There is not much doubt that Cambridge would be little more than a beautiful town by the River Cam if it wasn’t for its world famous university. As it stands, roughly 10% or 8,000 of the city’s jobs come directly from the university. Aside from lecturing jobs, there are maintenance and cleaning jobs, service staff and much more as Cambridge University is almost like a mini city in itself. In fact, the University is routinely placed in the top three educational institutions in the world and it attracts the most gifted international students as well as those from closer to home.

The University has produced some of the world’s most brilliant and successful graduates with leaders of nations, Archbishops and winners of the legendary Nobel Prize all gaining their education within Cambridge University’s walls. DNA and the theory of gravity were discovered by graduates of Cambridge.

Sectors

Despite the university’s influence on employment, it is actually the wider public sector which offers the greatest level of job opportunities. Indeed, this sector has four times more employees than the education sector alone. This is mainly because the city is also Cambridgeshire’s administrative centre. As a result, the county’s largest hospital, Addenbrooke, and the Cambridgeshire County Council headquarters are both located within the city and offer a huge number of job opportunities.

Cambridge and its surrounding area are sometimes nicknamed ‘Silicon Fen’ because of the enormous array of high-tech industries that have sprung up in the region. It should be noted that a large number of the science parks where these new companies are located are actually leased out by the University. Major companies include Microsoft, who have their Research UK offices in Cambridge, Sinclair, Jagex and CamSemi. It is estimated that between 20-25% of the city’s jobs can be attributed to this high-tech sector along with finance companies.

Naturally, the services and retail sector are also major employers in the city with such a high proportion of students. Many of these students come from wealthy families and as a consequence, they have a considerable amount of disposable income. Therefore, there are plenty of employment opportunities in retail and tourism because of the amount of international visitors who come to Cambridge just to see the university.

Transport

Getting around Cambridge by car is surprisingly difficult. Because the city increased so rapidly in the latter part of the 20th century, the road network has become quite congested. With a lack of parking in the city, those who live in the area are advised to use one of the Park & Ride schemes that have been put in place. More than 25% of those who work in the city of Cambridge travel to their place of employment on a bike. Despite this, the County Council do not have dedicated cycling paths. Indeed, the city spends a mere 0.3% of its transport budget on cycling infrastructure which is something which surely needs to change.

Important Business Areas

The aforementioned Silicon Fen area is one of the most important business districts in the city and contributes immensely to the economy. The Cambridge Science Park and Cambridge Business Park are both part of this hi-tech region. Barnwell Business Park is also an important district and contains 20 industrial units with offices. Barnwell is around 2 miles from the centre of Cambridge.

Accommodation

Cambridge may be relatively small in terms of UK cities but the price of accommodation in the city centre is extremely high. Naturally, this is because of the University and the demand for houses and apartments in close proximity to it. The high prices mean that most employees live a mile or two away from the city centre. There are a number of neighbouring towns with high quality accommodation for reasonable prices including Huntingdon, Newmarket and Royston. Although the cost of commuting must be considered, living in one of these areas is still cheaper than living in the city centre. Virtually every bus that operates in Cambridge will bring you towards the city centre, Drummer Street to be precise.

Although it may be challenging to find suitable accommodation in the centre of the city, Cambridge offers a number of employment opportunities that may not be available anywhere else. Also, if you have an interest in education, there are few better universities to attend anywhere in the world.