How Much Money Will You Earn with an MBA From Wharton?

The Wharton MBA Careers 2020 report details employment statistics for the most recent graduating class of the MBA programme at Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. Across all industries, the median salary earned by the class is US$150,000 - a huge US$15,000 increase up from the Wharton MBA Careers 2018 report.

The MBA programme at Wharton is the second best MBA programme in the world according to the QS World University Rankings: Global MBA Rankings 2021.

Out of the 904 graduating students in Wharton’s MBA Class of 2020, 681 MBA graduates were seeking employment as of September 12, 2019 - with 93.5 percent reporting receiving job offers and 91.6 percent accepted a job offer. Considering the environment these graduates entered during COVID-19, it should be considered a success.

Overall, the median salary remained steady at $150,000. The majority of the 17.6 percent of the class who were not seeking employment were company-sponsored and returning to their employer. Another three percent are starting their own business or are already self-employed.

The report also provides insight into salary differences between industry. For instance, the highest reported salaries are in legal and professional services, with a median of a huge US$190,000. Venture capital is just behind, with a median salary of US$171,500 (down from US$175,000 in 2018). The lowest salary by industry is in social impact, with a median salary of US$89,250 (down from US$96,475 in 2019).

Consulting and financial services continue to be the most popular industries for Wharton graduates, with 24.5 percent of accepted offers being from jobs in the consulting industry, and 36.2 percent accepting offers in financial services.

In the financial services umbrella, investment banking and brokerage is the most popular choice (12.2 percent of accepted offers), followed by private equity (11.9 percent). The third most popular industry is technology industries, with 16.2 percent (up from 14.9 percent the previous year) reporting job acceptances in this field.

A huge number of high-level employers hired two or more students from the Class of 2018. In consulting, giants such as Bain & Company, the Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey & Company were among the big names hiring Wharton grads. Other significant employers include Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Facebook, Google Inc., and Morgan Stanley.

Most Class of 2020 graduates gained employment in the same country as their alma mater, with 86.6 percent of job acceptances located in the United States, predominantly in the Northeast. However, the highest salaries in the US are to be found in the Midwest and the South.

13.4 percent of the Class of 2020 found employment internationally, with Asia (5.4 percent), Europe (3.5 percent) and Latin America (2.2 percent) the most popular destinations abroad. These three regions also offered the highest salaries outside the US: US$124,744 in Asia, US$110,736 in Europe and US$77,596 ( a substantial drop from the median salary of US$92,000 for the 2018 graduating class) in Latin America.

And although the Middle East just missed out on the top three locations for Wharton graduates at 1.2 percent of Wharton 2020 graduates taking up jobs in the region, the median salary soars above the rest at US$130,109.

The report also details statistics for internships undertaken by the Class of 2020. To see the full report on Wharton’s website, click here.