Until last week, 23-year-old Jarl Ginsberg, was an options trader at Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc. But when the company's parent filed for bankruptcy court protection in the largest collapse of any Wall Street firm, Ginsberg was forced to consider his alternatives. Getting a master's of business administration would give him ``credentials and credibility,'' and it would buy him time while the industry limps back on its feet. The shine on the MBA degree, the yuppie ticket to bigger and better things that has been coveted for more than a decade, has yet to tarnish. Despite fresh and massive layoffs on Wall Street, businesspeople and students alike still say the degree makes a difference. Business schools anticipate no drop in applications, though students are shifting their studies away from risky investment banking in favor of consulting and more traditional areas like corporate finance. Many new MBAs have yet to chip away at the loans they took out to foot the degree. A few are considering drastic career changes. One 30-year-old investment banker who graduated from Columbia University's business school two years ago owes nearly $25,000 on college loans. But job prospects have dimmed so astonishingly that he is preparing to apply to law schools. ``Career paths within banking are fairly restricted now,'' he said, speaking anonymously so he wouldn't officially violate his company's ``don't-talk-to-the-press'' policy. ``It's time to look beyond banking.'' What drove hordes of people to the financial services industry via business school was the promise of financial rewards that practically knew no bounds. Recruiters visiting the Columbia campus a few years back were offering starting salaries of $75,000 and ``the unspoken promise of $250,000 five years out,'' one recent grad remembers. Today, financial companies are not even showing up to talk to students, let alone offer them jobs. At New York Univeristy's Stern School, ``all companies are cutting back and some are canceling their schedules'' to interview for summer internships, said Howard Leifman, assistant director of the school's office of career development. At Columbia, director of placement and career services Elizabeth Katsivelos said there haven't been any ``excessive cancellations.'' But she did note that more students are showing an interest in consulting and manufacturing. In 1986, the go-go days of Wall Street, 31 percent of Columbia's MBA grads went to brokerage houses and investment firms. Last year, the number dwindled to 16 percent, and Katsivelos called further declines possible. Some insiders predict only a mere 10 percent of the Drexel people will actually land jobs in financial services in New York. More than 5,000 Drexel employees were expected to lose their jobs. According to a study of recent MBA graduates from the prestigious Wharton School in Philadelphia, those accepting jobs in the Northeast have dropped more than 7 percent, while those moving to the South jumped 56 percent. For those willing to pack it all in and move, many will find themselves trapped by real estate they can't readily unload. Cooperative apartments in Brooklyn Heights, which offers a bird's-eye view of Wall Street, are either being deeply discounted or taking months to sell. At the peak of the city's real estate boom a few years ago, a modest, two-bedroom apartment sold for $225,000 in a less fashionable Brooklyn neighborhood. Local realtors now tell the owners they'll have to drop to about $190,000 if they want a quick sale. ``You're stuck with property you've paid a lot of money for,'' one homeowner complained. For those who do manage to land on their feet, the question becomes just how solid the foundation will be. Do they have any chance of earning their previous salaries? One 28-year-old trader, who earned $100,000-plus at a Wall Street firm, has been unemployed since September. His prospects are even bleaker now that he's competing with another few thousand Drexel jobless. Though he received a generous severance package, there's only money left to cover living expenses for his family and the mortgage on his designer duplex loft for another eight months. Then, of course, there's a certain amount of guilt to be dealt with after riding the wave of greed and materialism. Some of Wall Street's unfortunate said they were embarrassed they didn't see the end coming. ``I feel responsible for not anticipating things better,'' said one.
