Get Herald RSSLike many of his classmates, Dan MacCombie '08.5 has been looking for consulting jobs. But with the economic crisis making many of these opportunities evaporate, the soon-to-be graduate is setting his sights south: He plans to travel to Ecuador in January and February, working to develop a sustainable beverage company that he might pursue when he returns to New York in March.
"Everywhere I talked to that had job postings up in the spring is no longer hiring," he wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "I don't know where I'll end up, but I'm going to bust my chops trying to find something good," he wrote, adding, "There is, of course, always retail..."
The 93 undergraduate students finishing their Brown careers alongside MacCombie this Saturday will enter an economy in a now-official recession and face a national unemployment rate that reached 6.5 percent in October.
"It would seem that 2008.5 graduates have been impacted by the poor economy, however it's difficult to gauge the extent," Bill Bordac, communications and public relations officer for the Career Development Center, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. There has been a decrease in organizations recruiting on campus, he wrote, adding that finance and banking have been hit the hardest.
Finance, construction work, real estate and banking are feeling the economic downturn more than other fields, though these effects will spread, according to Senior Lecturer in Economics Rachel Friedberg. "There is kind of a trickle-down. A lot of funders and big donors earn their money in finance. That could hurt nonprofits."
But students should not worry about long-term job prospects, Friedberg said. "No one knows how long (the recession) will last, but it is a temporary downturn," she said.
The economic situation is tough for everyone, she said, but the "silver lining" is the opportunity to travel or attend graduate school. "I've gotten more requests than usually for references for school," she said. "You're making yourself more valuable to a prospective employer" by accruing advanced degrees, she added.
But Josh Fintel '08.5 said that when he applies for law school next fall, he expects to face increased competition from stronger and more numerous candidates who have been turned away from a saturated financial sector. "So many of the people who would have walked into finance are now pursuing law school," he said. "I'm a little worried in the short term."
Fintel said he will be applying in January to Teach For America, which he believes will also see increased competition. With the economic crisis compromising certain careers, he said, "it just makes a lot of sense to pursue a two-year passion project."
Fintel added that he is keeping his mind and plans open. "My chances are in no way guaranteed," he said.
The academic sector is also affected, as many universities have put a freeze on hiring. Brett Cropp '08.5 is currently completing his last course at Brown while working as a research assistant at Cornell University, where he had expected to pursue his research in the spring - before the University temporarily stopped hiring.
"Since I have been barred from receiving an employment extension, I will be unemployed come January," Cropp wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "I think I'll lay low for awhile with the cash I've accumulated and weigh my options," he added.
In these uncertain times, some students are returning to companies for which they have previously worked. Caroline Mailloux '08.5 had a job at an occupational and environmental public health consulting firm in Massachusetts during her three-semester-long leave, and will resume her research position there in January.
"I only 'got' this job because it's one that I'm already well established with - I am very fortunate that I did not need to formally apply or interview," she wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. She added that she was surprised that many students searching for opportunities in the nonprofit world are facing difficulties, while students in the financial sector seem to her to be finding jobs.
Neil Vangala '08.5 said he has several job offers in consulting and banking, but he added that he found the interview process more rigorous than in past years and employers less likely to hire inexperienced candidates. "It's going to be more competitive," he said. "But Brown kids are well-equipped."
Vangala added that though the economic downturn creates many challenges, it is also conducive to new opportunities. "We can maybe ride the wave up," he said.
The CDC offers programming this semester aimed at finding jobs in a difficult economy, and Bordac wrote that this will be continued next semester.
In his e-mail to The Herald, Bordac added that "the CDC would also like to stress that networking, the doorway to the hidden job market, is an especially valuable tactic in a tight economy."
