Wall Street where bankers toil for long hours in pursuit of millions -- even billions -- of dollars, and where droves of top university students historically aspired to work.

 

But since the recession of 2007, America’s banking sector has come under attack for its greed and excess and Wall Street has lost some of its luster.

 

Craig Anzalone worked for 20 years at a big bank before deciding a year ago that enough was enough.

 

"The environment changed a lot. Some of the things that I experienced during that period of time didn’t feel good. I wanted to feel that I had impact in a way that mattered to me." Craig Anzalone, Director of Client Services, Professionals for Nonprofits said.

 

Craig went to Professionals for Nonprofits seeking career change and was promptly snapped up by the agency instead.

 

Gayle Brandel hired him. She says about one of five jobseekers who now approach her recruiting firm are from a finance background, compared with just 1 out of 25 before the recession. And the bulk of these jobseekers, she says, are recent university graduates.

 

"Many of the people that graduated from school that would have ordinarily gone to Wall Street have decided for various reasons -- whether they could not get a job or whether that they decided they wanted to find something more meaningful in their lives -- they have started coming into the nonprofit sector." Gayle Brandel, CEO of Professionals for Nonprofits said.

 

Another area attracting young financial talent is the technology sector, known to be where new and big things happen. Open work spaces and a cutting edge vibe give it bonus points.

 

Elisabetta Bartoloni, who recruits executives for the financial sector, says many young graduates aren’t willing to put in the grueling hours a finance career often requires.

 

"They’re looking for flexibility in terms of hours, in terms of working from home or working at work working, clearly, in the office. They’re looking for work-life balance. So working on the weekends, having to be in the office over the weekends, those are becoming more of something that people think about in the way they think about their careers." Elisabetta Bartoloni, Consultant of Heidrick and Struggles said.

 

Wall Street is aware of this changing dynamic and some financial firms including Goldman Sachs have put in place limits on hours to retain and attract staff.

 

But for many young talent, especially those who identified with the protestors camping out here at Zucotti Park in the early days of the Occupy Wall Street movement, making a difference will be the perk that really matters.