Despite the difficult economy demand for talent in Analytics remains strong. For the third consecutive year over 90 percent of the Institute’s graduates in the Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) had offers of employment in the profession within 30 days of graduation. Interest among employers in hiring MSA students reached new heights during the recruiting season this spring. Compared to last year, the Institute arranged twice the number of job interviews (347) and logged a record number of employer visits (38) for the class of 39 students. Students had an average of 10 interviews and two offers. One-quarter of the job seekers had 4 or more job offers.
Average salaries based on reported job offers reached a record high of $94,000 with signing bonus, and $83,500 without bonus. Salary offers ranged from $60,000 to $150,000. Half of all job offers included a signing bonus averaging $10,000. Base salaries increased $10,000 over the prior year. Many sectors of the economy were hiring, including: banking and financial services, consulting, energy, retail, software, telecommunications and transportation. The Institute attracted interest among both large and small employers. The strongest sector for MSA employment this year was consulting.
Fledgling MSA Outpacing MBA Outcomes
The MSA is a young degree in comparison to the century-old MBA and is not intended to mirror a traditional business education. However, employers have begun to set a value for the MSA that is comparable to lucrative graduate degrees in business. In its annual employer survey the Graduate Management Admission Council, the company that runs the GMAT entrance exam for business schools and tracks student outcomes, estimates the average base salary offered to MBA graduates will be $80,508. In comparison, the average base salary offer for the MSA Class of 2010 is $83,500. While MSA placement rates have remained consistently above 90 percent at graduation, the placement rate for MBA graduates (2-year, full-time programs) has been falling since 2008 and is expected to be 40 percent this year.
While interpreting such comparisons are made difficult by the difference in sample sizes, our analysis of individual top- and mid-tier business schools suggests the MSA outcomes are indeed outperforming some schools. Job offers made to MSA candidates in consulting (median $119,000, range $100,000-150,000) were similar to offers made to graduates from top-tier business schools.
See the MSA Job Placement section for more information.