Graduation in the Future? Look Who Has the Welcome Mat Out for Recent Grads

Round, shiny, metallic symbol with Apply Now and picture in black, white, and silver. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The National Center for Education Statistics reported that 190,000 students graduated with a business degree during the 2010-2011 academic year. The NCES report also revealed that the top two degree fields, business and education, accounted for 51% of the degrees granted during the same period. So, who’s hiring and what sectors are the most promising?

The Medical Sector and Charity Combine

The health care industry is booming — and there aren’t any signs that job opportunities will shrink in the future. Your MBA opens the door to job opportunities in direct health care markets like hospitals and clinics, as well as related industries like insurance, research and development. You can also work with non-profit organizations closely tied to health and wellness.

CNNMoney.com reported projections from payscale.com that state job growth for marketing specialist, including those working in the medical sector, was expected to grow by 30 percent between 2008 and 2011 with 90,000 jobs available. Your degree prepares you for traditional and non-traditional roles in the medical sector outside the obvious hospital settings.

For example, on the west coast, Kaiser Permanente is a good place to start your search if you have an interest in health management. Even if you don’t have healthcare education or experience, you might land a great job with Kaiser — or another non-profit. Want to explore other options? Check out the American Cancer Society, The National Kidney Foundation and other health related agencies. You can find a list of charitable organizations at Irs.gov under the Charities and Non-profits tab.

There’s Shipping and Then There’s Ship Building

Global enterprise relationships continue to grow steadily. If you are getting your MBA in San Diego, you might use your concentration in Information and Technology to land a job locally working for one of the major logistics firms. If you’re more interested in building ships, it might interest you to know that the recent increase in oil and gas production means transportation tankers are in short supply.

Bob Flynn, president of ship brokerage firm Mallory, Jones, Lynch, Flynn & Associates in Stamford, Conn., told Fox News a couple of additional shipyards would help meet the growing market demands. General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries are two companies that routinely recruit employees with an MBA. For example, General Dynamics recently listed openings on Simplyhired.com for an Associate Material Analyst at their Georgia location, an Association Manager in Utah for a business on Hill AFB and a Customer Service Manager in Kentucky.

Both companies have rigorous standards. Spruce up your resume with helpful tips from Quintcareers.com or hire a professional resume agent to help you create a winning resume for you. Check company websites for current openings. You can explore all national job openings by visiting online recruiting platforms like Indeed.com and Simplyhired.com.

Leisure and Hospitality Growing

MarketWatch reported that the hospitality industry added more than 1.1 million works in the past four years. While that number includes many support workers like waitresses and housekeepers, industry managers are needed to supervise departments and manage the corporate finances. The top three largest hotel groups in 2012 (as reported by mytropicalsun.com) were Intercontinental Hotel Group, Wyndham Hotel Group and Marriott International. Want to work overseas?

Marriott has more than 300 locations worldwide with employment opportunities to take your MBA on the road for a little adventure. Two of their recent job offerings that don’t require experience included working as an assistant purchasing manager in Salalah, Oman or a front office manager in Copenhagen, Denmark. Check out the local climate, geography and political landscape at The World Factbook. Just select the country or region from the drop down menu for more details.

By Tim Martin

Tim works for a small business manufacturer in marketing, and shares some of his small biz knowledge as a freelancer.