Graduating Anderson MBA students are looking back on their
business school memories and forward to job opportunities in
service sectors that are less than robust in a struggling
economy.
As in past years, investment banking and management consulting
are the most popular industries for MBA students securing
post-graduation jobs, said Jon Kaplan, associate director of
Anderson’s Career Management Center.
Though the entertainment industry hasn’t recruited as many
Anderson students this year as it has historically, the percent of
Anderson students entering that industry exceeds the percent
entering from most other schools, Kaplan said.
Kwame Anochie, who graduated from the University of Southern
California and worked at Wells Fargo before entering
Anderson’s MBA program, said he is relocating after
graduation.
Anochie will move to Newport Beach to work in account management
at the Pacific Investment Management Company ““ a job he
secured through Anderson’s campus recruitment program.
As the end of the term approaches, Anochie said he has mixed
feelings about graduation. In part, he will be happy to have
completed his education.
“The MBA program is pretty intense, especially the first
year,” he said. “It’s a big relief to be done and
over with.”
Anochie said the most difficult part of leaving Anderson will be
parting with friends ““ some are moving to Boston, and others
that received offers from Wall Street are going to New York.
With 250 of 330 graduating students responding to a survey, the
career management center reported over half the students who
responded have secured work.
Kaplan added that many students find jobs in the weeks following
graduation.
About 70 percent of Anderson’s class of 2002 MBA students
received job offers in the year following graduation, and Kaplan
said he expects this year’s figures to be similar.
Though many students do secure employment, Anderson graduates
have been hit hard by the sagging economy the past couple of years,
Kaplan said.
“Service sectors are suffering … these sectors where
MBAs go to aren’t hiring as much as they have in the
past,” he said.
Though Anderson student Peter Gandolfo has a job offer in
Michigan from Ford Motor Company, he said the economy has hurt him
in a different way.
“The main reason I came to Anderson was because I knew I
wanted to stay in California,” he said. “The economy
puts people in positions where they need to make compromises. This
is a geographic compromise.”
Kaplan said about half of this year’s Anderson graduates
will opt to remain in Southern California. Many of those who
don’t will relocate to New York or the San Francisco Bay
Area, Kaplan added.
Ozeme Bonnette is self-employed, and will return to her work as
a financial adviser after graduation. Entering Anderson’s MBA
program was a chance to further develop her skills as an
entrepreneur, Bonnette said.
Like Anochie, Bonnette said she will miss the classmates and
others with whom relationships she has formed relationships in her
two years at Anderson.
“All of a sudden, everyone just goes back to where they
were before … you say you’re going to keep in touch, but
you really don’t,” Bonnette said.
Bonnette, who chose Anderson over other schools because of its
close-knit community, said she will fondly recalls the
school’s unique atmosphere.
“Everyone works together, and when the work is over,
everyone plays together,” Bonnette said.