Two surveys conducted this spring by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) revealed that 2010 MBA graduates are significantly more optimistic about the economy than last year’s graduates and that employers, too, expected their job outlook to be better.
According to the 2010 Global Management Education Graduate Survey, fewer MBA students graduating this year had job offers at the time of the survey than did last year’s graduates, but overall, 2010 grads were significantly more optimistic about the economy in general. One in three MBA graduates this year believes that the economy is stable or strong, up from one in 10 last year. This even though only 33 percent of students surveyed at the time had received job offers, down 23 percent from the year before.
The survey of 2010 graduates, conducted from mid-February to mid-March, drew responses from more than 5,000 MBA students at 147 schools in 28 countries. In other key findings, the survey revealed that finance/accounting, products/services and consulting were the most sought-after industries among 2010 graduates, although job offers were greatest in the manufacturing, energy/utilities, and health care industries. The survey also found that participation in almost any extracurricular activity appeared to improve a graduate’s chances of having a job at the time of the survey, with internships and leadership positions having the greatest impact. Salary increases over pre-MBA pay were about the same this year as they had been for last year’s graduates, roughly 57 percent.
A second GMAC survey, the 2010 Corporate Recruiters Survey, found that employers expected the 2010 job outlook to be better for all types of candidates after a tough 2009. This survey, conducted in partnership with the European Foundation for Management Development and the MBA Career Services Council, drew responses from 1,960 companies in 57 countries.
According to the corporate recruiters surveyed, the job outlook is expected to improve across the board this year, with improvement especially noticeable for recent graduates with specialized masters degrees in business and MBAs.
Other key findings among corporate recruiters:
• Fifty-five percent of companies plan to hire 5 percent more than last year, and they expect to hire an average of eight MBAs.
• Demand for MBA graduates is expected to be the strongest in health care and pharmaceutical (64 percent) and consulting (62 percent) sectors.
• The average expected starting annual salary for recent MBA graduate hires in the U.S. is $89,141.
For the complete 2010 Corporate Recruiters Survey, click here. For the complete 2010 Global Management Education Graduate Survey, click here.
Read the full article: GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey Shows Cautious Optimism among MBA Graduates, Employers
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