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Career Expectations: mba.com Prospective Students Survey 2018

Admissions & Application Trends, Research, Global, 2018, GMAC Prospective Students Survey, Research Report

This survey report—the second in a series of topical reports based on the results of the mba.com Prospective Students Survey 2018—presents the findings associated with with candidates’ post-graduate management education career interests, including goals, industries, and job functions.

June 2018

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Overview

The decision to pursue a GME often revolves around prospective students’ career aspirations. Business school offers a diverse range of career possibilities for candidates, regardless of their educational or professional background. This report assesses prospective students’ post-GME career plans, including their industries and job functions of interest and specific career goals.

Quick Facts

  • This year’s survey findings highlight how the mix of GME candidates’ career expectations  has shifted over time.
  • The last several years have seen an increase in the share of candidates who plan to enhance their current career path through a GME (42% of candidates in 2017) and a decrease in the share who plan to use their GME to pivot to a new job function (34%) or industry (26%).
  • Consistent with the past two years, a quarter of candidates intend to pursue an entrepreneurial career after their GME (25%).
  • This year’s findings also highlight how larger political and economic factors likely impact the mix of GME candidates’ career expectations.