Business school graduates are more likely to do well if they look beyond the traditional sectors such as finance, products & services and consulting to fields including technology, manufacturing, and healthcare, according to a survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

Technology is emerging as a promising sector for B-School graduates, as 61 per cent of those seeking jobs in the tech industry received job offers, accounting for 15 per cent of all students with early offers. Manufacturing and healthcare/pharmaceuticals may also emerge as lucrative sectors, as they account for 7 per cent and 5 per cent respectively of the students with early offers. Students searching for a job in these sectors had the greatest success rate with 74 per cent reporting at least one offer.

Around 57 per cent of the class of 2014 MBA and other business school graduates had at least one early offer, slightly down from 60 per cent. A total of 62 per cent of the graduating students were involved in a job search, and another four per cent were either self-employed or intended to pursue entrepreneurship.

Although salaries vary widely by industry, job level, and work location, the median increase in salary of those with job offers was 80 per cent over their pre-degree salary. That’s up from the 73 per cent increase reported by B-School graduates with early job offers in 2013.

Consulting is the most popular field for career-switchers, as 27 per cent of all career-switching graduates with job offers were in consulting. Among all job seekers, 21 per cent of those with job offers are in consulting.

Finance/accounting is the top sector with 26 per cent job offers. Government and non-profit sector offered jobs to 5 per cent of the graduates.

The survey was conducted on 3,049 B-School graduates at 111 universities by GMAC, the organisation that conducts GMAT exam.

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