Business Grads at Tech See 'Bright' Outlook

Stuart Mease

The Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech has pronounced the job outlook for business graduates this yearto be "bright." Stuart Mease, Pamplin's undergraduate career services director, says  that the employment and continuing education rate (employment accounts for most of this rate) for business majors ranged from about 75 percent for the marketing and finance majors to about 90 percent for the business information technology and accounting and information systems majors.

“The college has the best placement record on campus, with six of its majors among the top 10 majors interviewed by employers recruiting on campus through the university’s career services office this academic year,” Mease sqays. As a group, business was the major most in demand by campus recruiters, with about 3,400 job interviews given to about 1,000 students. Pamplin students also accounted for nearly half of all the interviews conducted in the 2011-12 year through the university’s career services office.

The university does not yet have salary and placement data for this year, Mease said, but the average starting salary for Pamplin graduates in 2011 was $49,000, up about 10 percent from the previous year. MBA students are also experiencing strong recruiter interest and placement success, says MBA assistant director Gina French.“As of April 26, 54 percent of our graduating MBAs seeking jobs have accepted offers, 9 percent up over last year,” French says. She says she expects the number to rise over the next few weeks as additional students report in.

Though salaries vary according to experience and other credentials, “one MBA accepted an offer of $125,000 — the highest in the class — plus a significant signing bonus,” French added. “It’s indicative of what’s possible with a Virginia Tech MBA.”