Wharton sets job record

For the fifth consecutive year, a record number of graduates of the Wharton graduate division received job offers and accepted employment positions, according to the 1997 Masters of Business Administration Employment Report. Based on employment information received for over 99 percent of both classes, the report found that 97.9 percent of the Class of 1997 and 98.7 percent of the Class of 1998 reported receiving job offers as of July 15. A total of 630 companies offered jobs to MBA graduates and interns, and 356 companies recruited on campus -- including 45 organizations that recruited students at nearby locations when the Wharton interview facility was fully occupied. Last year's graduates accepted positions in 46 industries, 28 functional areas, 25 U.S. states and 31 countries. Furthermore, 22 graduates reported that they would start their own businesses. "This is a 10-year high for the Wharton School and reflects the strong entrepreneurial spirit of our student body," said Andrew Adams, director of development and placement for the school. The report also showed a large increase in the number of graduates employed in the financial services industry. The investment banking sector will employ 5.4 percent more graduates than in 1996. "There is an influx of Wharton graduates in this field that the school hasn't seen in over a decade," said Jennifer McCarty-Prefontaine, Wharton's assistant director of career development and placement. The finance sector drew the largest number of students in the school's history -- 38.5 percent of the 764 graduates over the two years. McCarty-Prefontaine said the "healthy market" of the United States and the stable recognition of Wharton's "number one" status have combined to account for the increase in overall hiring. "The combination of the consulting and investment banking industries being in strong hiring modes and high technology taking more and more graduates make for a potent combination," she said. The consulting industry experienced its first drop in six years, but continues to draw the largest number of graduates. And the "high-tech" sector has overtaken the "consumer" goods industry as the fourth-largest employer of Wharton MBAs, ranking behind only consulting, investment banking and commercial banking. The report attributes the sector's tremendous growth to the development of MBA-oriented positions and the appeal of many start-up firms. The new report also emphasized a consistent trend -- Wharton graduates are highly recruited. "The number of people knocking on our door is phenomenal," McCarty-Prefontaine said. The top five employers of Wharton graduates were McKinsey & Co. -- which employed the most graduates -- Goldman Sachs, the investment banking firm employing the most graduates, Bain & Co., Morgan-Stanley and A.J. Kearney, Inc. Graduates also reported accepting an increased number of jobs in non-traditional sectors such as small firms and the entertainment industry. Although graduates' median salaries have not been finalized, McCarty-Prefontaine said base salaries, sign-on bonuses and first-year bonuses were all higher than in last year's report.