With giant tech companies like Amazon, Apple and Salesforce and cell engineering startup Sana Biotechnology expanding their business operations in Seattle, the job outlook is looking very good for Seattle Pacific University graduates in information technology, sciences, marketing and communications, biotechnology, business, accounting, engineering and human resources.
Amazon has its headquarters in Seattle, which was started 25 years ago, and currently occupies 11.5 million square feet of office space across 47 buildings. Part of the company’s expansion plan is to build a 43-story tower in Bellevue – the third largest city in the Seattle metropolitan area – to accommodate several thousand employees in addition to its present operations. Called Bellevue 600, the $650-million, 600-foot tower is expected to be completed by 2024 and will ensure that Amazon will be able to accommodate an estimated total of 11,000 employees within the Seattle metro.
Apple is also expanding big in Seattle with plans to put 2,000 employees over the next five years in a 650,000-square foot office space in two, 12-story towers just a few blocks away from Amazon’s headquarters. The offices are set to open by the end of the year with an initial 200 employees.
Salesforce, a cloud-based software company specialising in customer relationship management (CRM), will be opening its second headquarters in the Seattle metro after acquiring Tableau, an interactive data visualisation software company, for $15.7 billion. Salesforce currently has 1,000 employees on its roster and is expected to expand its operations once the acquisition of Tableau is finalised.
Sana Biotechnology, a cell engineering company which focuses on creating and delivering engineered cells as medicine for patients, is also expanding its Seattle HQ operations after acquiring a Flagship Pioneering company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Flagship Pioneering is composed of pioneering scientists and professionals who build companies that transform human health and sustainability.
SPU’s degree programs
With the robustly growing needs of the tech businesses in Seattle, it is expected that future jobs in the tech industry will also increase. Seattle Pacific University, with its highly-ranked engineering programs and its focus in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs, is in the best position to supply talent to Seattle’s ever-expanding, dynamic job market. SPU is located in a quiet Queen Anne residential neighbourhood, just a 10-minute drive away from downtown Seattle.
International students who are planning to enrol here can look at their degree options with the job prospects in mind.
They can choose from more than 69 bachelor’s degree programs and 29 master’s degree programs. SPU ranks #57 in the 2019 U.S News & World Report’s Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs. The university placed #169 overall in the Best National Universities list in the same report.
Among the undergraduate programs open to international students are computer science, information systems, psychology, biology, engineering, business, food science, graphic design and interior design. For graduate degree programs, international students may choose from any of the following fields: information systems, business, cybersecurity, data analytics and nursing.
To support them in their job search after graduation, international students can avail of the services of Seattle Pacific University’s Center for Career and Calling which would help them prepare the perfect cover letter and portfolio.
SPU is a highly-ranked private university and the only one in the Pacific Northwest to make it to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2019 National Universities list. It is one of EduCo’s partner universities in the United States.
