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SURVEY: 'DOT-COMS' POPULAR, BUT STABILITY-CONSCIOUS MBA GRADUATES SEEK TRADITIONAL COMPANIES DURHAM, N.C. - Internet start-ups are attracting a growing percentage of MBA graduates, but the majority of MBAs continue to seek jobs with larger, more traditional companies, according to a new survey released by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. "The Fuqua Report," a survey of graduating MBA students this year at 11 of America's top business schools, found that 14 percent of MBAs have accepted jobs with "dot-coms," while an additional 11 percent are joining high-tech firms, up 4 percent from 1998. The most popular career field continues to be consulting, followed by marketing and management, and investment banking. Seventy-six percent of graduates said they did not actively pursue opportunities with "dot-com" companies. The survey was carried out in March by the Center for Decision Studies at Fuqua. Conducted biennially since 1988, the survey looks at the attitudes and career plans of students as they prepare to enter the business world. This year's survey had 35 percent response rate. "The pure "dot-com" companies have not had as dramatic an impact as we thought," said Dan Nagy, assistant dean for the MBA program and executive director of career services and placement. "There is still a lot of interest in high tech, but e-commerce hasn't gained as much momentum as people expected." One of the reasons, the survey found, may be that students are somewhat leery of "dot-coms" and are sticking with the more traditional companies because they provide greater stability. The survey found that 30 percent of those who decided not to pursue an Internet company said they perceived "dot-coms" as "too risky." Another 30 percent said they just weren't interested in the "dot-com" industry. "This shows us that most students, at the end of the day, are somewhat risk-averse," Nagy said. In addition, 83 percent of the survey respondents said Internet stocks are overvalued. The MBA students completed the survey in late March, before the drop in Internet stock prices. They also listed choosing between traditional and start-up companies as one of the more stressful aspects of their job search. The impact of the "dot-coms" has affected the recruiting of MBA students, Nagy said. Many traditional companies now are offering stock options greater compensation packages and sign-on bonuses. Offering stock options tends to level the playing field and to lessen the attractiveness of "dot-coms," he explained. Eighty-three percent of the students who are joining the Internet/e-commerce industry reported receiving stock options. "We anticipate that this trend will continue," he said. "The number of companies offering those packages should continue to grow dramatically in the next year. We're going to see a major trend in MBA employers offering stock options. Just a few years ago, General Mills and Procter & Gamble didn't offer stock options. Now they do." The average base salary for new graduates is $86,540 up from $77,224 in 1998. More than 25 percent of the MBA 2000 graduates said they would receive stock options, compared to 8 percent two years ago. The MBA degree continues to erase the salary disparity between men and women, although men continue to claim an edge. Before entering business school, men were making, on average, about 10 percent more than women did, the survey found. That difference will narrow to 3 percent after they earn their MBA. While both men and women list consulting as a top career choice, greater numbers of male MBA graduates go into the more lucrative field of investment banking than do their female counterparts, according to the survey. Cisco Systems replaced Microsoft as the most admired company. Microsoft had held the most admired slot for the last six years. (The survey was released before the Justice Department's ruling against Microsoft.) As they have the past years, MBA graduates overwhelmingly list their father as the person they most admire. New to the most admired list this year were Nelson Mandela and Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey's recent business endeavors seemed to have caught the attention of MBA women graduates. All Winfrey's votes were from women. "Oprah must have caught the fancy of MBA women because of some of her business dealings rather than for her status as an entertainer," Nagy said mentioning the launching of her magazine O as well as a new TV network. Others mentioned included mother, grandparent and Jesus Christ. (The most-admired questions were open ended.) New York is the most popular city of choice, followed by San Francisco and Chicago. To view the complete survey results,
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