Strong Job Market for Many MBA Grads This Summer

Many MBA graduates from top universities who are entering the job market this summer will see strong demand for their services and good pay, especially for those who are interested in technology.

According to a spokesperson at the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management, the market is strong for graduates of top MBA schools.

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With employer demand for management talent meeting or exceeding pre-2020 levels, many MBA graduates are turning to tech companies, while interest shifts slightly from financial services, says Read McNamara, Managing Director of the Career Management Center at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management.

Read McNamara noted that sign on bonuses still are rather flat, but starting salaries for Owen graduates have increased faster than inflation. He said that good jobs at technology companies and many aspects McNamara further noted that there is a lessening of interest in working in finance, long the most popular area for MBA graduates. This is part of a growing trend; many newly minted MBAs all over the country are continuing the post recession trend of trying to land jobs outside of the Wall Street finance world. Such examples of technology areas including technology management, big data & analytics, cybersecurity,  information systems, and more.

The same is holding true of MBA students in Europe. According to the assistant director of Career Development at INSEAD, one of the top MBA schools in the UK, big technology companies have been hiring many of that school’s graduates, which is fueling demand this year. And at HEC Paris, a leading business school in France, Amazon has been the top recruiter of MBA graduates.

In the US, if an MBA grad really wants to get a leg up on a good tech job, having a good internship is very important. Many companies today use internships to source talent for their full time positions. McNamara stated that almost 47% of internships turn into real jobs.

It also seems that many tech firms are looking more for skill sets in general management rather than specialists in one area. This could be because organizations are getting flatter and leaner, so the hierarchy is starting to crumble at many companies. Employers want to have new MBAs who can provide leadership without a mandate, and be able to deal with an ambiguous situation.

Some of the most in demand tech jobs where an MBA can help include business analyst and IT generalist.

Companies will pay a lot of money for that type of MBA talent that can deliver results, but the results need to happen fast. With the salaries that firms are paying top MBA prospects now, they do not have the time or tolerance to give hires a long learning curve, McNamara noted. He said that these companies expect new MBAs to really hit the ground running and to start to add value to the company right away.

The universities with graduates that get the best jobs out of MBA school in the US this year usually are Stanford University, Dartmouth, University of Chicago and Penn State. Graduates from these MBA programs always are in demand.