Zach Dobbin (COL ’08) knew every year that he wanted to further his interest in science by getting a summer job. But he didn’t know where to go to find one.

“[Every] summer I tried to get some science-related job because I wanted to be actively doing something that is of interest to me,” Dobbin said. “It wouldn’t be of interest to me to be working at a bank or waiting tables all summer.”

Dobbin did have one idea – Georgetown’s MBNA Career Center. But upon finding that the center specializes primarily in providing finance and consulting jobs, he was stuck again.

And some other students agree. Although many say they are generally happy with the services provided by the Career Center, some find that the system benefits students in the McDonough School of Business over those from the other schools.

Dobbin, who is applying to medical school, said that he does not think all careers are viewed as equals at the Career Center, which offers career counseling for seniors as well as interview preparation and resume critiques.

“It’s primarily set up to help those pursuing finance and consulting jobs,” Dobbin said. “I never saw it as a place to go to if I were looking for a science-related internship or science-related job if I weren’t pursuing medicine. It was never advertised like that.”

Justin Cohen (MSB ’08) agreed.

“Most interviews were for finance and consulting jobs,” he said. “Anyone could apply, but it ends up being mostly business school students.”

Out of the employed graduates, the most popular job tends to be in the business-related fields, said J. Michael Schaub, executive director of the Career Education Center.

But Schaub said that business-related jobs are also popular among students in the School of Foreign Service, the College and the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

Many banking firms hold a platinum partner position at Georgetown, Schaub said, which means that Georgetown provides these companies with additional marketing opportunities to inform students about their job openings.

“Companies that request to use our interview suites and seminar space for a day of recruiting may choose to become platinum partners with the Career Center,” Schaub said. “Given that financial and consulting companies tend to be able to anticipate recruiting needs far in advance, these companies usually comprise our platinum partners.”

Schaub says that a majority of the recruiters that come to campus are indeed from the finance and consulting industries – during the last academic year, 51 percent of on-campus recruiters were from banking, finance or consulting. But he added that all top universities receive similar companies recruiting students.

“The banking, finance and consulting industries tend to have defined recruiting cycles and the resources necessary to recruit at university career centers,” Schaub said.

“The Career Education Center provides many opportunities to students who are not interested in finance and consulting,” he added.

Thea Terenik (MSB ’08) found that because Career Center events focus mostly on finance or consulting jobs, she has taken the job search into her own hands.

“It’s been helpful in letting me explore my options, but as I’ve gotten more serious about the job search, I’m pretty much doing things on my own because most on-campus events are finance- or consulting-oriented,” Terenik said. “It’s definitely helpful if you’re looking for a finance or consulting job.”

But Alison Noelker (COL ’07) said that she went with the Career Center to find her a job in science last year, and never looked back on the decision. Noelker said that she got a job at Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical company, through the Career Center.

“I came to the Center undecided as an American studies major. During spring semester, I would spend most Sunday afternoons just looking at new job postings,” Noelker said.

Schaub added that although the Career Center offers information on many banking firms, many students still manage to find jobs in other areas. He said that 69 percent of the job postings last spring in the Hoya Career Connection, the Career Center’s management system, belonged to industries outside of business, banking and consulting.

“This finding shows that the majority of jobs listed on HCC are not banking- or consulting-related,” Schaub said.

The Career Center administers an annual survey of each graduating class, looking at employment trends for that year. The results are released the following spring.

“A quick look at our Class of 2006 senior survey shows that, in addition to business, banking and consulting, graduates found opportunities in media, journalism, law, education, nursing, government, marketing, non-profits, pharmaceuticals, advertising and many other industries,” Schaub said. “The bottom line is that most Georgetown students are successful at securing post-graduation activities.”