Top 10 Tech Companies Students Want To Work For

Next-Gen Workers

The next generation of employees is optimistic about finding employment in their desired field after college and are interested in IT and health fields, according to a new study by the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS). The organization asked more than 9,000 students, which included college-bound students, current college students and recent college graduates, what companies they'd like to work for the most. Here's a list of the top 10 technology companies that survey respondents want to work for, according to the study.

4. Google

CEO: Larry Page

Google ranked fourth overall as the top tech company to work for, according to the NSHSS. In 2012, Google ranked No. 1 and was second in 2011. The overall top three employers sought by the workers are St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Disney and local hospitals.

5. Apple

CEO: Tim Cook

Apple consistently ranks high in just about everything else, so why not places to work for next-gen employees too. Apple ranked just above federal agencies FBI (sixth) and CIA (seventh), but fell from second overall in 2012.

10. Microsoft

CEO: Steve Ballmer

Microsoft rounded out the overall Top 10, according to the NSHSS survey, which means it wins the bronze among tech companies.

15. Sony

CEO: Kazuo Hirai

Sony is the highest-ranking foreign-based company on NSHSS' list and finished just ahead of clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch.

28. IBM

CEO: Virginia Rometty

Your father, or even your grandfather, might have worked for IBM back in the day, but today's students still want to work for Big Blue too.

38. Facebook

CEO: Mark Zuckerberg

Today's students today might be heavy users of social media, but that doesn't mean they want work in that space. Facebook was one of the steepest-dropping companies on the list, falling to 38 from 17 last year. Still, it ranked much higher than LinkedIn (tied for 157th), while Twitter, Instagram and other social companies didn't crack the top 200.

40. Intel

CEO: Paul Otellini

Intel ranked 40th in the 2013 study, falling for the second straight year. It ranked 27th in 2012 and 21st in 2011.

46. Adobe Systems

CEO: Shantanu Narayen

Adobe Systems doesn't have the brand presence of other tech giants, but, according to the NSHSS, it's still a company students want to want for; it's ranked in the top 50 for the third straight year.

54. AT&T

CEO: Randall L. Stephenson

AT&T is the highest-ranking telecom carrier on NSHSS' list, squeezing in between Bayer and Baptist Health South Florida. It ranked 40th last year and 25th in 2011.

56. Dell

CEO: Michael Dell

Dell finishes off the top 10 tech companies, falling from 38th place in the 2012 ranking. The NSHSS survey was fielded in March, a month after Dell announced a leveraged buyout proposal.

Top-Ranked VAR

CEO: Jim Kavanaugh

Though it didn't make the top 10, we couldn't end this list without highlighting World Wide Technology, a St. Louis-based solution provider, which landed 73rd on the list, the highest rank for any pure VAR company.

The Rest

Several other IT companies made the list, some perhaps lower than they'd wish. Here's a look at where other bellwether tech companies finished: Siemens (69th), Cisco (T-71st), Hewlett-Packard (T-82nd), Research In Motion/BlackBerry (T-82nd), Verizon (T-93rd), Accenture (108th), Autodesk (109th), HTC (139th), Xerox (153rd), Ultimate Software (172nd), Qualcomm (180th), TEKsystems (186th), EMC (187th), Intuit (T-201st).