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Beyond the Big Bucks of I-Banking and Consulting
By
Karen Martell
January 31, 2005
Seniors face a number of challenges as they prepare to leave
Stanford University, whether it’s finishing those pesky
General Education Requirements, writing an honor’s thesis, savoring every minute
with friends who will soon move thousands of miles away, or --
the most difficult of all -- figuring out what to do after graduation.
Hoping to introduce Stanford students to the field of international
development,
Professor David Abernethy, Professor Emeritus in Political Science,
established two years ago a Development Careers Discussion Group
to give Stanford students the opportunity to consider their place
in the global community.
“When I was teaching, I focused more on the world my students
would enter than on their plans to engage the world,” Abernethy
explained. “In retirement I have been able to shift my
focus and ask, given a Stanford undergraduate’s understanding
of what the world will be like, what will her or his plans to
engage it be?”
Last week, Abernethy’s group most recently brought six
Stanford Graduate School of Business students to speak about
their international experiences. The six panelists chronicled
their paths in the field of business and international development,
unveiling different approaches in addition to valuable insight
and perspective to impressionable and curious undergraduates.
Panelists first spoke of students’ options, for many students
debate which firms to work for after graduation and feel pressure
to pursue the big name corporations. Katia Karpova, having worked
with a small international development firm for over nine years
in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, mostly on World Bank and
USAID projects, offered a different perspective and suggested
that students consider working for smaller firms.
“Within nine months of working in my firm I was in the
field, immersed in new topics and faced with the challenge of
addressing the needs of the community. As a result of an intimate
work environment and limited resources I received greater responsibility
and in turn became more adept in my field,” said Karpova.
The panelists emphasized the importance of expertise and specialization
as well. Allison Coppel, who has been a consultant to the World
Bank’s office in Mali and to CARE Guatemala, was hired
as a result of specific coursework and a narrowly defined thesis.
As Coppel said, “I did my thesis on Mali and though I know
a small percentage of what there is to know about Mali, I know
far more than most and that was marketable.”
On a similar note, Pivan Ahluwalia, another panelist, said, “Don’t
underestimate the value of keeping on top of ideas. Ideas gain
currency. Make sure to bridge the cutting edge of academic knowledge
with real world growth and change.”
Anyone familiar to the field of international development knows
the value of field experience. As students prepare to graduate,
they wonder how best to gain the skills and insight while simultaneously
being as effective as possible. Several panelists, such as Pivan
Ahluwalia, suggested, “Go now, because I mean when else
can you?” Coppel agreed, saying “Yes get your hands
dirty, learn about the land, the culture, and what drives these
societies.”
Chi Nguyen, who worked at the United National Development Programme
office in Hanoi, Vietnam and who did several years of consulting
prior to going overseas, had a different opinion. “Though
field experience is valuable, college is one of the few times
you have the support of a Career Development Center and when
you are ‘on track’ for a business career. Once you
have the skills, you will have greater options. Just make sure
to take advantage of what might be difficult to achieve in the
future.”
Some students indicated that they felt the desire to both help
others and to make money conflicted with one another. One asked, “Until
now I had never considered consulting. I associated consulting
with greed and the public sector with altruism. What are your
thoughts on the division between private and public?”
Karpova responded, “For profit is not necessarily bad.
Uniting the efficiency, drive, and accountability of for profit
firms and applying those skills to the public sector through
consulting results in greater economic and social growth, something
you should embrace, not criticize.”
The panelists also illustrated the humanitarian possibilities
even within the “big name” consulting firms like
BAIN and McKinsey. Ahluwalia, as a McKinsey Consultant, led a
team to create a national organization for India’s largest
non-profit agency in primary education and advised the Chief
Minister of Delhi on privatizing the state-owned water utility.
Likewise, Alex Krivkovich, a BAIN Consultant, specialized in
BAIN’s
non-profit training program and worked on environmental conservation
projects in Southeast Asia with a local non-profit consulting
firm and spent last summer in the Philippines interning with
an international NGO focusing on economic development and environmental
conservation.
Contact Karen Martell at martelka@stanford.edu
