The future looks bright for those interested in pursuing an MBA degree at Fuqua. A recent report on the significant increase in the employment rate for Fuqua graduates gives hope despite sluggish national and global markets.
This year, 93 percent of full-time MBA students have received offers within three months of their actual graduation.
Fuqua’s employment rate this year is an 11 percent increase from the last academic year and a 14 percent rise from 2008 to 2009.
In a news release last week, the career center reported growth in annual salaries and signing bonuses for 2011—with a mean full-time annual salary at $107,833 and mean signing bonuses at $25,946.
“We’ve seen a number of successes result from what we think are unique collaborative efforts within Fuqua, and Duke to prepare students and to connect them with interesting opportunities,” Associate Dean for Career Management Sheryl Dirks wrote in an email, referring to the high demand for Duke graduates.
Dirks credited Fuqua’s business school faculty and its "bright, talented" students as two main factors contributing to the growth in numbers in the annual report.
She noted that even though this increase is not unique to Fuqua, the growth experienced at Duke has been slightly higher than the average among other top MBA programs.
“The Fuqua culture produces students who not only contribute actively to teams but also step up in leadership roles,” Dirks said.
The report released that there were 17 employers that hired 10 or more Duke MBAs across various industries, including financial services, consulting, health care and technology. This past year, companies that have recruited multiple Fuqua graduates include McKinsey &Company, The Boston Consulting Group, Johnson & Johnson, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs.
Companies that recruited the highest number of Fuqua graduates were from the consulting sector—with Deloitte hiring 35 graduates and 26 interns, for a total of 61 hires. This growth has been in line with the increasing numbers in consulting offers, Dirks said.
Dirks added that there was also a growth in relative “market share” at the world’s premier MBA employers.
This year, 224 Fuqua graduates received offers from top ten employers. This growth in recruitment from the top ten employers is a 37 percent increase from 2007- 2010, when the mean number of graduates and interns hired was 163, she said.
Dirks emphasized the critical roles alumni play in the career and employment success of current students and fellow alumni. At established recruiting companies, alumni serve as team captains and lead their company’s recruiting efforts on campus. At companies that hire MBAs but are not currently recruiting at Fuqua, alums serve as advocates to get Duke on the recruiting radar screen or to post jobs here, she said.
“Just as importantly, alumni provide essential help in advising students and preparing them for the job search,” Dirks noted. “Alumni build the Duke and Fuqua brands by helping students to put their best foot forward.”
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