????斯坦福大學（Stanford）2012屆的MBA畢業生進入職場后的平均起薪（含獎金）約為140,459美元——比薪酬最高的哈佛大學（Howard）MBA畢業生的平均工資只少了2,042美元。但最近有趨勢顯示，六位數的工資可能正在逐漸失去往日的吸引力。MBA畢業生現在追求的是更模糊、更變幻無常的目標——成就感。

????斯坦福大學商學研究院（Graduate School of Business，GSB）進行的一項職業與就業趨勢調查發現，學校千禧年的商學院畢業生選擇了個人發展，放棄了以往能夠提供高額薪資的大公司所提供的機會。斯坦福大學商學研究院就業管理中心主任普林?賽格威表示，二十年前，MBA畢業生主要選擇的是潛在雇主的品牌和聲譽，他們更偏愛華爾街和咨詢公司。學生們想當然地認為這些工作能給他們的簡歷增加份量。

????但現在，MBA畢業生卻致力于創建自己的個人品牌。賽格威稱，他們更愿意花更長時間，找那些雖然薪酬較低但卻能為他們提供強化其商業技能和真實體驗的工作。尤其是創業公司，吸引了越來越多的MBA畢業生。他補充說：“這些學生并不認為，創業公司必須要上市，否則就是浪費時間。相反，他們認為，他們可以從中學到如何創辦一家公司，如何招聘，以及如何將公司上市。”

????有一些學生避開了傳統雇主，轉而選擇自主創業。自2011年以來畢業的斯坦福商學院學生，有13%至16%選擇了自己開公司，而在十年前，這個比例僅有10%。2004年，僅有7%的畢業生計劃創業。

????人們很容易就認為，這一代學生不關心風險。但賽格威卻并不這么認為：“他們非常清楚風險。但他們也明白，雖然事件風險可能很高，但長期風險相對較低。”而且，在這個過程中，MBA畢業生們可以掌握下一次再開公司時所需要的關鍵技能。

????這種轉變在斯坦福形成了一個新流行語——尖刺一族（spiky）。“尖刺一族”MBA學生特別擅長三到四種獨特的技能，讓他們在所有人中脫穎而出，而不是做一個樣樣稀松的普通學生。賽格威說：“我們希望學生圍繞他們最擅長的東西打造自己的專業身份。”這些學生走入社會后會尋找那些獨一無二、專業性強的工作。

????而在目前嚴峻的經濟形勢下，要找到這樣特殊的職位無疑非常困難。但賽格威表示，市場卻越來越支持這種方式。過去，MBA的工作主要集中在幾個行業，甚至只集中在幾家最受歡迎的雇主那里。現在，他們可以馳騁的舞臺越來越大，也越來越多樣化。

????統計數字佐證了賽格威的觀點。2012年，斯坦福大學786名MBA畢業生被367家機構聘用。學校81%的雇主僅聘用了一名MBA學生，只有1%的雇主聘用了五位或超過五位MBA畢業生。賽格威說：“看著（就業）統計數據，人們可能會認為，現在的畢業生沒有趕上好時代。但實際上，這是學校歷史上最有積極影響力的時代。學生們擁有大把機會，他們可以根據對他們來說最重要的因素，來選擇最合適的職業。”

????Stanford MBAs graduating in 2012 waltzed out of school and into career opportunities with an average starting salary, including bonuses, of $140,459 - just $2,042 shy of the average salary scored by the top-paid Harvard MBAs. But recent trends indicate that six-figure salaries may have lost some of their sheen. MBAs are now in pursuit of a mushier and far more fickle goal -- fulfillment.

????A study of career and employment trends by Stanford's Graduate School of Business found that the school's millennial B-school graduates are choosing personal development over opportunities with traditional hiring heavyweights, which typically pay the big bucks. Twenty years ago, MBAs focused on the brand and prestige of potential employers, with a tendency to favor Wall Street and consulting firms, says Pulin Sanghvi, director of Stanford GSB's Career Management Center. Students rightfully assumed these jobs would add luster to the resumes.

????Now, however, MBAs are focusing on building their personal brands. They're more willing to search longer for lower paying jobs that provide an opportunity to bolster their business "tool kits" with down-and-dirty experience, Sanghvi says. Startups, in particular, are drawing more MBAs. "There's not the attitude that this company has to be an IPO or it's a waste of time," he adds. "Instead, students are realizing that they'll learn how to build a company, how to hire people, how to take a company public."

????Some students are eschewing traditional employers altogether and striking out on their own. Since 2011, between 13% to 16% of Stanford B-school graduates have opted to start their own companies, compared with a 10% average for most of the previous decade -- in 2004, only 7% of graduates planned to launch entrepreneurial ventures.

????It's easy to assume that this generation is simply less concerned with risk. But Sanghvi doesn't see it that way: "They're aware of risk. But they also understand that even though the event risk may be high, the longer term risk isn't that high." And, in the process, these MBAs stand to gain critical skills for starting their next company.

????This shift has also spawned a new buzzword at Stanford -- spikiness. Spiky MBAs specialize in three or four unique skills that make them stand out, as opposed to being just mediocre at a lot of things. "We want students to build their professional identifies around a few things that they can be the best at," Sanghvi says. These spiky MBAs then go out into the world in search of unique and specialized jobs.

????Finding that special role is undoubtedly a rough road in a tough economy. But the market is increasingly supportive of this approach, Sanghvi says. In the past, MBA jobs were aggregated in a few industries and then concentrated even further to just a handful of sought-after employers. Now, the playing field is larger and more diverse than it has ever been, Sanghvi says.

????The numbers back him up. In 2012, Stanford's 786 MBAs were hired across 367 organizations. Some 81% of the school's employer base hired just one MBA, and only 1% of the employer base hired five MBAs or more. "If you look at the [employment] statistics you might conclude that this is a scary time to graduate, but honestly this is the most empowering time in the history of the school," Sanghvi says. "Students have so much opportunity that they want to find the right fit that's consistent with what matters most to them."