If you’re looking for an answer to the question you’ve probably asked yourself a million times— why get an MBA? —you can add this to the list of responses: Because you’re likely to get hired!
The continued upward momentum of MBA holders in the global labor market is especially encouraging in light of the overall grim employment trends for bachelor’s degree holders and experienced direct-industry hires.
A new article posted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC)—the makers of the notorious b-school admissions test, the GMAT—outlines key findings in two complementary surveys posted in late May 2014: the 2014 Corporate Recruiters Survey and the 2014 Global Management Education Survey.
The former study uncovered a 7% jump in anticipated MBA hires as well as projected hiring increases for masters of management, accounting, finance, and other specialized graduate degrees.
“More companies in all sectors and across the world plan to hire business school graduates, with projected hiring rates the highest for all degree types since the Great Recession started in 2009.”
-Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC CEO and President.
Key findings include:
- Half of the global employers surveyed plan to hire master of management graduates, up from 45 percent last year.
- 45 percent of employers worldwide plan to hire master of accounting graduates, up from 36 percent last year.
- 44 percent of employers worldwide plan to hire master of finance graduates, up from 39 percent last year.
- Out of communication, managerial, teamwork, leadership, and technical skills, employers say communication skills are the most important ones they seek in new hires—on average twice as important as managerial skills.
- The median base salary that employers expect to offer MBAs are US$95,000 in the US and US$69,000 in Europe, as compared with US$50,000 for US bachelor’s graduates and US$41,000 for European bachelor’s graduates. Projected median MBA base salary in Asia-Pacific is US$21,340, reflecting much lower per-capita income in the region.
If you haven’t started on your path yet, consider prepping for the GMAT, your first step to the good life as an MBA.
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The post Why Get an MBA? To Get Hired! appeared first on Kaplan GMAT Blog.
