“I joined Roland Berger in September 2022. I was looking for an employer who would allow me to gain skills very quickly.” For his first mission, Paul-Henri Pinet, 25 and just out of Edhec, is working on the launch of 5G in an emerging country for a telecom operator. Like nearly 20% of business school graduates, he therefore preferred consulting to start out. “59% of graduates choose four major sectors of activity: consulting (18.6%); IT and digital (16.1%), finance and insurance (14.8%) and finally commerce (9.5%)”, deciphers Nicolas Glady, president of the Aval commission at the conference of the grandes écoles.
The best salaries in banking and insurance
“A good salary remains the most important criterion for me. With inflation, the cost of living has risen sharply”, recognizes Mohamed Ali Elbekeri, 24, a graduate of ISC Paris, looking for a job as management controller in the world of banking. A sector which, with insurance, remains the most profitable at the start of a career with 41,000 euros in gross annual median salary (excluding bonuses).
The world of mass consumption is not left out. “Whether in terms of compensation or promotion, L’Oréal remains very attractive, rejoices Victor Vélo, a graduate of Neoma. But it was also very important for me to join a company that takes its responsibilities on a societal and environmental level. .”
| The most profitable sectors (gross annual median salary excluding bonuses) | In euros |
|---|---|
| Bank-insurance | 41,000 |
| Consulting company | 40,000 |
| Information technology, services | 39,000 |
| legal management | 37,000 |
| Trade | 35,000 |
| Food industry | 34,000 |
Source : General Conference of Grandes Ecoles, June 2022 integration survey.
A job to be proud of
Money therefore remains a driving force, but young people are now demanding from companies a job of which they are proud. No more remunerative but uninteresting positions, even harmful to the common good. Make way for jobs in line with their personal values, with a positive impact on society. “Graduates are massively joining traditional sectors, while looking for impactful assignments,” analyzes Manuelle Malot, careers and prospective director at Edhec. Thus, in consulting, young executives will prefer strategy more than information systems. “Their Holy Grail is to help them become more socially and environmentally virtuous,” continues Manuelle Malot.
The same is true in the world of mass consumption, where young product managers will want to work at Danone or Nestlé in the marketing of a “responsible” product. “At the limit, they will agree to join Total Energies, but on new energies”, resumes Manuelle Malot. Let it be said: the societal has replaced the international.
A qualified and eco-anxious climate generation
Nikoline Wolf, a graduate of Iéseg, chose an environmentally conscious start-up, EcoTree.
© / Coll. Private
“Of course, I earn less than the average graduate of my class in marketing, but at least I see the positive impact of my work on a daily basis. Working for an ordinary company would scare me.” At 24, Nikoline Wolf, a graduate of Iéseg, a post-baccalaureate business school, chose to start her career in an environmentally-conscious start-up, EcoTree.
This young Breton company buys forests and offers businesses and individuals the opportunity to invest in tree planting. She owns a wood in Denmark and has opened offices in Copenhagen, where Nikoline works as a junior marketing coordinator. “I went to study at the CBS business school in Copenhagen as part of an exchange during my first year of my master’s degree. I wanted to spend a gap year there to discover a job that I like, that has meaningful and useful. I quickly came across an ad posted by EcoTree. A real crush! I applied immediately.”
Nikoline perfectly embodies this “climate generation”, both qualified and eco-anxious. “With global warming, worry is a daily occurrence for me. The future is so uncertain that it is difficult for me to project myself. To be well, I need to tell myself that I am trying to improve things at my level, that I have a job that is useful to the planet. If I worked for a polluting company, I wouldn’t be able to be myself.”