I Came to Champaign-Urbana, IL, for College and Stayed for My Career
A transplant shares what he loves about the region and why he decided to make it home.
Abhik Borthakur was born and raised in India, where he attended college in the coastal state of Gujarat, obtaining his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from the National Institute of Technology in Surat. For his master’s degree, however, Borthakur wanted to study in the United States. While he considered offers from a few different universities, he ultimately chose the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, moving to the area in 2018.
“I wanted to explore opportunities in other parts of the world. Champaign-Urbana was attractive to me because the University of Illinois had one of the best programs for civil engineering, specifically transportation engineering, in the country,” he says. “I discovered that there were lots of job opportunities there in my field and that it was a really diverse town, so that’s why I decided to move here.”
Borthakur shares his thoughts on why he decided to start his career in Champaign-Urbana, IL, following graduation.
What job opportunities were available to you in the region after you finished your master’s program?
One of the top reasons I moved to Champaign-Urbana was because of the opportunities in my field. There are a couple of firms around town that work in the specific niche I was interested in, which is transportation engineering. The university provided lots of networking opportunities with student organizations and career fairs. That helped me make connections. While I was in school, I did an internship at the Illinois Department of Transportation, and I worked on a couple of bridges and roads, which gave me good connections to the entire industry. When I graduated, I started applying for jobs, and at one of the career fairs, my current employer, Applied Pavement Technology, was there. That was how I got connected with them. I applied for a job, interviewed and accepted their offer to be an engineering associate.
What about Champaign-Urbana, IL, did you find appealing?
Apart from being a student here, the best thing about the town is that it’s not a big city. It’s smaller, but it has the advantage of having access to big cities while enjoying the advantages of living in a small town. One example is my commute time – it’s like 15 minutes, and I live on the opposite side of town. It also has a low cost of living. I have accessibility to big cities like Chicago, Indianapolis and St. Louis. If you need to fly out or if you need to access events that are happening in big cities, they’re just a short drive away. That was the most appealing factor – you get the best of both worlds.
What are some neighborhoods you’d recommend to people thinking about relocating to Champaign-Urbana, IL?
It depends on what you’re looking for. Campus is right in the center of the entire city and is in both Champaign and Urbana, so if someone is looking for access to campus – with less driving and walkability – they might prefer Campus Town. Parking on campus is challenging. If you work or study on campus, you’re going to want to be near campus. For me, I work in downtown Urbana, so when I was looking at homes to buy this summer, I looked at homes in the west part of Champaign and the southern part of Urbana and in Savoy. The market was pretty competitive. The offer I put in for a home in Urbana wasn’t accepted, and that was my preferred neighborhood because it’s close to my work and always has a lot of events going on. I ended up getting a house in the west part of Champaign, which is young people with families and retirement communities, but it’s a nice neighborhood. If you have school-aged kids, Savoy is better because they have very good schools there, but the homes are more expensive.
How did you make friends and professional connections after graduation? What’s the best way to meet people?
Speaking from experience, the easiest way I found to meet other people and young professionals is through your hobbies. I’m really into running and other fitness activities like biking. There are a couple of clubs around town – one is a running club called Second Wind Running Club. It’s a great group of people who share the same passion. There are a lot of young people there to expand your network. I go to the biking club, which is a great group of young people who are young professionals or graduate students. I do some volunteering, too, so in those situations, you get to meet new people. I play ultimate frisbee, which has a great recreational league. There are events happening around town. There’s always something on the weekends, like Oktoberfest or the Christmas market. I try to explore some of those events.
This article was sponsored by Experience Champaign-Urbana.