Best Places to Launch a Career 2007
To determine which employers are best for entry-level workers, BusinessWeek used a three-part method.
First, we surveyed career services directors at U.S. colleges to learn which employers were tops on their list. We then asked those employers to complete a survey on their hiring, pay, benefits, and training programs, which we then compared with others in the same industry. Finally, we obtained from Universum Communications, a Philadelphia research company, the results of its 2007 survey of 44,000 U.S. undergraduates who were asked to identify their five most desirable employers.
The employer survey counts for 50% of the final ranking, while the career services and student surveys count for 25% each.
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Click column heading once to reorder from highest to lowest. Click twice to reorder from lowest to highest.
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| 6 | -99 | Microsoft | MSFT | Technology | 1350 | Computer Science | Analytical Skills | 10 | 14 | 7 | $70 AND ABOVE | No | | 57 | -99 | Hewlett-Packard | HPQ | Technology | 257 | Business | College Major | 52 | 64 | 43 | $70 AND ABOVE | Yes | | 44 | -99 | St. Jude Medical | STJ | Pharmaceutical | 175 | Engineering | Teamwork | 31 | 59 | NA | $65-$70 | Yes | | 49 | 18 | Merck | MRK | Pharmaceutical | 887 | NA | College Major | 59 | 25 | 23 | $60-$65 | No | | 67 | -99 | Bear Stearns | BSC | Investment Banking | null | NA | Analytical Skills | 66 | 46 | 49 | $60-$65 | No | | 65 | -99 | Deutsche Bank | DB | Investment Banking | 278 | NA | Communication Skills | 66 | 51 | 33 | $60-$65 | No | | 4 | -99 | IBM (6) | IBM | Technology | 1962 | Computer Science | Analytical Skills | 4 | 12 | 21 | $60-$65 | Yes | | 13 | 4 | Goldman Sachs | GS | Investment Banking | 663 | Business | College GPA | 45 | 9 | 9 | $60-$65 | No | | 17 | 9 | JPMorgan Investment Bank (9) | JPM | Investment Banking | 252 | Business | Leadership Skills | 20 | 16 | 18 | $60-$65 | No | | 28 | 7 | Raytheon | RTN | Manufacturing | 1082 | Engineering | College Major | 17 | 41 | 32 | $60-$65 | Yes | | 92 | 51 | U.S. Patent & Trademark Office | | Nonprofit/Government | 1275 | Engineering | College Major | NA | NA | NA | $60-$65 | Yes | | 29 | 49 | Exelon | EXC | Energy | null | Engineering | College GPA | 12 | 51 | NA | $55-$60 | Yes | | 16 | -99 | Merrill Lynch | MER | Investment Banking | 321 | Business | Analytical Skills | 13 | 29 | 17 | $55-$60 | No | | 22 | -99 | Capital One (11) | COF | Financial Services | 190 | Engineering | Analytical Skills | 6 | 68 | NA | $55-$60 | Yes | | 24 | -99 | Johnson & Johnson | JNJ | Pharmaceutical | 479 | Business, Economics | Leadership Skills | 51 | 17 | 13 | $55-$60 | Yes | | 31 | 22 | Lehman Brothers | LEH | Investment Banking | 447 | Business | Leadership Skills | 36 | 19 | 25 | $55-$60 | No | | 32 | 27 | Eli Lilly | LLY | Pharmaceutical | 574 | NA | College GPA | 21 | 41 | 31 | $55-$60 | No | | 40 | -99 | Intel | INTC | Technology | 1425 | Engineering | College Major | 40 | 53 | 24 | $55-$60 | No | | 18 | 31 | BP America | BP | Energy | 259 | Engineering | College Major | 1 | NA | 45 | $55-$60 | Yes | | 19 | 6 | U.S. State Dept. (10) | | Nonprofit/Government | 764 | Liberal Arts | Judgment | 35 | 29 | 3 | $55-$60 | Yes | | 12 | 8 | General Electric (8) | GE | Manufacturing | 723 | Engineering | College Major | 29 | 6 | 19 | $55-$60 | Yes | | 8 | 20 | Accenture | CAN | Consulting | 1040 | Engineering | College Major | 4 | 15 | 28 | $55-$60 | No | | 61 | -99 | Dell | DELL | Technology | null | Business | Communication Skills | 63 | 53 | 30 | $55-$60 | No | | 42 | -99 | UBS | UBS | Investment Banking | 263 | Economics | Communication Skills | 38 | 39 | 41 | $55-$60 | No | | 43 | 29 | Philip Morris (13) | MO | Consumer Goods | 288 | Business | Leadership Skills | 37 | 31 | 50 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 46 | -99 | Sprint | S | Telecommunications | 150 | Engineering | Analytical Skills | 33 | 73 | 56 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 52 | 40 | Booz Allen Hamilton | 160233 | Consulting | 240 | Business | Communication Skills | 47 | 64 | 48 | $50-$55 | No | | 60 | 52 | Protiviti | 29414454 | Consulting | 333 | Business | Communication Skills | 50 | NA | 58 | $50-$55 | No | | 73 | 34 | Grant Thornton | 102027 | Accounting | 570 | Business | Leadership Skills | 65 | 62 | NA | $50-$55 | Yes | | 76 | -99 | Ingersoll Rand | IR | Manufacturing | null | NA | Leadership Skills | 68 | 76 | NA | $50-$55 | Yes | | 9 | 2 | Lockheed Martin | LMT | Manufacturing | 4573 | Engineering | College Major | 15 | 13 | 15 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 7 | 1 | Walt Disney (7) | DIS | Hospitality | null | Business | Communication Skills | 43 | 11 | 2 | $50-$55 | No | | 1 | 3 | Deloitte & Touche (4) | 2401679 | Accounting | 1995 | Business | Communication Skills | 3 | 1 | 12 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 2 | -99 | PricewaterhouseCoopers (5) | 99097 | Accounting | 3744 | Business | College Major | 9 | 2 | 6 | $50-$55 | No | | 3 | 12 | Ernst & Young | 97518 | Accounting | 3250 | Business | College Major | 25 | 3 | 10 | $50-$55 | No | | 11 | 15 | KPMG | 99674 | Accounting | 2962 | Business | College Major | 18 | 5 | 20 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 14 | -99 | Boeing | BA | Manufacturing | 1016 | Engineering | Work Experience | 14 | 28 | 11 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 15 | 10 | Abbott Labs | ABT | Pharmaceutical | 980 | Engineering | Leadership Skills | 2 | 48 | 47 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 34 | 24 | UPS | UPS | Transportation | 3723 | Engineering | Leadership Skills | 28 | 25 | 51 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 35 | 16 | L'Oreal USA | 854696 | Consumer Goods | 55 | Engineering | Leadership Skills | 41 | 47 | 22 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 27 | -99 | Northrop Grumman | 4161352 | Manufacturing | 1704 | Engineering | College Major | 30 | 19 | 27 | $50-$55 | Yes | | 93 | -99 | Constellation Energy | CEG | Energy | 42 | Business | College Major | NA | NA | NA | $50-$55 | No | | 94 | 53 | Navigant Consulting | NCI | Consulting | 99 | Business | Analytical Skills | NA | NA | NA | $50-$55 | No | | 87 | -99 | Motorola | MOT | Technology | null | Engineering | College Major | 88 | 37 | 35 | $50-$55 | No | | 90 | -99 | Norfolk Southern | 3678976 | Transportation | 277 | Business | Communication Skills | NA | NA | NA | $50-$55 | Yes | | 81 | -99 | AIG (17) | AIG | Insurance | 87 | Business | Analytical Skills | 75 | 84 | NA | $45-$50 | NA | | 83 | 55 | BearingPoint | BE | Consulting | 1344 | Business | College Major | 81 | 35 | 62 | $45-$50 | No | | 84 | 45 | Northwestern Mutual (18) | 6949027 | Insurance | 1619 | Business | Entrepreneurial Spirit | 84 | 36 | NA | $45-$50 | Yes | | 30 | -99 | Prudential | PRU | Insurance | 102 | Business | College Major | 11 | 83 | NA | $45-$50 | Yes | | 20 | -99 | General Mills | GIS | Consumer Goods | 265 | Other | Leadership Skills | 8 | 33 | 35 | $45-$50 | Yes |
Note: All data are self-reported by employers. Eight employers ranked in 2006 were not ranked this year. Bain & Co. declined to participate; National Instruments, Pepsi Bottling, MTV Networks, NASA, CapGemini, the Comptroller of the Currency, and Progress Energy were not selected by career services directors as top employers for new college graduates.
(1) Comparison group for employer survey.
(2) Data provided by Universum Communications.
(3) Only training programs of more than a year, excluding analyst programs at investment banks and financial services companies.
(4) Entry-level hires for fiscal year (July 1-June 31); excludes 5-year accounting students working toward BS and MS simultaneously. Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified Deloitte Consulting as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(5) Entry-level hires for fiscal year (July 1-June 31).
(6) Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified IBM Consulting as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(7) Walt Disney footnote: Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified ESPN and ABC as top employers for entry-level hires.
(8) Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified GE Healthcare as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(9) Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified JPMorgan Chase as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(10) Entry-level hires include Foreign Service Officers, Foreign Service Specialists, and Civil Service employees.
(11) Entry-level hires for campus recruiting only; based on academic year.
(12) Ranked as Federated Department Stores in 2006. Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified Bloomingdale's and Federated Department Stores as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(13) Entry-level hires includes salaried employees only; unionized hourly employees excluded.
(14) Top degree for agents only.
(15) Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified BellSouth and Cingular as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(16) Ranked as Ferguson Enterprises in 2006; Wolesely is Ferguson's parent company. Career services survey rank also reflects respondents who identified Ferguson Enterprises as a top employer for entry-level hires.
(17) Entry-level hires includes only those hired into entry-level training programs.
(18) Entry-level hires are independent contractors affiliated with branch offices; their compensation is commission-based.
(19) Pay data for non-sales positions only.
Data: BusinessWeek, Universum Communications Inc., Cambria Consulting. Research by: Lindsey Gerdes, Louis Lavelle, Frederick F. Jespersen, Sophia Asare, Jenna Goudreau, Ben Levisohn, and Erica Pelzek.
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