Chicago Booth: Class of 2015 Employment Report

The financial services industry remains the biggest employer of Chicago Booth MBA graduates, despite dropping down a couple of percentage points in popularity among the class of 2015.

Of Chicago’s 505 MBA graduates seeking new full-time MBA job opportunities in 2015, 35% have accepted a position within the financial services industry, with just under half of this proportion moving into investment banking. Despite the slight fall from 37% in 2014, this approximate level of hiring appears to be the new normal at Chicago Booth and a return to the 45% proportion recorded in 2010 seems unlikely in the immediate future.

One of the reasons for this, of course, is the growth in popularity of the technology industry. Back in 2010, technology only took 7.5% of the class. Now, this proportion has doubled, to 15% and is up from 13.5% in 2014.

However, the second most-favored industry among Chicago’s MBA graduates is consulting – an industry which, after a fall from 31 to 28% between 2013 and 2014, has recovered to an even higher level, of 32% - right on the coattails of finance.

Elsewhere, after a jump in hiring in the consumer products industry in 2014, when it accounted for 6% of Chicago’s class, this industry’s proportion has fallen back a touch, to 5% among the class of 2015.

MBA salary levels on the rise

The average MBA salary level commanded by new Chicago Booth MBA graduates is up by US$5,000 in 2014, to a median of US$125,000. This same incremental rise can be observed across the consulting (US$135,000 to US$140,000) and technology (US$115,000 to US$120,000) industries. A bigger rise in MBA salary levels has been enjoyed by those embarking on finance careers, where the median has crept up from US$110,000 to meet the overall class average of US$125,000 in 2015. In this, a 25% rise to the average MBA salary level in investment banking – taking the median from US$100,000 to US$125,000 – is particularly pertinent, as has been the case at other leading schools, Michigan Ross for instance.

Interestingly, the average MBA salary levels earned by Chicago Booth’s latest MBA graduates are not particularly influenced by the amount of work experience held by individuals before enrolling in the program. The median came in at US$125,000 among those who held 3-5 years prior experience as well as among those with more than five years under their belts, with both of these groups accounting for more than 200 students. A far smaller number of 42 students who possessed only 1-3 years prior work experience didn’t do too badly either, registering a median salary of US$122,000.

Top employers of Chicago’s MBA graduates

Source: Chicago Booth

45% land post-MBA job opportunities through internship 

Almost half of new MBA job opportunities sourced by Chicago Booth’s class of 2015 have stemmed from their summer internship employers – the 45% figure recorded this year represents a rise of five percentage points on 2014’s figure and brings it back to the level seen in 2013. Landing a new MBA job through on-campus interviews - which accounted for 17% of offers accepted by graduates in 2014 - is back down to 14% among the class of 2015.

2015’s Chicago Booth MBAs take more jobs outside US 

This year, 83% of the Chicago Booth’s MBA class have accepted jobs within the US – that figure is smaller than 2014’s proportion of 87% but one that is more akin to the level seen in 2013. The top three US destinations among the class of 2015 are Chicago, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area which account for 27, 19 and 13% of the class, respectively.

Despite the overall drop in numbers staying on to work in the US, the numbers heading to both New York and the Bay Area have both risen by a single percentage point, as compared to 2014. Instead, it is Chicago that falls slightly in popularity this time round, as well as the US South – a destination which accounts for just 2% of 2015’s MBA graduates; half the number seen in 2014.

And so, going against a trend seen this year at Harvard and Wharton, for example, more Chicago graduates have taken MBA job opportunities outside the US. Although in truth, the 17% of Chicago Booth’s class of 2015 heading overseas is a recovery from the fall felt in 2014, when only 13% ventured abroad with their new degrees. This rise is evenly spread across a multitude of locations, with 7% now heading to Latin America and the Caribbean, 5% to Asia and 4% to Europe.

The median MBA salary secured by those remaining in the US is equal to the overall class average, at US$125,000 with the median among for those accepting international MBA job offers coming in a little lower than this, at US$111,235. 

Among its class of 2015, 87% of Chicago Booth MBAs were seeking new employment opportunities and 95% of this number, which amounts to just over 500 MBAs, had accepted an offer within three months of graduation, with 97% receiving a full-time offer in this timeframe. Those who instead reported starting their own business on graduation numbered 3.3% - more than double the 1.6% proportion who reported doing likewise in 2014, although an approximate 3% figure had been the norm in each of the three years prior to 2014 (see the North American average on entrepreneurship in this article). In addition, 6% of Chicago’s latest class were sponsored students, a slight rise on the number seen in 2014, and have therefore returned to their existing employers.