Google and Apple among the biggest movers; both break top 10

New York, April 20, 2006— In a survey exclusive to FORTUNE.com and conducted by Universum Communications, graduating MBA students were asked to name the five firms where they'd most like to work after graduation; consulting heavyweight McKinsey & Co. maintained its No. 1 slot on this year's list, appearing on 18.27% of MBA candidates' wish lists.  Google debuted at No. 2 with 12.55% of MBA candidates eyeing the search-engine giant.  This remarkable placement comes after Google was not included on the survey form last year, yet so many students wrote them in that it ranked 129 th out of 179 total companies. The survey looks at the wish list for nearly 5,000 MBA students surveyed, and breaks the results down to their ideal landing spots by both gender and industry.   The survey also examines the salary expectations upon graduation and five years down the line for all MBA students, along with separate breakouts by gender.

Apple Computer also enjoyed a strong rise in the rankings.  The maker of computers, software and iPods popular among the student set cracked the top 10 this year, appearing at No. 7, up from No. 15 last year, and was cited by 9% of students surveyed.  Rounding out the top ten are Goldman Sachs (No. 3), Bain & Co. (No. 4), the Boston Consulting Group (No. 5), Citigroup (No. 6), General Electric (No. 8), Johnson & Johnson (No. 9) and Morgan Stanley (No. 10).  Many of these companies are repeat winners - eight of them were in the top 10 last year, which was also featured on FORTUNE.com. 

In the picks by gender, McKinsey was the big winner among men, with 24% including it in their top five. Among women, McKinsey was also first, but only 13% included it in their top five.  Men also put consulting at the top of their industry list, with 28% looking to work in that field upon graduation.  Financial services was second with 23%, and investment banking third with 15%.  For women, consumer goods was first with 25%, management consulting second at 22%, and financial services third at 19%.

In terms of salary expectations, MBA students overall expect to receive an average salary of $88,087 after graduation, which is up from the $81,658 students expected last year. In a look at expectations by gender, men expect a salary of $94,710 while women expect a salary of $86,805.  Five years after graduation, men expect significantly higher salaries than women; $191,541 for men compared to $156,290 for women.

Every year research firm Universum Communications (www.universumusa.com) ranks the most desirable employers in the world, based on where MBA candidates say they'd most like to work. To pick the 100 Most Desirable MBA Employers, Universum surveyed 4,996 students (1,603 women, 3,357 men) at 43 top business schools nationwide. Students were asked to choose the five companies they would most like to work for from a list of 179 companies. The list of companies students select from was compiled from the companies that appeared on the previous year's ranking of desirable employers, plus any company that received a high number of write-in votes in the previous year's survey. Students were also given the opportunity to write in the name of any company they would like to work for that did not appear on the list.

The entire list, including the separate gender and salary expectation break-outs, is now available on FORTUNE.com, or by accessing the following link: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mba100/

For further information please contact:
Susan Brown Williams
212-522-0133
susan_williams@timeinc.com

Carmine N. Tiso
212-522-8129
carmine.tiso@timeinc.com

 

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