Study: More money for fewer MBAs

Recruiters said they expect to hire an average of six new MBAs this year, down from the average of 12 they hired last year. In addition, the number of firms planning to hire MBAs this year declined about nine percent. On the other hand, employers reported they pay MBAs nearly twice as much as people with an undergraduate degree, on average. Employers also pay higher average starting salaries to MBAs than to people with other graduate management degrees, such as a Master’s in finance.

This is the result from the new “2009 GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey,” which drew responses from 2,825 hiring managers from 2,092 companies in 63 countries. “The fundamentals have not changed,” said Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. “Corporations continue to value the MBA.” But they first have to wait and see how the financial situation develops.

The survey also indicates that MBA hiring activity varies across individual sectors. Demand for MBAs remains strong in industries including consulting, healthcare and energy, although it is weaker in the nonprofit and high-technology sectors. But regardless of their hiring plans, 98 percent of respondents to the survey said they are satisfied with their current employees who have MBAs.
 
Despite the challenging job market, many MBA students have already lined up employment months before finishing their degrees. On average, they had 1.9 job offers and expect to earn 66 percent more money after earning their MBA than they did prior to starting business school.
   
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