Wednesday November 4, 2009
Subscribe Now

Best Places to Launch a Career 2008

To determine which employers are best for entry-level workers, BusinessWeek used a three-part methodology.

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 2008 survey of more than 40,000 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.

For more information, click on the employer�s name and check out its online profile, which includes details on pay and benefits, training programs, and hiring.

Click column heading once to reorder from highest to lowest. Click twice to reorder from lowest to highest.

2008 Rank	2007 Rank	Employer	Industry*	2007 Entry Level Hires	Top Degree Among Entry-Level Hires	Most Desirable Trait	Employer Survey Rank	Career Services Survey Rank	Student Survey Rank	Average Pay ($000s)	Management Training Program

50	95	MetLife	Insurance	2077	NA	Communication Skills	31	96	59	Less than $35	Yes
109	93	Constellation Energy	Energy	23	Business	Work Experience	NA	NA	NA	$55-$60	No
20	90	Norfolk Southern	Transportation	116	Business	Communication Skills	5	59	70	$45-$50	Yes
49	89	Kraft Foods	Consumer Goods	291	Science	College Major	49	38	47	$50-$55	Yes
118	88	C.H. Robinson	Transportation	820	Business	Communication Skills	NA	NA	NA	Less than $35	NA
34	84	Northwestern Mutual	Insurance	2165	Business	Communication Skills	25	27	70	$40-$45	Yes
75	83	Bearingpoint	Consulting	748	Business	College Major	71	46	70	NA	No
68	81	AIG	Insurance	61	Business	Analytical Skills	58	79	70	$45-$50	No
85	80	Duke Energy	Energy	NA	Engineering	College Major	77	86	70	$35-$40	No
105	79	Southwest Airlines	Transportation	4338	NA	Fun-Loving Attitude	106	44	29	Less than $35	No
31	77	Cisco Systems	Technology	673	Computer Science	Work Experience	14	96	39	$70-$75	Yes
78	75	SunTrust Banks	Financial Services	179	Business	Communication Skills	73	61	70	$45-$50	No
97	74	Unilever	Consumer Goods	44	Business	Analytical Skills	93	90	54	$45-$50	Yes
76	73	Grant Thornton	Accounting	544	Business	Leadership Skills	79	29	70	$50-$55	Yes
72	72	Wolseley NA	Manufacturing	801	Business	Communication Skills	74	25	70	$35-$40	Yes
66	71	Blue Cross Blue Shield	Insurance	26	Business	Communication Skills	50	95	70	$45-$50	Yes
69	70	Internal Revenue Service	Nonprofit/Government	2451	Business	College Major	67	96	32	$35-$40	No
39	68	Union Pacific	Transportation	190	Business	Analytical Skills	22	57	70	$45-$50	Yes
35	65	Deutsche Bank	Investment Banking	754	NA	Communication Skills	36	55	30	$60-$65	No
81	64	Sherwin-Williams	Consumer Goods	794	Business	Communication Skills	82	33	70	$35-$40	No
79	63	Walgreen	Retailing	14386	NA	Communication Skills	71	83	70	$60-$65	No
45	62	Nestl� USA	Consumer Goods	100	Business	Leadership Skills	39	59	43	$45-$50	Yes
93	61	Dell	Technology	1425	Engineering	College Major	95	96	33	$55-$60	No
95	60	Protiviti	Consulting	360	Business	Communication Skills	89	96	61	$50-$55	Yes
38	59	AT&T	Telecommunications	3514	Business	Leadership Skills	16	72	70	$55-$60	Yes
60	58	Ameriprise Financial	Financial Services	2966	NA	Leadership Skills	48	77	70	$40-$45	Yes
84	57	Hewlett-Packard	Technology	688	Business	College Major	88	53	42	$60-$65	No
48	56	Aetna	Insurance	80	Business	Leadership Skills	31	72	70	$45-$50	Yes
41	54	Liberty Mutual	Insurance	761	Business	Analytical Skills	31	72	56	$40-$45	Yes
55	53	Progressive	Insurance	1637	Info Tech	Communication Skills	40	56	67	$35-$40	Yes
80	52	Booz Allen Hamilton	Consulting	388	Engineering	Communication Skills	81	57	49	$50-$55	No
42	51	Wachovia	Financial Services	150	NA	Leadership Skills	53	32	36	$55-$60	Yes
37	50	Central Intelligence Agency	Nonprofit/Government	NA	Govt. Studies	Varies with Occupation	76	35	11	NA	No
77	49	Merck	Pharmaceuticals	397	Science	Communication Skills	87	48	31	$50-$55	No
94	48	Kohl's	Retailing	205	Business	Communication Skills	86	93	70	$40-$45	No
28	47	New York Life	Insurance	2821	Business	Leadership Skills	10	96	56	$45-$50	Yes
82	46	Sprint Nextel	Telecommunications	NA	Engineering	Communication Skills	75	96	64	$55-$60	Yes
6	45	Marriott International	Hospitality	275	Hospitality Mgmt., Hotel Admin.	Leadership Skills	1	53	25	$35-$40	No
32	43	Philip Morris USA	Consumer Goods	347	Business	Leadership Skills	34	26	58	$55-$60	Yes
96	42	UBS	Investment Banking	340	Economics	Analytical Skills	99	47	34	$60-$65	No
61	41	Wells Fargo	Financial Services	244	NA	Leadership Skills	64	44	38	NA	No
36	40	Intel	Technology	802	Engineering	College Major	37	84	27	$60-$65	No
22	38	Verizon Communications	Telecommunications	18865	Business	Leadership Skills	8	90	45	$40-$45	Yes
43	37	Travelers	Insurance	155	Business	College GPA	25	72	70	$45-$50	Yes
63	35	L'Or�al USA	Consumer Goods	52	Engineering	Leadership Skills	69	72	21	$50-$55	Yes
71	34	UPS	Transportation	4002	Engineering	Leadership Skills	59	66	70	$50-$55	No
64	33	Vanguard	Financial Services	1425	Business	Communication Skills	67	28	52	NA	Yes
74	32	Eli Lilly	Pharmaceuticals	289	NA	College Major	91	21	39	$55-$60	No
29	31	Lehman Brothers	Investment Banking	534	Business	Leadership Skills	45	19	23	$55-$60	No
59	30	Prudential	Insurance	266	Business	Work Experience	50	66	70	$50-$55	Yes

Next > [Last Page]

Note: All data excluding survey ranks are self-reported by employers. 2008 ranks in red designate employers that are new to the rankings this year. Nineteen employers that were ranked last year were not ranked this year; 15 were not selected by the career services directors as top employers for new college graduates and 4 were among the 55 employers that chose not to participate. (1) Comparison group for employer survey. (2) Data supplied 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 30; most desirable trait and average pay for client service positions only. (5) All data shown for corps members in teaching positions. (6) Average salary for associate consulting positions only. (7) Average salary includes some undergraduate professional hires. (8) Average salary for engineering positions only; business salaries are $50,000 to $55,000. (9) Average salary based on commission rate for entry-level financial representatives; corporate employees earn $45,000 to $50,000. (10) Average salary excludes college recruits starting after June 1, 2008. (11) Entry-level hires are associates and specialty hires entering rotational programs with graduation dates within the past year. (12) Most desirable trait for new engineering hires only. (13) Entry-level hires shown is an estimate. (14) Average salary is for all Duke employees, not just entry-level hires. (15) All data shown is for entry-level hires admitted into bank�s Leadership Development Program, including those with MBAs. (16) Volunteers receive a stipend for living expenses plus $6,000 readjustment allowance after service is completed. (17) Entry-level hires are headquarters jobs only; store management and design positions excluded. (18) Entry-level hires are strategic college recruiting hires only; most enter PNC�s management training program. (19) Volunteers receive a $12,500 living allowance and $4,725 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award. (20) Average salary for contract positions only; noncontract entry-level corporate positions pay $35,000 to $50,000. (21) Average salary includes individuals with post-graduation work experience. (22) Most desirable trait is for R&D development engineers only. (23) Average salary includes some individuals with up to 6 years experience but no advanced degrees. (24) Average salary for exempt positions only.

Data: BusinessWeek, Universum Communications, Cambria Consulting. Research by: Lindsey Gerdes, Louis Lavelle, Frederick F. Jespersen, and Kelly Bronk.

Best Places to Launch a Career 2008

Special Reports

Health-Care Reform

Business Tools

A-Z Index

Lists & Rankings

Blogs

Slideshow Gallery

Magazine

Current Issue