The wise words of Monica Bing of TV's "Friends" will ring in the ears of 1,077 Dartmouth students come June: "Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're gonna love it." But while some know what the next stop after Hanover will be, the faltering economy is leaving many seniors to wonder what the real world has in store.
Finding a job in today's market is no easy endeavor. The New York Times' financial section reported on March 1 that Americans are currently more worried about job prospects than at any time since 1993. This past February, the unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent and the economy lost 308,000 jobs.
The status of the economy, and, thereby, the job market are further threatened by the current war in Iraq, according to economics professor Patty Anderson,
The war "could easily help boost production in certain fields. But then again, the very uncertainty generated by the war causes the stock market to falter," Anderson said.
Anderson does not see Bush's tax cuts ameliorating the situation. "In theory, tax cuts encourage firms to invest more. Part of that investment should be in people -- but it doesn't always work out that way."
Despite this, Anderson is optimistic. In historical terms, the unemployment rate is not very high. Also, there is a lot of churning in the job market all the time -- firms are always hiring and firing. Fields that students found easy to get jobs in one year may prove more difficult the following year, regardless of the status of the economy.
Jobs on Wall Street are the most affected by the faltering economy. Students seeking jobs in finance and consulting, like Travis D'Amato '03, have faced the greatest challenges.
"I think the job market is very difficult right now, and it makes it more difficult to find a job in the field I would most like to work in," said D'Amato, who wishes to land a job in international business or relations.
At the same time, marketing and advertising jobs are opening up, and a good number of opportunities are available in professions related to health care, insurance, risk assessment and government, Anderson said.
As a result of the struggling economy, students today are much more willing to explore the possibilities of non-finance, entrepreneurial work or graduate school, according to Assistant Director of Career Services Monica Wilson.
Anderson supports this open-minded approach to the job hunt. She advises students not to maintain unrealistic perspectives and to realize that the job market today is different than it was a year ago and will be different a year from now. "Be flexible, take what you can get and remember that your first job is not your job for life," Anderson said.
The grass is not always greener in less mainstream fields that are not directly affected by the stock market gyrations. "I'm trying to get into outdoor travel and having a hell of a time," Alex Hochner '03 said.
John Burr '03, a film major looking for a career in film producing or directing, attributes his difficulty in finding a job more to the career he has chosen than to the slumping economy.
Burr also acknowledges the geographic challenges involved in a career search. "I think that Dartmouth does a good job of helping students find work. However, unfortunately for me, largely because of proximity, it is a lot easier to find jobs through Dartmouth on the northeast than in L.A., where I hope to work," he said.
Still other seniors simply do not know what line of work they wish to be in. "It's my own fault," Robert Neill '03, an engineering modified with studio art major, said. "Sure, the economy and the tight job market have caused me to lower my standards, but I think the biggest problem is that I am not really sure what job I'm looking for."
Neill is not alone in his uncertainty, nor is it without justification, Wilson notes. It is the natural result of a fine liberal arts education. "By definition, the breadth of the Dartmouth education is so diverse and you are exposed to so many things that it is really hard to focus on one area of study or one career path," Neill admitted.
Despite the many challenges facing career-seeking Dartmouth students today, the fact is that Dartmouth students are at a distinct advantage over the majority of the unemployed American public, Wilson noted.
She explained that employers recognize that the quarter system requires that Dartmouth students be constantly adapting to change, learning quickly, working with diverse groups of people, multitasking and operating under tight deadlines. Employers are also impressed by students' technological proficiency and by their global perspective and language skills honed on foreign study programs.
