Survey: Most Students Work on a PC in College but Prefer Macs in the Workplace

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 05/28/19
closeup of hands typing at desktop computer

A majority of students prefer Apple's Mac and view organizations that offer Mac computers as more modern and desirable places to work. That's the primary finding in a survey sponsored by Jamf, which produces software specifically for managing Apple devices.

In a commissioned survey, the company queried 2,244 college and university students in five countries. Sixty percent of respondents work on a PC but a slight majority of those (51 percent) said they'd prefer to use a Mac if upfront cost were no object.

Why Mac? A majority said they like "the brand" (64 percent); the "style and design" (60 percent); the "ease of use" (59 percent); and "reliability" (57 percent). Fifty-one percent said they prefer the price of the PC.

When it came to their employment options, 78 percent of survey participants said that it was important for potential employers to give their employees choice to help them "feel more productive, creative and valued." Two-thirds (67 percent) reported that regardless of which computer they owned, they were "more likely to choose and stay at an organization" where they could have their choice of work computer.

According to the company, a bit more than half (52 percent) of enterprise operations give employees the ability to choose what type of computer they'd like to work on; and 72 percent of those employees choose the Mac.

A report with some of the survey findings is available with registration on the Jamf website.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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