As consulting firms and investment banks search among Dartmouth's senior class for the best and the brightest, it would appear at first glance that just about everyone is going through corporate recruiting.
But there seems to be more myth than reality to the "corporate slave" image that is so-often evoked regarding Dartmouth students' plans after graduation.
If the most recent graduates, the Class of 1996, are any indication, consulting and investment banking are the careers of choice for students in their first year or two out of college, but hardly anyone says they will end up in the corporate world in the long term.
'Post-graduate internship'
Of the 887 members of the Class of 1996 who last Spring term filled out Career Service's Senior Survey -- a questionnaire that asks seniors about their short- and long-term plans after graduation -- 63 percent said they planned full-time employment within the next year and 25 percent indicated a desire to pursue graduate study.
And of the seniors interested in full-time employment, more than half said they received offers in consulting, investment banking or other business occupations.
But it is unlikely that many of these College alumni will still be consulting or investment banking, for example, 10 years from now.
According to the survey, students do not plan to go into the corporate world for the long haul.
Of the '96s who were surveyed, medicine and health care was the most popular long-term career goal, followed closely by law. Sixteen percent of the respondents said they aspired to go into medicine or health care, and 13 percent indicated law as a long-term career choice.
On the other hand, just four percent stated business management was their top long-term career choice, three percent said investments, two percent answered finance and two percent said consulting.
Career Services Director Skip Sturman tried to explain the phenomenon, saying some students find their niche in such career prospects and continue over the years, while many more accept such opportunities for only a year or two for the experience or money before moving on to something else.
College President James Freedman speculated many seniors go through recruiting because it is the most accessible and advertised employment possibility. However, Freedman said he does not believe this is necessarily a measure of students' long-term interests.
Sturman agreed that the jobs they take through recruiting are not necessarily lifetime commitments.
"Often what students obtain is the equivalent of a post-graduate internship. The employers hope for a long-term commitment, but they anticipate that many students will only work for a short time," Sturman said.
Experiences and goals
Some members of this year's senior class said they are attracted to corporate jobs next year because of positive experiences they had interning during their sophomore or junior years.
Jonathan Hunnicutt '97 said he plans to work in investment banking -- at Merrill Lynch in New York City.
"I spent a summer there and I knew I would enjoy the type of work and experience I would get," Hunnicutt said. He said it would be a good way to spend a few years before going to graduate school or moving back to the West Coast.
Others like, Nishad Chande '97 said they knew since freshman year they were destined for corporate recruiting.
Based on his experiences in internships and through what he had heard from other students, Chande said he has narrowed his interest down to investment banking.
Despite the images of students selling themselves into apocryphal "consulting" positions, or into the number-crunching, 80-hour grinds of investment banks, Sturman said recruiting offers some wonderful and diverse opportunities for graduates in fields such as computer science, public policy, health care, finance and management consulting.
And, while some may stay in consulting or banking for a while, 73 percent of the survey's 887 respondents said they intend to enter graduate school within the next five years.
Other plans
While graduate schools and full-time employment represent the vast majority of what seniors normally pursue after graduation, there are some who intend to do other things.
These can include anything from training for the Olympics to teaching English in Japan, Sturman said. According to the survey of the '96s, one student even intended to brew beer as a career.
Amelia Stephenson '97 said she is still unsure of her plans after graduation, but she said she'd like to get a teaching internship in Germany.
"Ultimately I'd like to do something abroad before settling myself into a career in a big city such as New York," Stephenson said.
Katherine Hankins '97 said travel abroad may also be in her plans. She said she hopes to travel around the world, from East to West, before perhaps working at a research institute or a policy-making consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
As for the many ambitious Dartmouth seniors belonging to the "other" or "undecided" categories, Hankins said she has "every intention of creating circumstances that will fit whatever my agenda may be at any give moment."
And then there are the seniors who even during their final months at the College, are still undecided in which direction they should head.
Lynne Campbell '97, one such self-admitted "clueless senior" said next fall she could either be skiing in Colorado or working in San Francisco for a non-profit organization.
