New graduates of MBA and other graduate management education programs are facing a job market that has made landing employment before graduation the exception rather than the norm. But whether they have a job offer or not, the vast majority of graduates rate their education as good to outstanding, says a survey of 2010 graduates by the Graduate Management Admission Council.

Students believe the education they received adequately prepared them for employment. In fact, more than three-quarters of the students who had yet to receive a job offer thought their education provided them with a competitive advantage, as well as prepared them to meet the challenges of the job market and find a job that would meet their expectations.

“These students are mindful of the economic conditions they face and place no fault on their education with their current employment status,” said Gregg Schoenfeld, GMAC associate director of research. “They went to school to learn, meet new people, and increase their opportunities, which they had successfully accomplished. “

The annual Global Management Education Graduate Survey, which queries thousands of graduate business students worldwide several months before graduation,  found the percentage of full-time, two-year MBA students programs who had a job offer dropped to 40 percent in 2010 from 50 percent in 2009. Nonetheless, nearly as many 2010 graduates still on the job market valued their education highly (90 percent) as did those with job offers (95 percent).

Other GMAC research shows that the longer alumni have had their degrees, the more likely they are to value them. Eight-year data from GMAC’s Alumni Perspectives Survey show that the percentage rating their degree an outstanding or excellent value is higher the longer they’ve had the degree. Respondents said their education was personally rewarding (97 percent), professionally rewarding (94 percent), and financially rewarding (89 percent).

“While the job market may be cyclical, the value of management education is constant. The investment people make in their own human capital by going to business school gives them a competitive advantage that transcends the ups and downs of the economy,” said Dave Wilson, president and chief executive officer of GMAC, the nonprofit association of leading business schools that owns the Graduate Management Admission Test. The GMAT exam is used by more than 4,800  management education programs around the world as part of the admissions process.

For more information about business school and the GMAT exam, go to mba.com.

 

 

 

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