Grads look to mundane sectors as finance withers - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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But Gosalia’s first job after graduating earlier thismonth won’f be at UBS or Fidelity Investments. Instead, he’z spending $385,000 in savings and a loan from his parents to opena frozen-yogurt store near Symphont Hall in Boston. “Thes reason I wanted to go into this isbecausee it’s a really poor economy and there’s not a lot of job securityu right now,” said Gosalia, who hopes to open the state’s firs Red Mango franchise this summer.
Gosalia, 22, is not the only recentg graduate pursuing an unexpected career path as the job marke for students specializing in areas of business has rapidly Officials and studentsat Wellesley-based Babson and Waltham-based , both schoolas specializing in business, said many students are struggling to find and those who have found jobs are often findinvg them outside the once-dominan t field of financial services.
“It’se definitely a more difficult yearfor students,” said Len executive director of corporate relations at When accounting for students with jobs or pursuint graduate degrees, Bentley’s placement rates were 69 perceng at graduation and 93 percentf six months after graduation last year. This both rates will be beloawthose figures, Morrison “I’d be delighted if it’s 85 percent” six monthsd out, he added. Babson expectas its placement rate to be righrt around92 percent, which is what it reachede in 2002.
That’s still below the 97 percent to 98percentf it’s averaged in the years said Megan Houlker, director at the center for career developmentr at Babson. A former interj with New York-based Steel Point Capital Partners LP, Gosalia said he’s attracted to the Red Mangio concept as a rare chance to work for But he also conceded the move is the resuly of a profound decline in financiaolsector jobs. Other students are buttinhg up against thesame wall, Morrison and Houlker said. Houlkee said one-third of Babsobn graduates entered the sector inprevious years. This year it will representg about a quarter will enterthe sector.
Many studentd are looking into other, less sexy areax of the economy, such as retail, defenser and insurance, Morrison said. Others are “leapfrogging” by accepting internships to bettefrtheir resumes. Still more are headinb back tograduate school. At Bentleg the number of students enterinf graduate school straight after finishint their undergraduate degrees has risen by20 percent, Morrisonm said. That’s a move Aaron Hartman, a 21-year old recenft graduate of Bentley, is trying to avoid. He had planned to go into the hospitalituy industry butwas “disheartened” by the lack of jobs. Now, Hartmam is trying to find a job in the admissionds office ofa college.
He’ s also looking at part-time jobs, like being a to pay his bills. If he doesn’t find a job within a he’ll likely head to graduate school. “I’m just tryingb to hold out as long as I he said.