Salary Survey—Top Employers Business Graduates

Following are the top employers by number of offers and their average starting salary offer for business grads*:

*Source: Fall 2005 Salary Survey, National Association of Colleges and Employers. Data are for bachelor's-level business majors.

Job Outlook 2007 Fall Preview Report:
College Hiring

Employers responding to NACE's Job Outlook 2007 Fall Preview survey expect to increase college hiring by 14.5 percent during the 2007-08 academic year.

Not only does it mark the third straight year that employers are planning an increase in hiring new college graduates, but it is the third straight year of projected double-digit hiring increases.

Following are a sample of results from the report:

Projected percentage increase in college hiring by sector:

• Service—21.6 percent
• Manufacturing—8.2 percent
• Government/Nonprofit—3.2 percent
• Overall—14.5 percent

Projected increases in hiring expectations by region (percent of respondents):

• Northeast—25.8 percent
• South—17.6 percent
• Midwest*—0.8 percent
• West—15.8 percent

*Note: One Midwestern employer plans a 73 percent decrease in college hiring due to company reorganization. Remove this respondent's projections and the result is an overall increase of 9.1 percent for the Midwest region.

Members can get a copy of the Job Outlook 2006 Fall Preview report—featuring hiring projections by sector and region as well as projections for campus visits—at www.naceweb.org/pubs/JobOutlook/default.htm.

Note: The Job Outlook 2007 traditional report survey was mailed to employers on August 22. Please respond by the September 30 deadline. If you have not received your survey or have questions, please contact Andrea Koncz at 800/544-5272 ext. 121.
(NACE Spotlight Online September 2, 2005)

Hot Degrees for Class of 2005-06—Job Outlook 2006 Report Now Available

Employers expect to hire 14.5 percent more new college graduates in 2005-06 than they did in 2004-05, according to respondents of NACE's Job Outlook 2006. This marks the third consecutive year in which the increase in college hiring has reached double digits.

Not surprisingly, at the associate degree level, employers are focused on graduates with degrees in business, technology, and engineering-related fields. Similarly, at the bachelor's and master's degree levels, employers expect to target graduates with degrees in business, engineering, and computer-related fields. At the doctoral level, employers are most interested in grads with engineering, science, and computer-related degrees.

Top degree-areas in demand (associate degree level):

• Business
• Technology
• Engineering

Top degrees in demand (bachelor's degree level):

• Mechanical engineering
• Electrical engineering
• Accounting
• Business administration/management
• Economics/finance

Top degrees in demand (master's degree level):

• M.B.A.
• Electrical engineering
• Mechanical engineering
• Accounting
• Computer engineering

GMAC: Job Market for M.B.A.s on the Rise

Half of students finishing M.B.A. degrees this year had job offers by mid-March, according to a recent survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), an organization of business schools. GMAC received responses from 5,829 students at 129 business schools.

The results indicate 2005 is the most successful job-hunting year for new business school graduates since 2001, when 64 percent of students had offers. For further comparison, 42 percent had job offers at the same point in 2004.

Salary expectations also rose, with the average respondent expecting to earn $84,318 after graduation, compared to $76,147 a year ago.

According to the survey, 45 percent of M.B.A. grads plan to enter a different field from the one in which they worked before they attended business school. The fields with the greatest net loss of business school students were nonprofit/government, followed by high technology and manufacturing. The biggest gainers were consulting and finance/accounting and health care/pharmaceuticals.

The good news from the GMAC survey is similar to results of NACE's 2005 M.B.A. Benchmark Survey, in which employers estimated that they would hire 24.9 percent more new M.B.A. graduates in 2004-05 than they did in the 2003-04 academic year.

Manufacturers project the biggest increase in M.B.A. hiring, with plans to hire nearly 29 percent more new M.B.A.s this year. By region, M.B.A. hiring is expected to increase most sharply in the Midwest (up 35.9 percent), but all regions report positive hiring projections.

NACE found that, on average, responding employers expect to offer a base salary of approximately $72,930. When benefits and perks are added, the overall compensation package for an M.B.A. hire averages $93,770. (There was a wide range of responses; in terms of salaries, employers reported starting salaries that ranged from a low of $34,000 to a high of $103,000).

Still, more than half plan to pay their new M.B.A.s more than $75,000 a year. And if that isn't enough, more than half of the respondents (58.3 percent) expect to "sweeten the pot" with a signing bonus.

For information about the 2005 M.B.A. Benchmark Survey Report, containing complete results, see http://www.naceweb.org/products/2005_mbabenchmark.htm. (Note: Respondents received a complimentary copy of the 2005 M.B.A. Benchmark Survey Report.) Members can access the Executive Summary to the 2005 M.B.A. Benchmark Survey at http://www.naceweb.org/infocenter/surveys/mba_report_2005.htm.
(NACE Spotlight Online June 9, 2005)

About NACE: Since 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates.

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