The technology, manufacturing and healthcare sectors are more promising in terms of job opportunities for business school graduates, according to the findings of the Graduate Management Admission Council’s latest annual Global Management Education Graduate Survey.
Traditional industries like finance, accounting, products & services and consulting are not as likely to grant graduates an early job offer, according to the survey of 3,049 business school graduates at 111 universities across the globe. The manufacturing and healthcare sectors may be the undiscovered beaches of the business school job market, with 74% of students searching in these sectors reporting at least one offer, the greatest success rate of any industry.
The survey also suggests that technology could be a flourishing field in terms of employment opportunities for job-seeking graduates, with 61% of receiving job offers, accounting for 15% of all students with early offers. In 2010, only 9% of students with early offers were in the technology industry, indicating the growth of the sector in recent years.
Consulting, on the other hand, only accounted for 21% of job offers, on par with findings from the 2010 survey, indicating that opportunities have remained stagnant within the industry. Interestingly, this is the most popular field for career-switchers, as 27% of all career-changing graduates with job offers were in consulting. Government and non-profit jobs also remain a steady sector for business graduates, with 62% of those seeking jobs in this area receiving early offers, a figure that has not changed over the past five years.
Gregg Schoenfeld, GMAC survey research director commented, “This snapshot of the early job market for business school graduates demonstrates that graduate business degrees are useful in a wide variety of careers. While demand remains strong among traditional industries, business school graduates shouldn’t overlook alternative sectors, which are actively seeking MBA and other business school talent.”
Although salaries vary widely by industry, job level, and work location, the median increase in salary of those with job offers was 80% over their pre-degree salary. This figure is up from the 73% increase reported by business school graduates with early job offers in 2013, indicating that employers in all sectors recognise they need the business skills and acumen that graduates bring—a reassuring statistic for those on the job hunt.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
