Boston at a Glance

Working in Boston

Welcome to New England's economic driving force.

In contrast to other large US cities such as LA or New York, many people do not have a mental picture of what working in Boston is like. You might be surprised! Working in Boston is your key to one of the biggest urban economies in the US. Our guide to working in Boston has all the vital facts.

Working in Boston: Economic Facts and Figures

The combined manpower of some 1.5 million people working in Boston and its metro area makes the region the sixth largest economy in the United States. Unemployment in the area, around 5.4% in January 2012, is significantly below the national average. After a sharp decline following the economic crisis at the end of the last decade, people working in Boston quickly returned to a generally positive economic performance, boasting the highest real GDP growth in the US in 2010.

Working in Boston: Sectors, Companies, Employers

If you have read our other articles on the city, the fact that Boston is home to schools of international renown probably didn’t escape you. Those schools are also a great factor in the city’s economy, attracting companies and specialized industries to the region which provide plentiful opportunities for working in Boston. Furthermore, the schools are major employers themselves.

As a coastal town of high significance, working in Boston’s seaport and related operations has traditionally been a viable employment opportunity. Unsurprisingly, the city’s port is the oldest in the country (New England’s metropolis was the first in many things) and secured the livelihoods of scores of people working in Boston’s trade and seafaring sectors.

Today, most people working in Boston have found employment in one of the major pillars of the city’s economy: the high-tech sector (the fourth largest in the country, with companies such as the microchip producer AMD located just outside the city), tourism, and the financial sector. Obviously, the latter has suffered the crippling consequences of the 2009 crisis, but even today, working in Boston is a wise move for many employees looking to strengthen their career in finances.

One factor that should not be overlooked, even if its significance for expats is negligible, is the number of people working in Boston’s administrative and governmental sector. As a state capital and regional focal center, the government has a steady demand for new employees working in Boston’s administrative services.

If you are interested in sneakers or include shaving in your daily bathroom rituals, you surely own products courtesy of the people working in Boston’s spearheading companies in those respective areas: New Balance and Gillette.

However, the list of all major companies with offices in the city is long, which is why we won’t attempt to cover them all in this article. But you can rest assured that, no matter your field of expertise, there is a suitable company working in Boston!

Working in Boston: Expat Opportunities

Expats interested in working in Boston do not only face the obstacle of a job market that is probably mostly closed to them (we have laid out the details on page two of this article), but also a huge, highly qualified competition. Of course, not every recent graduate of one of the many, many educational institutions in the area is going to start working in Boston. However, the potential number of direct competitors is very high. As many of the non-immigrant visas offered by the USCIS require your future employer to prove that no suitable applicant could be found locally, your dream of working in Boston will be fulfilled by virtue of your credentials. You simply have to outpace the rest!

Of course, this is not the only way to find an occupation working in Boston. As mentioned above, many multinationals have offices or headquarters here. If you are employed with one of them in your home country, it could prove fruitful to keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities for working in Boston subsidiaries.

Working in Boston: Cost of Living

As an expat working in Boston, chances are that your compensation will be fairly high. However, keep in mind that Boston is among the most expensive cities in the entire US! We have already outlined the housing market situation and the oftentimes ridiculous prices for quality apartments in our article on moving to Boston. You will probably be able to make a nice living working in Boston, but don’t let the figures on your paycheck fool you.