According to the 2013 Corporate Recruiters Survey by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) published on May 24, the job market continues to improve for graduate business school degree holders, as more employers plan to hire MBAs and specialised business master’s talent compared to the previous year. GMAC engaged with its partners, European Foundation for Management Development and MBA Career Services Council for conducting the survey. The survey was administered to 5,331 graduating students attending 159 universities in 33 countries. Key findings:
* US employers expect to pay new MBAs, a median salary of $95,000 (approx `54 lakh, up from $90,000 (approx `51 lakh) last year, although salaries vary substantially by region of work. This represents a $43,000 (approx `24 lakh) premium compared with the earnings for bachelor degree-holders among US employers.
* The average number of new MBAs, employers worldwide expect to hire, is 14.6, up from 11.4 that were hired last year.
* Sectors in which more employers worldwide plan to hire MBAs this year than in 2012 include: energy/utilities (86 per cent, up from 69 in 2012); healthcare (89 per cent, up from 77 in 2012); and consulting (79 per cent, up from 69 in 2012).
* Although fewer full-time two-year MBAs had early job offers this year than last (61 per cent, compared with 64), the percentage of master of accounting graduates with job offers was 76 per cent, up from 65 surveyed last year.
* Only 54 per cent of graduates searching for jobs in the finance/accounting industry had offers, down from 61 per cent last year. One reason cited for this was the greater attractiveness of finance/accounting sector among career switchers, with just about as many graduates entering the industry as leaving it, signalling a recovery from last year’s findings and greater competition for jobs.
* More career-switching graduates are entering consulting, healthcare, and energy/utilities fields than leaving it. They tend to leave products and services, manufacturing, nonprofit/government, and technology sectors than entering them. For the complete survey, log onto www.gmac.com/surveys.