More Students Flock For Business Degrees After The Big Quit, GMAC Survey Reveals

The release of the Prospective Students Survey 2022 by GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council) has led to some tremendous revelations about the preference of management students in the post-pandemic world.  

According to GMAC’s 2022 survey, the pandemic has resulted in a commotion in the job market and resulted in a greater demand for business school education. The survey is based on the feedback from 6,500 MBA students on various questions related to how the pandemic has affected their lives and career decisions.  

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When asked about their particular inclination to study business, most students have replied saying that it offers greater prospects for the future and allow them to stand out in work.

What Is The Great Resignation?

The COVID-19 pandemic brought upon a huge shift within the working sector. The last few years witnessed the large-scale resignation of employees, particularly those belonging to the Millennial and Generation Z generations. This is directly linked to wanting better-paying jobs, dissatisfaction in their current working stations, and seeking a healthier work-life balance.   

It is also due to individuals picking up more skills and attempting jobs outside their current field of knowledge. In the United States alone, 42% of candidates have opted to switch career paths in pursuit of a business degree. 

But whatever the driving factor, the Great Resignation a.k.a the Big Quit is playing a significant role in shaping the current workforce as we know it.

What Are B-school Students Saying?

According to the Prospective Students Survey 2022 by GMAC, the pandemic has offered us many modern solutions to everyday problems, one such being the ability to take your classes online, no matter what type of student you are. To some, this has become a more preferred way of education owing to more flexibility and ability to use their time efficiently.   

Others believe it takes away the important task of forming reliable networks between peers and mentors. The latter is the prevalent opinion among MBA grad students where a whopping 73% cite that an online mode offers much fewer career opportunities and is much less effective. But despite their reservations about online learning, students are much more optimistic about including a hybrid model as compared to pre-pandemic statistics.  

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Another outcome deduced from the report is the diminishing interest to pursue an MBA internationally. Pre-pandemic, an MBA or master’s abroad was a glamorous way of attaining new skills and forming an expansive peer group. 

Although students from the US and Western Europe still maintain their pre-pandemic interest levels, in Central and South-East Asia, interest levels have declined from 89% to 73% from 2019 to 2021. In East and Southeast Asia, it has declined from 92% to 87% from 2020 to 2021.  

Despite business school MBA and master’s programs being highly sought after, the aspirants have expressed an increased interest in the rising tech field. Among the important findings was the increase in women’s interest in tech from 29% to 34% from 2019 to 2021.  

“While the pandemic has altered aspects of the graduate management education landscape, the fundamental perceptions of the value of graduate management education generally and the MBA specifically continue to stay strong,” said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC.  

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