The MBA Bull Market Has Legs
By
Alison Damast
originally posted
May 9, 2007
at Business Week
Study: More recruiter offers to MBAs, fewer to undergrads.
MBA students continue to be in an enviable position in this year's job market, riding the crest of a two-year uptick in hiring. Recruiters said they plan to increase their hiring of MBA graduates by 18% this year, the second consecutive yearly rise, according to a new report released last week by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), an international association of business schools and sponsor of the GMAT. However, the recruiters anticipate trimming the number of jobs aimed at people completing undergraduate degrees this year by more than 7%.
"All of this is good news to a young person studying for an MBA. It means that there is going to be more competition for the same population," said Dave Wilson, president and chief executive officer of GMAC. "With this competition, recruiters are getting more aggressive and creative."
B-school students can expect to make more than their other graduate school counterparts. Recruiters said they plan to offer annual base salaries that are 28% higher than what they will offer to candidates with other types of graduate degrees. MBA students will earn 84% more than people with only an undergraduate education, up nine percentage points from last year.
Employers are leaning toward hiring more MBA students because they are looking for people with managerial and team experience, Wilson said. "If you talk to recruiters, they're looking at people who are good at motivating teams and people who can think strategically," Wilson said. "That's what they conclude they can find in the MBA graduates."
The study relied on responses from 1,382 recruiters, representing 1,029 companies around the world that hire MBAs or others with graduate business educations, and is consistent with an earlier study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers of a sharp rise in MBA hiring in 2007 (see BusinessWeek.com, 12/5/06, "Forecast: MBA Hiring Up Again" ).
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