After two years of sharp declines in hiring, Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) students are having more success landing jobs – and getting them earlier – than during the depths of the financial crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The increase comes as companies become more optimistic about their opportunities for growth and gain confidence that new hires now will pay off down the line.

Hiring at many traditional career destinations for M.B.A. graduates, including finance and consulting, are nearing pre-recession levels. Overall, 57 percent of full-time M.B.A. students in the United States had job offers by mid-March, compared with 40 percent a year earlier, according to a survey released last month by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). The council released the results of a survey of 905 companies and 127 businesses nationwide.

As more financial services and consulting companies come back to campuses, competition for MBA talent is also pushing salaries higher – though not quite in line with inflation. The average starting salary is expected to be $91,433 this year, according to the GMAC survey.

Not all companies are in that mix. According to the survey, just 68 percent of health-care and pharmaceutical companies are looking to hire M.B.A. graduates this year, with an average of 11 openings per company – down from 24 spots last year.

To read the full story in The Wall Street Journal, click here.