Wednesday November 4, 2009
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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

66	71	Blue Cross Blue Shield	Insurance	26	Business	Communication Skills	50	95	70	$45-$50	Yes
76	73	Grant Thornton	Accounting	544	Business	Leadership Skills	79	29	70	$50-$55	Yes
104	NA	McGladrey & Pullen	Accounting	700	Business	College Major	105	34	70	$45-$50	No
91	NA	Milliken	Manufacturing	75	Engineering	Leadership Skills	90	42	70	$50-$55	No
34	84	Northwestern Mutual	Insurance	2165	Business	Communication Skills	25	27	70	$40-$45	Yes
52	NA	Southern California Edison	Energy	795	Engineering	Analytical Skills	30	85	70	$60-$65	Yes
65	NA	Towers Perrin	Consulting	157	Math	Leadership Skills	55	61	70	$50-$55	Yes
48	56	Aetna	Insurance	80	Business	Leadership Skills	31	72	70	$45-$50	Yes
58	NA	Aflac	Insurance	33	Business	Analytical Skills	40	90	70	$50-$55	No
68	81	AIG	Insurance	61	Business	Analytical Skills	58	79	70	$45-$50	No
83	NA	Allstate	Insurance	343	Business	College Major	84	36	70	$35-$40	Yes
60	58	Ameriprise Financial	Financial Services	2966	NA	Leadership Skills	48	77	70	$40-$45	Yes
86	NA	BB&T	Financial Services	236	Business	Leadership Skills	85	37	70	$45-$50	No
75	83	Bearingpoint	Consulting	748	Business	College Major	71	46	70	NA	No
98	NA	Abercrombie & Fitch	Retailing	62	Business	Leadership Skills	92	79	70	$45-$50	No
100	NA	Comcast	Telecommunications	11667	NA	Communication Skills	97	79	70	Less than $35	Yes
101	NA	Cerner	Consulting	676	Computer Science	Communication Skills	98	77	70	$40-$45	No
85	80	Duke Energy	Energy	NA	Engineering	College Major	77	86	70	$35-$40	No
107	NA	Con Edison	Energy	48	Engineering	Communication Skills	104	79	70	NA	Yes
67	NA	EMC	Technology	1054	Sales, Social Sciences	College Major	56	70	70	$50-$55	Yes
54	29	Exelon	Energy	122	Engineering	College GPA	38	64	70	$55-$60	Yes
53	NA	FactSet Research Systems	Media/Entertainment	159	Business	Communication Skills	44	49	70	$65-$70	No
94	48	Kohl's	Retailing	205	Business	Communication Skills	86	93	70	$40-$45	No
20	90	Norfolk Southern	Transportation	116	Business	Communication Skills	5	59	70	$45-$50	Yes
102	NA	PNC Financial Services	Financial Services	64	Business	College Major	100	66	70	NA	No
59	30	Prudential	Insurance	266	Business	Work Experience	50	66	70	$50-$55	Yes
106	NA	Rackspace Hosting	Technology	NA	NA	College Major	103	64	70	Less than $35	Yes
81	64	Sherwin-Williams	Consumer Goods	794	Business	Communication Skills	82	33	70	$35-$40	No
78	75	SunTrust Banks	Financial Services	179	Business	Communication Skills	73	61	70	$45-$50	No
87	NA	State Street	Financial Services	1000	Business	Analytical Skills	78	88	70	$35-$40	No
38	59	AT&T	Telecommunications	3514	Business	Leadership Skills	16	72	70	$55-$60	Yes
43	37	Travelers	Insurance	155	Business	College GPA	25	72	70	$45-$50	Yes
39	68	Union Pacific	Transportation	190	Business	Analytical Skills	22	57	70	$45-$50	Yes
71	34	UPS	Transportation	4002	Engineering	Leadership Skills	59	66	70	$50-$55	No
79	63	Walgreen	Retailing	14386	NA	Communication Skills	71	83	70	$60-$65	No
90	NA	Fisher Investments	Financial Services	214	Business	Work Experience	83	70	70	$50-$55	No
72	72	Wolseley NA	Manufacturing	801	Business	Communication Skills	74	25	70	$35-$40	Yes
103	NA	AmeriCorps	Nonprofit/Government	75000	NA	Dedication to Community Service	102	89	70	Less than $35	No
70	NA	Lutron Electronics	Consumer Goods	39	Engineering	Communication Skills	57	96	69	$60-$65	Yes
99	NA	Dominion	Energy	1480	NA	Analytical Skills	94	96	68	$40-$45	No
55	53	Progressive	Insurance	1637	Info Tech	Communication Skills	40	56	67	$35-$40	Yes
26	26	Enterprise Rent-A-Car	Transportation	8000	Business	Leadership Skills	66	5	66	Less than $35	No
46	NA	Whirlpool	Consumer Goods	56	Business	Leadership Skills	28	93	65	$55-$60	Yes
82	46	Sprint Nextel	Telecommunications	NA	Engineering	Communication Skills	75	96	64	$55-$60	Yes
56	25	Macy's	Retailing	584	Business	Analytical Skills	60	23	63	$40-$45	No
62	NA	GEICO	Insurance	376	Liberal Arts	College Major	60	29	62	$35-$40	Yes
95	60	Protiviti	Consulting	360	Business	Communication Skills	89	96	61	$50-$55	Yes
89	NA	Philips Electronics NA	Consumer Goods	35	Engineering	Leadership Skills	80	96	60	$55-$60	No
50	95	MetLife	Insurance	2077	NA	Communication Skills	31	96	59	Less than $35	Yes
32	43	Philip Morris USA	Consumer Goods	347	Business	Leadership Skills	34	26	58	$55-$60	Yes

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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.

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