Sam Trinch Jr. and his sister Shonna Trinch faced the same dilemma after earning their college degrees.

If the former Grove City residents wanted to really use the education they'd earned, they couldn't do it here.

"It's not just an issue of less pay, it's less opportunity," said Trinch.

He and Ms. Trinch both moved away from the area where they were raised because they felt their options were limited.

"I pretty much had to leave," said Ms. Trinch, a professor of Spanish and Linguistics at Florida State University. That meant leaving her network of family and friends in the area after earning her doctorate of Spanish Linguistics at the University of Pittsburgh in May.

"But it was very traumatic for me to do that," she said.

"There are always ways to stay around if you want to, but you make a lot of sacrifices professionally if you do," she said.

It wasn't so much a lack of jobs that sent Ms. Trinch packing as it was the less competitive pay and fewer opportunities in her field.

According to census figures, over 1,800 18-24 year-olds have moved out of Mercer County since 1990.

Sam Trinch blames lack of vision or "innovation" in the technical businesses in western Pennsylvania as the reason for his departure from the state.

Trinch -- dually-degreed in electrical engineering and engineering and public policy -- has worked for Motorola, Inc., first in Austin, Texas, and now in Chicago, since his graduation from Carnegie Mellon University in 1992. He said he received almost ten different job offers, including a couple decent offers from Pennsylvania businesses.

But he said they didn't offer the future he was looking for.

"There are some good jobs in this area, but not a whole lot offering what's going to help the next generation," said Trinch, citing the dearth of manufacturing businesses in the state, particularly in Western Pennsylvania.

He also emphasized the few higher tech companies in the area that take risks or "drive the next generation type of innovation" and how that puts a cap on salary and advancement for employees.

His sister said a similar situation exists in education.

"The state of Florida is really growing, especially in higher education. It's really progressive here and a lot of young people are coming here," said Ms. Trinch.

"I don't think it would happen in Pennsylvania because there is so much less population, but they really need to see it happen."

Trinch said he thinks the state offering scholarships to science and tech students who choose to stay in Pennsylvania is a step in the right direction.

"I think they should absolutely invest in that," Trinch said. "They need to implement those kind of things to keep the kind of talent the area needs to go ahead into the future."

Neither Trinch sibling sees themselves moving back to Pennsylvania anytime soon, though they would like to.

Ms. Trinch said, "As far as my feelings go, I would love to be back in the area."

But Trinch said the chances are slim. "The only way I could foresee myself coming back to the area is to run a company, or as a plant manager; a job very close to the top. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot of them out there."