Who hires an MBA graduate?

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All this big hoopla about getting an MBA from the top business school - but who really hires an MBA these days?

Which industries can afford the high salaries that go hand in hand with an MBA degree?

Does an MBA have the same value today as it did 5 years ago? Yes, it does.

In fact, the demand for MBA is increasing across industries. Traditionally, financial institutions and consulting firms have been the biggest MBA benefactors. But, that is not true anymore. According to a report by CNN Money, the top 100 employers of MBAs comprise of financial services, information technology, pharmaceutical & health care and,  of course, consulting firms.

Here is the % break-up of the hiring trend.

Industries hiring MBAs

As you would observe, these industries are located in specific pockets of the country. For instance, the pharmaceutical and financial investment industry is in the Northeast region of US and the information technology industry is mainly located in the Golden Coast. It is a safe bet that the hiring patterns for these industries will be highly influenced based on the location and the kind of positions that you seek.

According to a report in Wall Street Journal, "64% of executives, managers and recruiters polled plan to hire new M.B.A. grads in 2011, up from 60% who said they did so in 2010". To read more about the poll and its results, please visitonline.wsj.com.

Typically, before you start applying, it may not seem most important to you to pick a specialization, but it would definitely help to know what industries you prefer. Your application decision can be based on your industry preference. But, this is just one way of looking at your application choices.