CS majors choose between start-ups and stability in a slowing market
The abrupt end to the celebrated dotcom honeymoon has left many former computer and technology enthusiasts disillusioned, and some graduating Computer Science majors are reevaluating their priorities. In the wake of recent sensationalist news headlines such as "Dotcoms don't deliver goods" and "Dotcoms drown in tide of hype and hope," some job-seekers are beginning to lose confidence in what was once the powerhouse of the contemporary economy. Computer Science Professor Thomas Cormen said that he has seen a marked change in the job market for computers and technology from one year ago. "Last year things were still looking rosy... anybody was hiring any warm body they could find," he said, adding that this year it appears that relatively fewer opportunities exist. Cormen said that several companies in the industry which have employed Dartmouth graduates in the past, including Sun Microsystems, are currently experiencing hiring freezes. Computer Science major Victor Wang '01 noted that the field has gotten more competitive this year because "there are really a lot of highly qualified people who've been laid off" due to the economic slowdown. According to Computer Science major Dave Castleman '01, graduating seniors seeking employment in the industry may have different priorities this year than last. "There's a lot more skepticism about joining a dotcom company or start-up than there has been in the past," he explained, adding that many seniors may be looking to larger companies for job security than before. The element of risk that characterized past graduates' desires for glory and stock options with smaller companies may no longer be a viable employment tactic in today's more sluggish economy. Castleman himself opted for postgraduate stability, accepting a job as an applications engineer at Oracle, a large San Francisco-based software company. Wang also took the safer route, procuring a position in wireless communications at TRW, a large software firm. Some students are taking bigger risks, however. Although Computer Science major David Latham '01 has been accepted into a graduate program at Stanford University, he may defer admission to take a job with "a relatively young computer software company" where he did an internship during a recent off-term. In addition, Computer Science major Justin Sarma '01, who has not yet begun his job search, is tentatively planning to join a dotcom or small computer company in the fall and said that, despite the financial slowdown, he is relatively optimistic about his prospects. "The technology industry is definitely suffering but I still think there's a lot of job opportunity in it," he said, hoping that the industry may pick up a bit by the time he enters the job market. Sarma did point out that it seems as though fewer students are opting for independent entrepreneurship in dotcoms this year than in the past. According to Cormen, this could be due to the fact that venture capital resources have been drying up. Castleman said he felt that, although many dotcom and software companies are "starting to have doubts," he doesn't feel that this has had a great effect on Dartmouth students' ability to find employment in existing firms. Cormen echoed Castleman's sentiments. "I still think that the good people will have no trouble getting good jobs," he stated. Indeed, Castleman and other Oracle recruits recently received a letter from the company's manager of university recruiting which attempted to assuage doubts in light of economic incertitude. "Oracle's success requires our technological staff to grow at a healthy rate," the manager assured its future employees, "which precisely is the reason why none of our university recruits -- our most prized source of talent -- is affected by the current economic slowdown"