Ah, graduation season. A time for reflecting on years spent in study and looking forward to a bright and sunny future. A little Robert Frost from the right speaker can make all the difference. At least that's what we're meant to believe.
But this year is tough for the current batch of college grads, as the troubled economy promises not a necessarily rosy sprint from the classroom to the dream job--especially if you thought that dream job was on Wall Street. The New York Times blog, DealBook, posted a piece yesterday chronicling the challenges facing the Class of 2009, many of whom were banking on a Wall Street job offer.
For many the siren call of Wall Street was hard to resist in recent years, and college students planned their courses of study appropriately. But I wonder if this current economy will encourage those entering universities in the fall to take a road that has been less travelled of late. Instead of Wall Street, perhaps the sciences will beckon this year's crop of bright young minds. There's no shortage of need, what with cancer, Alzheimer's Disease, and many other chronic conditions in desperate need of innovative research.
It might just make all the difference.
Congratulations and good luck to your son!
When I wrote "Instead of Wall Street, perhaps the sciences will beckon this year's crop of bright young minds" I meant this year's batch of HIGH SCHOOL grads--maybe some who were set on finance will consider going into the sciences instead.
I'm not sure you can count of Wall Street being out of the picture, especially for sophomores and juniors.
I have one son who just graduated with a BS in mechanical engineering from Penn State. He is looking for a full-time job. Where's the opportunity in health? Not that he's interested in that; his love is cars! Maybe with new emphasis from fed on developing new engines, he might yet find one in that nearly bankrupt industry!
Another son is majoring in Finance at Penn State. He will graduate in 2011, which is probably just in time for the emergence of the next bubble and subsequent Wall Street revival!