MBA Employment Reports: London Business School, Class of 2016

MBA graduates from London Business School continue to display a preference for careers in consulting over those in finance and technology, according to the school’s class of 2016 employment report.

While the proportion of graduates taking post-MBA jobs in consulting has crept up from 33% in 2015 to 35% in 2016, the proportion taking jobs in finance is down from 27 to 25% in the same timeframe. A little over a fifth of the class of 2016 have taken MBA jobs in the technology industry – the very same proportion as last year.

London Business School’s MBA class of 2016, which numbers roughly 400 students, picked up an average (mean) salary of £77,693 (US$$102,582 as per the report’s conversion rate taken at August 2016) – a slight rise on the £75,276 figure reported last year.

The average seen among those taking MBA jobs in consulting and finance is a little higher than the class average, at £83,268 (US$109,942) and £81,905 (US$108,143), respectively. In each of these cases, the averages also represent small rises on the numbers seen last year. However, the average salary among those taking MBA jobs in technology is a little lower than the overall average, at £70,746 (US$93,408) and, indeed, is a little lower than the equivalent figure of £71,529 reported for technology in 2015.

No change to number of London Business School graduates staying in the UK

Any notion that the result of last year’s referendum over EU membership in the UK might already affect the number of London Business School (LBS) graduates who stay on in the country after completing their degree appear to have been dismissed. The number of graduates taking post-MBA jobs in the UK is 52% - the very same proportion as in 2015. The number of students who joined the MBA from a background in the UK has also remained unchanged, at 11%.

…but greater number of graduates taking post-MBA jobs elsewhere in Europe

Those who joined the program from elsewhere in Europe, meanwhile, represented 24% of the class of 2016 and it’s interesting to note that the number accepting jobs in Europe (excluding the UK) at the program’s end is still considerably lower than this, at 16%. On the other hand, that figure is an increase on the 13% equivalent seen in 2015 and, in fact, stemmed from a class in which a higher number of students (26%) hailed from the rest of Europe before enrolling. There is, of course, no suggestion of correlation between where a student is based before the program and where they are more likely to accept a job after graduation, but the fact that more LBS graduates have opted for a job in the rest of Europe this year is an interesting change to ponder in itself.

After the UK and the rest of Europe, Asia is the next most popular regional destination for graduates and has taken 11% of a class in which 21% originally hailed from the region.

Top employers of LBS’s class of 2016

A look at the top employers of graduates (by volume of hires) in London Business School’s class of 2016 employment report reveals three consulting firms at the helm, followed by two tech giants. A further three consulting firms each hired more than the finance industry’s biggest recruiter by volume, as shown in the table below:

Sources: London Business School MBA employment reports for 2015 and 2016