Benefits & Future Value of a Graduate Business Degree

It's all about value. A graduate management degree can help you launch a career.

There is an improved job market for management degree-holders based on the results of recent GMAC surveys of both b-school alumni now in the workforce as well as employers looking for MBAs and other graduate management new hires.

In the spring recruiting season of 2011 GMAC heard from more than 1,500 employers in 51 countries around the globe participating in the Corporate Recruiters Survey that companies were turning more towards growth and focusing less on just overcoming economic challenges and reducing costs. Newer survey findings suggest that these conditions are expected to continue in 2012 and companies’ goals are to focus on improved performance and productivity and expanding their customer base—and more companies are looking to hire MBAs and other graduate management talent to help them meet their goals.

A brief year-end poll of more than 200 global employers conducted by GMAC researchers in December 2011 shows encouraging job prospects for Class of 2012 grads who will be seeking jobs. Results show more companies reported plans to increase their hiring levels for all recently graduated management candidates this year, and employer hiring projections for 2012 reveal that:

• 74% of employers plan to hire MBAs (up from 58% in 2011),
• 59% plan to hire graduates of specialized master’s programs (up from 38% last year), and
• 51% plan to hire Master in Management graduates (up from 36% in 2011).

Starting salaries in 2012 are expected to stay strong—Nearly one-third (32%) of companies planning to hire MBAs in 2012 expect to increase annual base salaries of these candidates compared to 2011, and 65% of companies plan to keep starting salaries at the same level as those offered in 2011.

About a quarter of the companies planning to hire Master in Management (27%) and specialized business master’s (26%) candidates expect to increase the annual base salaries of these hires in 2012 compared with 2011.

Internships, which play a key role in the ability of many students to secure a job offer after graduation, are on the rise. Of the employers surveyed at the end of 2011, between 54% and 72% reported that they plan to offer paid internships in 2012, and 17% to 25% plan to offer unpaid internships. Responses to the year-end survey come from 229 employers representing 216 companies worldwide.

Learn more about what corporate recruiters are looking for in new MBA hires and the qualities they value most in MBA employees.

Bottom Line: It's All About Your Career

The value of a graduate business degree is clear. Three quarters of Class of 2011 alumni—75%—insist their degrees were essential for obtaining their post-graduation jobs. More than a decade of research about graduate business school alumni reveals two “truths” that have stood the test of time. B-school graduates remain eminently employable and consistently give their degrees rave reviews.

Findings reported in the recently released 2012 Alumni Survey Report are consistent with past results:

• The vast majority of more than 4,000 respondents—94%—reported being employed and nearly 9 in 10 members—86%—of the Class of 2011 had jobs upon graduation.
• Alumni from all the Class of 2011 across all program types reported that they saw, on average, a one-third return on their financial investment in their graduate degree within the first year after graduation. Alumni from the Class of 2007 reported a full return on investment (ROI), on average, approximately after four years after graduation
• 95% rate their graduate education as a good to outstanding value.
• That value is borne out in a marketplace where 4 in 5 (80%) alums from the Class of 2011 said their starting annual salaries met or exceeded their expectations.
• The median starting annual salary for Class of 2011 graduates across all program types who were starting a first job post-graduation was US $75,000.
• The median starting annual salary for all full-time MBA alumni in the survey, regardless of graduation year, was US$95,000 and median bonus compensation reported by full-time MBA alumni was US$18,123.