Wall Street still a draw for MBAs

The fallout over Goldman Sachs and the near collapse of the entire financial industry has not deterred MBA students from wanting a job on Wall Street, according to a survey. 

The study found an overwhelming majority of first- and second-year MBA students want to work on Wall Street despite recent events that have rocked that sector of the economy and caused massive layoffs within the industry. Roughly 80 percent of respondents say their are optimistic about their job prospects, with 40 percent wanting to work for a large institution.  

The survey comes as the Senate embarks on amending legislation that will reform the financial industry to help ensure it will never bring down the economy again.  

"MBA's are looking for and being sought after by the larger Wall Street firms, despite the negative press and the pervasive idea that these firms aren't hiring," said Scott Rostan, founder of Training the Street, in prepared remarks. "If anything, these firms are hiring aggressively." 

Rostan's firm is a corporate training provider for Wall Street firms and conducted the survey that drew from students a part of the nation's top 25 MBA programs.

Nearly 60 percent of respondents expect their starting salaries to be between $100,000 and $125,000.