Work Opportunities in Delaware

A tight-knit professional community in Delaware provides countless opportunities to prosper.




Where Talent Meets Opportunity

Delaware has capitalized on its small size and legacy of innovation by weaving a tight network of professional organizations, partnerships and opportunities to create a business environment where everyone can thrive. No matter which industry you work in, there are unlimited ways to enhance your career and connections in the First State.

Professional networking and opportunity are only as successful as the people who do the work, and Delaware’s talent pool is deep and strong. Our professional workforce is among the most highly educated in the nation, with a particular emphasis in the fields of science and technology. Nationally, Delaware has the fourth-highest concentration of employed Ph.D.’s in health, science and engineering, while the number of STEM-educated college graduates living in the state increased by 25% between 2009 and 2017. Overall, 31% of Delawareans have a bachelor’s or graduate degree, which is above the national average.

Industry Partnership Opportunities

  • Delaware Bioscience Association (Delaware Bio): Delaware Bio hosts events and offers services that provide networking, education, cost savings and business resources to members within pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms; medical device manufacturers; agriculture, research and testing companies; and educational and medical institutions.

  • Delaware Biotechnology Institute: The Delaware Biotechnology Institute supports multidisciplinary, collaborative academic research at all of Delaware’s research organizations by fostering academic-industrial research partnerships and creating professional development opportunities.

  • Delaware Manufacturing Extension Partnership (DEMEP): DEMEP is an organization focused on the global competitiveness of Delaware manufacturers by offering a variety of strategic growth courses such as Supply Chain Engagement & Risk Management, ExporTech: Fast Track to Developing Strategies for International Sales, and Principles of Lean Manufacturing with Live Simulation.
  • Delaware Business Roundtable: The roundtable is a volunteer organization of CEOs who collectively employ more than 75,000 Delawareans. It promotes commerce, job creation and select public policy issues.

  • Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (DESCA): Advanced chemical companies in Delaware are connected through the Delaware Sustainable Chemistry Alliance (DESCA), which serves as an industry consortium and support organization.

  • First State Fintech Lab: The First State Fintech Lab fosters a public-private collaboration and supports demand-driven educational opportunities to develop talent, whether individuals are students or mid- to senior-level career professionals.

  • Science, Technology, and Research Institute of Delaware (STRIDE): In 2016, more than 100 former DuPont scientists came together to form STRIDE, a nonprofit organization with the mission of growing science-based businesses and helping to develop new scientific talent in Delaware. Activities include STEM education outreach, start-up support, research and development grants, professional seminars, and mentorship of young scientists.

See also:

For a full list of employment agencies that are active in Delaware, visit:
https://www.delawareontheweb.com/b2b/employment-agencies/

Educated Workforce

Our professional workforce is among the most highly educated in the nation, with a particular emphasis in the fields of science and technology. Nationally, Delaware has the fourth-highest concentration of employed Ph.D.’s in health, science and engineering, while the number of STEM educated college graduates living in the state increased by 25% between 2009 and 2017.

    Professional Organizations and Networking Opportunities

    • The Delaware State Chamber of Commerce represents businesses in the state, with many individual Chambers of Commerce quite active in their local areas.
    • The Next Generation (Next Gen): Next Gen is part of the philanthropic organization, Delaware Community Foundation, and one of the giving circles dedicated to developing young professionals into effective nonprofit board leaders.
    • Leadership Delaware: This organization recruits outstanding young Delawareans and prepares them with the knowledge, vision, integrity and networks to significantly impact and transform their communities.
    • Delaware Young Professionals Network (DYPN): DPYN encourages ambitious young professionals between the ages of 21 and 40 to get involved in the State Chamber and further their professional growth and connections.
    • Millennial Summit: The Summit is a one-of-a-kind event bringing hundreds of professionals of all ages and backgrounds to Wilmington to connect difference- makers, rising stars and other leaders who want to make an impact in their community.
    • Tech Forum of Delaware: The Tech Forum’s goal is to help entrepreneurs identify business opportunities and build profitable relationships around the region. This mission is supported with monthly programming, alternating between educational seminars and professional networking.

    Options for Continuing Education

    As Delaware’s financial services firms grow their fintech capabilities, innovative tech talent development programs like Zip Code Wilmington meet demand with significant local investment and support. Established in 2015, Zip Code Wilmington is a nonprofit, software programming bootcamp which partners with local employers — including Bank of America, Barclays, Blackrock, Capital One, CSC, JPMorgan Chase, M&T Bank, and WSFS — to supplement Delaware’s tech talent pipeline. 93% of graduates are placed in paid employment six months after completing the program.

    Second Chances Farm in Wilmington was created to combine hydroponic farming with the social mission of providing employment for previously incarcerated individuals. To date, it has hired two dozen former inmates who are being trained in hydroponic vertical farming with the potential of becoming “agri-preneurs.”

    The vocational high schools in Delaware offer an array of adult education programs, which include both classes and hands-on training at apprenticeships. Polytech in Kent County offers a variety of career and apprenticeship programs such as the Industrial Maintenance Mechanics Program with manufacturing apprenticeships at Hirsh Industries and W.L. Gore & Associates among others.

    Each year the majority of master’s graduates from the University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics are employed within the state one year after graduation, establishing the College as a substantial talent source for the state. Lerner College offers bachelors and professional degrees in accounting, economics, finance and more, as well as an online MBA program that is world-renowned — ranking #19 in CEO Magazine’s global online MBA List.

    ChristianaCare is one of the largest community-based teaching hospitals conducting research in the United States with 260 residents and fellows. ChristianaCare offers focused opportunities in gynecology, for which it is ranked #24 in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report.

    Delaware was rated #1 Business Legal Climate by the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, 2019, and opportunities in this field are extensive. Widener University Delaware School of Law has 12,000 alumni practicing locally and throughout the world, including past presidents of the Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey bar associations, 195 sitting judges, a sitting Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, and a sitting Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

    Other notable graduate programs include the University of Delaware’s chemical engineering graduate program, which is ranked #8 in the nation, and the physical therapy graduate program, which is ranked #1 in the country by U.S. News & World Report.