Job Market Outlook for Business Students: Location Matters

A new job market outlook report has just been released with some surprising takeaways. ZipRecruiter’s inaugural report—The Class of 2022: The Job Market Outlook for Grads—highlights the market at it currently stands, and delves into specifics of the job hunt for recent graduates, including the most desirable workplace benefits and where to find them, salary expectations and realities, what new grads want in a job, and more.

Unsurprisingly, remote work is in demand for new job seekers, who have adapted to more online interactions for schooling thanks in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic. ZipRecruiter notes that six in 10 job seekers want a remote position.¹ Surprisingly, even with the push toward remote work, location still plays a large part in building a career, and even in where you choose to go to school.

Let’s explore the role location plays for business students as they consider job openings and furthering their education with an MBA or related business graduate degree.

We may be living in an interconnected global economy, but location still matters for specific industries. “From the biotech capital of Boston, to the fashion capital of New York, to the country music capital of Nashville, to the tech capital of Silicon Valley—different parts of the country are best for different kinds of careers,” said Renata Dionello, ZipRecruiter Chief People Officer.¹

If there are remote positions open for businesses located in top areas for specific industries, job seekers can have the best of both worlds—staying wherever they currently reside while working for a business in a hot spot for building connections and being plugged in to the latest and greatest for their industry. However, even though job seekers want remote work opportunities, only about one in 10 postings are actually for remote jobs.¹ Making a move may be required to open up greater career opportunities and success down the road.

“Choose wisely,” Dionello cautioned job seekers. “Starting a career in healthcare at a top-ranked hospital in Massachusetts, for example, could expose you to best practice and innovation, setting you up for lifelong career success.”¹

The short-term outlook for business careers in general is bright. ZipRecruiter’s report noted that business is one of the fastest-growing industries for employer demand (measured through job postings) and wages. The industry has experienced 33.53 percent growth year over year between April 2021 and April 2022, and is seeing an average annual salary of $73,229.¹

Two industries that are outpacing business growth in the short term are technology and engineering. The good news for business majors and MBA students? There are plenty of positions in these sectors that need the skills business graduates and current working professionals picked up in their business classes.

As far as jobs with the best future outlook, the ZipRecruiter report turned to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to name the top jobs. Software developers and software QA analysts and testers came took the top slot, suggesting that tech jobs will continue to dominate the market in coming years. Other business-related roles taking the top 10 slots include¹:

• General and operations managers
• Market research analysts and marketing specialists
• Medical and health services managers
• Management analysts
• Financial managers
• Project management specialists and business operations specialists

Business professionals have an exciting opportunity to advance their career toward specific industries, and they can choose industries that are on the rise based on where they choose to work and where they choose to further their education.

Online learning has opened up a whole new world of higher education to students, allowing them to choose their school not based on proximity or ability to fund a move, but rather to choose based on the fit of a program and the job outlook. This is also a great benefit for working professionals, who may need to continue in their current jobs while they further their education.

With this additional freedom to roam, it may come as a surprise that the location of a university does still need to be taken into consideration. Just as location matters to jobs for specific industries, location of a school can play a major role in connecting students to industries, as well.

The best business schools—both undergraduate business schools and graduate business schools alike—leverage their location, curriculum, and employer connection to set students up for career wins after graduation, even if students are not attending classes on campus.

Out of 360 metro areas, ZipRecruiter ranked San Jose #10 and San Francisco #18 among the hottest job markets for recent graduates.¹ Silicon Valley continues to be a desirable location for both employers and employees.

Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business’ location, amplified by its strong employer connections and tech-centric curriculum, makes it one of the best business schools in California for those looking to use their business education in big tech firms or exciting new startups. Students graduate already being tapped into the tech capital of the nation, placing them at the center of some of the hottest job markets.

Online students in any of SCU’s online business programs benefit from a tech-informed curriculum that positions them for leadership positions in Silicon Valley or tech hot spots around the globe. Tech-informed courses include:

• MKTG 3200, Doing Business in Silicon Valley
• FNCE 3728, Alternative Investments: Partnerships and Venture Capital
• MKTG 3802, Entrepreneurial Opportunities and Innovation
• FNCE 3482, Business Valuation
• MGMT 3802, Entrepreneurship
• FNCE 3807, Intro to FinTech

SCU’s Online MBA program also features the Silicon Valley Professional Dashboard, which acts as a roadmap to finding success in Silicon Valley. The dashboard lays out the special set of characteristics and abilities students need to acquire as they make their way through the Online MBA program. These skills are spread out among four vital domains of expertise:

• Principled Leadership
• Community and Team Building
• Analysis and Interpretation
• Innovation and Entrepreneurial Mindset.

With a strong curriculum, the SVP experience, and strong connections to Silicon Valley employers, SCU makes the most of its location to connect students and graduates to successful careers, no matter where they are located. With all this in mind, the Leavey School of Business’ rankings speak for themselves:

• #1 in Career Outcomes² and Academic Experience³
• #2 for MBA grad employment in Big Tech Firms⁴
• #9 Best Online MBA Programs⁵

Don’t wait to join rankings-leader Leavey School of Business and make your professional mark in nearby Silicon Valley and worldwide. With four in-demand online degrees—Online MBA program, Online MS in Business Analytics, Online MS in Finance and Analytics, and Online MS in Marketing —to choose from, Santa Clara University offers you multiple pathways to pursue your brightest business future.

Learn more about our faculty of accomplished business leaders, and explore the networking opportunities exclusively available to online students at SCU.