Employment Outlook Dim For MBA’s
More workers are reacting to the dismal economy by going back for a masters degree in business administration. Many pursuing that option hope job prospects improve over the next couple of years. For some, an MBA program is a much better place to sit out the recession than the unemployment line, if nothing else.
Unfortunately MBA programs today do not favor such an option. Even top programs, such as the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, show a drastic drop in recruitment– all across the employment spectrum and financial consulting, where the best and the brightest graduates tend to migrate.
At Wharton, one student who went through the recruiting process last fall, is quoted as saying: “It was an absolute bloodbath. …There are no employers coming — no one knows what to do.” Making things worse, many people in graduating classes are left to secure, full-time jobs and earn an MBA. Many took on huge debt to finance the two-year program. If read by numbers, MBA programs look like another world compared to last year.
At 77 top business schools, 56 percent said on campus, full-time recruiting was down more than 10 percent in winter. Only 12 percent estimated that recruiting was down. 46 percent of career services officials said full-time postings were down more than 10 percent versus earlier numbers of 19 percent. 62 percent predicted internships, outside investment banking, will be down 31 percent in comparison to prior numbers. About 50 percent of career offices Sadi job postings were down more than 10 percent in comparison to the prior year of 2o percent.
Internships are also down significantly. This is important because it is generally believed that internships are the most reliable measure of number of job offers future graduates will receive. On average, about half of students receive full-time offers after working as interns. 62 percent of schools reporting internships to decrease for first-year students seeking positions outside of banking. For financial jobs, 50 percent expect a decrease.
Job prospects for international students fare even worse. the economic outlook for traditionally high growth countries such as India, with its historically close ties to American reasearch universities and the recipient of U.S. investment in high-tech businesses such as IBM, is faltering, along with the rest of the global economy. One bright spot in the domestic economy is that many companies already have downsized staff in antisipation of a slow down. Many now find they are short-staffed and are overworking existing employees.
This could have positive repercussions in certain areas of financial services, such as compliance and accounting. Lower paying sector, such as healthcare, not-for-profits, and government, are showing a slight improvement. In the meantime, I counsel my clients to stay focused on fundamentals–math and quantitive subjects–no matter what the college major. High school students should plan accordingly.
