An unprecedented financial crisis and uncertain future has left many students at Boston University’s School of Management confused and anxious about their job prospects in the business world.
“Compared to a year ago, we’ve definitely hit a very hard time,” SMG senior Ashan Walpita said. “People are not going to get finance jobs for the most part at the end of this year when they graduate.”
Wall Street has been turned upside down during the last two weeks, as nearly all of the nation’s major financial institutions have succumbed to bankruptcy, buyouts or government rescues.
The Bush administration is urging Congress to pass a $700 billion bailout for the troubled companies and approved new regulations that will allow investment banks to become commercial lenders.
“Within the space of 12 months, we’ve gone from having five investment banks to having none,” he said. “I’m focused on strategy consulting, and in economic downturns, one of the first things to go for companies is the consulting budget . . . They might not be hiring as fluidly as they were a year ago.”
Jobs in the finance industry will not disappear, but graduating seniors might have to rethink their specific career paths, SMG accounting department executive-in-residence Ray Wilson said.
“There will be lots of jobs in finance, but they may very well be different from the jobs a year ago,” he said. “People who want to work in the industry need to keep tune with all these changes, so they can understand what this new world will look like.”
The crisis on Wall Street reaches beyond SMG students and will eventually affect everyone, Wilson said.
“There are fundamental changes taking place in the capital markets, in the entire financial structure, that will affect everybody who has a bank account or who wants to borrow money or who wants to invest,” he said.
While few SMG students said they have had job offers rescinded, this crisis reminded them of the uncertainty of the financial market.
“I don’t think anybody knows, because the rules are changing right before our eyes, so some or all of the models that people use to predict this stuff — the rules are changing so the models have to change,” Wilson said.
Despite the credit crunch, several financial services companies, including the local Fidelity Investments and John Hancock Financial, are slated to recruit students at SMG’s annual career fair next Thursday.
“Maybe this year, they’ll only be looking for one person, instead of a couple of people,” SMG senior Christina Caprice said. “I think it’s going to take another month or two to see how the finance recruiting pans out.”
Even for those not directly affected, the financial crisis serves as a learning tool, SMG senior VB Suresca said.
“It’s interesting being a witness to what’s unfolding on Wall Street,” he said. “Anything can happen.”