According to a BusinessWeek article, “Why MBAs are Going East,” the percentage of MBA grads taking jobs in Asia has more than doubled in the last five years. Now, more than 10% of an MBA graduating class will pack their bags and hop a plane out east. According to Michelle Conlin, author of the article, heading to Asia is this decade’s version of the American dream. Forget Wall Street, forget Silicon Valley, she says. For this era, it’s China.
Says Julie Morton, associate dean for career services at Chicago Booth: “There is a sense that the center of gravity is shifting.”
Assistant dean of Kellogg, Roxanne Hori, explains that a recession often results in students taking international jobs. But that this economic recession is different: This shift, explains Hori, is not a short term response to the recession, but “a structural shift toward an internationalized, mobile talent market…and…right now, Asia is where the career velocity and opportunities are.”
“Asia fever” is hitting students at top b-schools all over the U.S., including Chicago Booth, Columbia, Wharton, and others.
One Wharton student, Andrew Maywah, explains his attraction to China: “It’s like the Wild, Wild West. There is just so much happening there. I want to be at the center of it.”
Working in an emerging market provides young MBAs with a rush and with the “joys of geographic arbitrage.”
And it’s not just the Americans who want to go to Asia; Asian companies are eager to have bright, young b-school grads on their home turf—so much so, in fact, that top Asian companies have increased their recruiting initiatives in the U.S. Wharton has even gone so far as to open a career services office in Hong Kong.
Conlin concludes her article by asking how long the Asian allure will hold. Two obstacles may reduce the Asian attraction: First, she explains, “With protectionist talk rising in America, and china trying to put the brakes on its rapidly growing economy, there’s always a chance that Asia could stumble.” Second, migration to China could reduce the U.S.’s competitive edge—when else has America experienced the fleeing of its top minds and businessmen?
Related Accepted.com Blog Posts:
- “Study Abroad Numbers in Asia Remain Low, Despite International Attention“
- “Good News for MBAs: Job Opportunities Abound!“
- “MBA Graduates Face Tough Job Market“
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