As the economic decline continues and the job market shrinks, many students may find non-profit positions more attractive. Although many still hope to get jobs in the business world, some report growing interest in the non-profit field.
Donna Harner, co-director of the Career Center, said twice as many students attended a recent non-profit career forum than in previous years.
"Students deal with peer pressure to choose certain career paths. Many are afraid that other students will look at [teaching or non-profit work] and say, OWhy would you want to be a teacher?'" Harner said. "People are now openly choosing those jobs. Deep in their hearts, it was really what they wanted to do."
But some students still see non-profit work as a second alternative to jobs in the financial sector, said Anna Steen, a campus recruiter for the Oregon-based consulting firm Stockamp and Associates, Inc.
"Although some students are looking for backups, I think [the reality of not] getting their first or second choice has not hit them. In May, they may find themselves hurting," Steen said.
Steen has encountered many nervous students, consistently asking about the stability of the company. She added that the firm is now almost completely overlooking liberal arts majors and even screening business majors more carefully.
For many students, the decision to work in the non-profit sector will be affected by the direction of the economy in the coming months.
"I'm hoping that by the time I begin looking, the economy will have improved. Money is always tight and a [lack of financial resources] is always a concern [when entering] non-profit [jobs]," junior Ashley D'Uva said.
Although some students still hope for investment banking or consulting positions, these job options have significantly declined since the economic downturn began, said Virginia Bryson, a consultant with Towers Perrin. She said the applicant pool during a recent recruiting trip to Duke had changed significantly since the Sept. 11 attacks.
"There are more students looking for more opportunities.... While more people are looking for work, those who would have solely considered consulting or banking positions now give much broader alternatives when we ask them what other sectors they are considering," Bryson said. "That would include jobs in the non-profit [sector]."
Corey Folliard, recruiting coordinator for Mercer Management Consulting, Inc., said the company will hire between 40 and 50 undergraduates this year. Although these numbers are the same as last year, Mercer will not host a summer internship program in 2002.
Although many students said they are still pursuing a financial job, others have already expressed interest in the non-profit sector, in areas such as teaching.
Kate Miller, a senior majoring in public policy, recently decided to wait a year before going to law school.
"I wanted to use my Spanish, but the pay in Asia [for teachers] is better right now, so I will probably end up going there," Miller said. "It can't hurt my law school application, but I did this mainly for myself. It was more of a personal decision."
Although some students have searched for jobs in non-profit fields because of the slacking economy, others seek them as a bridge between college and graduate school.
Jim Hamilton, the campus Peace Corps recruiter at North Carolina State University, said many students choose non-profit jobs for the personal experience and to make their graduate school applications more competitive.
"[Students] don't want a desk job straight out of college. They want a job where they can get a Odifferent' experience," said Hamilton, who entered the Peace Corps after college and volunteered in Paraguay from 1993 to 1995.
Regardless of their choices, Harner said students should look to the economic decline as an opportunity to learn.
"Kids need to embrace [the change in the economy] as an opportunity to do a lot of learning," she said. "Those who do the information gathering... come out at a higher level in terms of being able to manage their own companies."
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