A Career in Business Management in Canada

MBAs and other management program graduates are faring well in today's economy according to statistics. In the most recent survey published by Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), close to 90 percent of all MBA graduates were employed full-time, which was more than 10 percent higher than the average for all master's degree graduates combined.

University statistics for graduate employment were even more impressive for MBAs. Most Canadian universities reported an 80 to 90 percent employment rate for MBAs within 90 days of graduation. Several universities that tracked employment longer reported 100 percent employment for MBAs one year of graduation.

And satisfaction among graduates of business and specialized administration master's programs is high—over 90 percent for both. A high 85 percent of administration grads said they would choose the same program again even though more than 60 percent thought their training did not directly match their work and almost 50 percent thought they were overqualified for their jobs. But even those percentages are average or below average for graduates from all fields who feel their training didn't match or that they were overqualified.

Business graduates were spread throughout several career areas with most becoming auditors, accountants and investment professionals. Others worked in administration and regulatory occupations, retail management, legislative or policy jobs, research and consulting.

Management grad work prospects for 2001 were rated good by HRDC, noting that "the unemployment rate and earnings for these occupations are more favourable than for the economy as a whole." While the number of management program graduates is increasing, job openings seem to be increasing at the same rate. And the areas where MBAs work, particularly finance, insurance and real estate, wholesale trade and professional services industries, are expected to have above average growth compared to other fields.

Your business masters' degree will give you significantly higher earnings than others. HRDC's last published survey reported that average wages for MBAs were significantly higher than the average wage for all masters' level graduates combined.

Two years after graduation you'll probably be making 55 percent more than undergraduates from the same field—and a full 90 percent more than business graduates from community colleges.

And as an MBA that wage percentage gap will continue to increase over time. MBAs have a tendency to change jobs between their third and fifth year of work, moving between managerial and administrative positions. When you have been in the workforce for five years, you can expect to earn almost 30 percent more than the average master's graduate.