbers. The reality is that many financial services companies seek out less crowded cities like Sioux Falls, which are off the beaten path. The city’s largest employers are major financial players Wells Fargo and Citigroup, making Sioux Falls a major destination for workers with backgrounds in accounting, actuarial science, or finance, as well as people looking for administrative work in a growing metropolitan area.While hard workers are (of course) found in every town and city in the country, this survey offers some valuable insight into which cities and regions are leading the way as we look for growth and innovation in the world’s largest economy. Where will you be looking for your next hard-working opportunity?More jobs in Sioux Falls, SD

E.B. Whites Drafts of Once More to the Lake

E.B. White's Drafts of 'Once More to the Lake' At the start of every fall term, countless students are asked to write an essay on what must be the most uninspired composition topic of all time: How I Spent My Summer Vacation. Still, its remarkable what a good writer can do with such a seemingly dull subjectthough it may take a bit longer than usual to complete the assignment. In this case, the good writer was E.B. White, and the essay that took more than a quarter century to complete was Once More to the Lake. First Draft: Pamphlet on Belgrade Lake (1914) Back in 1914, shortly before his 15th birthday, Elwyn White responded to this familiar topic with uncommon enthusiasm. It was a subject the boy knew well and an experience that he fiercely enjoyed. Every August for the past decade, Whites father had taken the family to the same camp on Belgrade Lake in Maine. In a self-designed pamphlet, complete with sketches and photos, young Elwyn began his report clearly and conventionally This wonderful lake is five miles wide, and about ten miles long, with many coves, points and islands. It is one of a series of lakes, which are connected with each other by little streams. One of these streams is several miles long and deep enough so that it affords an opportunity for a fine all-day canoe trip. . . .The lake is large enough to make the conditions ideal for all kinds of small boats. The bathing also is a feature, for the days grow very warm at noon time and make a good swim feel fine. (reprinted in Scott Elledge, ​E.B. White: A Biography. Norton, 1984) Second Draft: Letter to Stanley Hart White (1936) In the summer of 1936, E. B. White, by then a popular writer for The New Yorker magazine, made a return visit to this childhood vacation spot. While there, he wrote a long letter to his brother Stanley, vividly describing the sights, sounds, and smells of the lake. Here are a few excerpts: The lake hangs clear and still at dawn, and the sound of a cowbell comes softly from a faraway woodlot. In the shallows along shore the pebbles and driftwood show clear and smooth on bottom, and black water bugs dart, spreading a wake and a shadow. A fish rises quickly in the lily pads with a little plop, and a broad ring widens to eternity. The water in the basin is icy before breakfast, and cuts sharply into your nose and ears and makes your face blue as you wash. But the boards of the dock are already hot in the sun, and there are doughnuts for breakfast and the smell is there, the faintly rancid smell that hangs around Maine kitchens. Sometimes there is little wind all day, and on still hot afternoons the sound of a motorboat comes drifting five miles from the other shore, and the droning lake becomes articulate, like a hot field. A crow calls, fearfully and far. If a night breeze springs up, you are aware of a restless noise along the shore, and for a few minutes before you fall asleep you hear the intimate talk between fresh-water waves and rocks that lie below bending birches. The insides of your camp are hung with pictures cut from magazines, and the camp smells of lumber and damp. Things dont change much. . . .(Letters of E.B. White, edited by Dorothy Lobrano Guth. Harper Row, 1976) Final Revision: Once More to the Lake (1941) White made the return journey in 1936 on his own, in part to commemorate his parents, both of whom had recently died. When he next made the trip to Belgrade Lake, in 1941, he took along his son Joel. White recorded that experience in what has become one of the best-known and most frequently anthologized essays of the past century, Once More to the Lake: We went fishing the first morning. I felt the same damp moss covering the worms in the bait can, and saw the dragonfly alight on the tip of my rod as it hovered a few inches from the surface of the water. It was the arrival of this fly that convinced me beyond any doubt that everything was as it always had been, that the years were a mirage and there had been no years. The small waves were the same, chucking the rowboat under the chin as we fished at anchor, and the boat was the same boat, the same color green and the ribs broken in the same places, and under the floor-boards the same fresh-water leavings and debristhe dead hellgrammite, the wisps of moss, the rusty discarded fishhook, the dried blood from yesterdays catch. We stared silently at the tips of our rods, at the dragonflies that came and went. I lowered the tip of mine into the water, pensively dislodging the fly, which darted two feet away, poised, darted two feet back, and came to rest again a little farther up the rod. There had been no years between the ducking of this dragonfly and the other onethe one that was part of memory. . . . (Harpers, 1941; reprinted in One Mans Meat. Tilbury House Publishers, 1997) Certain details from Whites 1936 letter reappear in his 1941 essay: damp moss, birch beer, the smell of lumber, the sound of outboard motors. In his letter, White insisted that things dont change much, and in his essay, we hear the refrain, There had been no years. But in both texts, we sense that the author was working hard to sustain an illusion. A joke may be deathless, the lake may be fade-proof, and summer may seem to be without end. Yet as White makes clear in the concluding image of Once More to the Lake, only the pattern of life is indelible: When the others went swimming my son said he was going in too. He pulled his dripping trunks from the line where they had hung all through the shower, and wrung them out. Languidly, and with no thought of going in, I watched him, his hard little body, skinny and bare, saw him wince slightly as he pulled up around his vitals the small, soggy, icy garment. As he buckled the swollen belt, suddenly my groin felt the chill of death. To spend almost 30 years composing an essay is exceptional. But then, you have to admit, so is Once More to the Lake. Postscript (1981) According to Scott Elledge in E.B. White: A Biography, on July 11, 1981, to celebrate his eighty-first birthday, White lashed a canoe to the top of his car and drove to the same Belgrade lake where, seventy years before, he had received a green old town canoe from his father, a gift for his eleventh birthday.