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Oklahoma City, Okla. - Oklahoma City and Tulsa are among the best places in the country to work right now. But even more importantly, look at the industries that are holding these local economies up: Oil and gas, exporters (due to a weaker dollar), and government.

I point this out because it's possible for most students to stay with their majors but alter their career paths to work in one of these fields. As a chemistry major, I could have worked in oil and gas or done analytical work for well-funded labs in Oklahoma City. An English major could also have worked in any of these industries by applying for the right jobs before the recession.

It's more important to anticipate what is going to happen next than to pick the "right" major in college.

Oklahoma City was ranked third and Tulsa was seventh in a BusinessWeek report on the country’s 40 strongest metro areas.

And the report said America’s strongest economies shared one thing: home prices that never got too high or too low.

The report cited Oklahoma City as an oil and natural gas center and mentioned the metro as home to Devon Energy Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. Gross metropolitan product in the second quarter was down just 0.8 percent from a peak in 2008’s last quarter, and home prices grew 2.1 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, BusinessWeek said.

The report also listed the unemployment rate in June at 6.6 percent, up from 4.5 percent a year earlier.

Oklahoma City was one of several metro areas in which home prices remained steady through boom and bust, while the state was bolstered by its oil and gas industries.

Although oil prices fell off dramatically, they have climbed back to around $80 a barrel, which is good for the state’s economy. Both Oklahoma City and Tulsa have some prominent energy companies, including Williams Cos Inc. in Tulsa and Devon Energy Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. in Oklahoma City, Agee said.

Also, the weaker dollar abroad has helped Oklahoma manufacturers who export goods.

When all these pieces are pulled together, it makes sense that Tulsa and Oklahoma City rank high.

Russell Evans, director of Oklahoma State University’s Center for Applied Economic Research, pointed out that the government is the largest employer in the state and that during this recession there has been a lot of stimulus money and government employment.