According to a recent survey conducted by Career Services, Dartmouth seniors have expressed less interest in finance-related fields as a career this year. However, corporate recruiting overall is expected to remain stable.
According to Associate Director of Career Services Kathryn Hutchinson, the most popular career choice for seniors this year is consulting, by a wide margin. Advertising, education, marketing, journalism and finance are "relatively close in popularity."
The overall drop in the popularity of finance-related fields has been attributed to the falling stock market, as reflected in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has lost over 1,000 points since June. Last year's seniors, who entered their jobs while the Dow was reaching record levels, feel lucky to have secured jobs when they did.
David Pichler '98, who works as an investment banking analyst for CIBC Oppenheimer, said he was part of "a record year" in terms of the number of students who participated in corporate recruiting. This year, he said, he thinks numbers will not be as high.
Corporate recruiters "won't turn off the spigot," he said, but workers next year will be working in a different environment than the record-setting bull year of 1998.
"The general confidence in the market has been shaken," he said. Pichler said he works in the bonds market, which was not as affected by sudden drops.
Though markets have been tumbling, Pichler said he is still busy, working 80 to 100 hours a week.
Hutchinson, who stressed that corporate recruiting is only one way of finding a job, said recruiting in other areas, such as healthcare, science and not-for-profit companies, will also be available. Twenty new employers have joined the program at Dartmouth this year, she said, including Fox Television and Abercrombie & Fitch.
Dartmouth students sent about 5,000 cover letters to employers through the recruiting process last year, and most students send between one and 30 applications to prospective companies. Hutchinson recommended not "playing the numbers," but rather applying to organizations that really interest students.