I’ve often told people I feel like I have the best job at Fuqua. As associate dean for career management, I have a front-row view of our tremendously talented students seeking jobs plus direct insight from the companies looking to hire them.

It could be tempting to think of our careers team as matchmakers in that process—but our roles are so much more complex and constantly evolving. We are the eyes and ears of the business school in understanding what companies want in the talent they are hiring and how they are hiring it. We are among the first to spot shifts in the skills needed to succeed in the ever-complex landscape of business today.

In 20 years on Fuqua’s career team, I’ve personally witnessed the changing nature of work and the new demands in skills and opportunities that accompany those evolutions. Our faculty is continually updating and tweaking our curriculum to meet the needs of business. That means our students are prepared. It also means they are in demand.

The data in our most recent careers report demonstrates that demand. Three months after the Class of 2019 graduated, 97% had received job offers and 95% had accepted offers. Those are the highest percentages I’ve seen in my 20 years. In addition, median annual base salary rose by 8% from the previous year.

I believe the numbers speak not only to the talent of our students but the recognition by employers that they are being well prepared at Fuqua. Other highlights from the careers report include:

• For the third consecutive year, the West Coast is the top geographic destination for our graduates, attracting approximately a quarter of the combined graduating and intern classes. I attribute this trend to the popularity of the technology and health care industries, along with increased numbers of graduates going to work in consulting in the region.
• By industry, 32% of the class went into consulting, 23% into tech and 20% into finance. The number of graduates entering finance in 2019 was up four percentage points from the previous year.
• McKinsey hired the most graduates in 2019, followed by Amazon, BCG, Microsoft, Dell, and Google. Fifty-nine companies hired three or more grads or interns.

The full careers report can be found here. You can also read more about the trends in this Poets & Quants piece.

I’m proud our data continues to show that Fuqua graduates are able to pursue their career interests in a wide variety of industries, functions, and locations.

Mostly, I’m proud of the stories I hear about the ways our graduates are impacting companies and their communities. I love hearing recruiters tell me how a Fuqua graduate brought a team together to solve a challenge or used their technical expertise plus leadership skills to drive innovation. Knowing our team helped highly talented people find fulfilling roles where they can use their skills and passions to help make companies and the world better is always our best metric of success!