Well, it's sad that the professor's advice for how to get a job today is "networking", same as it always was. I feel bad for those who don't have family or friends who work in the industry.
The job market is the pits and feels more like a game of musical chairs than an evaluation of aptitude and ethics. Lots of old paths are getting very narrow. Some are closing.
But we now have tools that let you just build big things, all by yourself. In this new world, bonafide coding expertise is helpful. But it's not required. New graduates should just get out there and start making things.
As for the new city risk, you take that risk with the potential upside it could bring, but everyone will be wary. People new to a city are a risk because of all the reasons they might've left an old city.
What do you mean? You go to a new city in search of new opportunities, not to escape anything bad. The same reason you go to a new country, right?
risks you take when you commit a crime worthy of jail.