MBA Job Report: London Business School

More London Business School MBA graduates are choosing to stay with their pre-MBA employer as opposed to working at a new one, according to the LBS MBA Employment Report 2014.

LBS MBA Salary Up 5% in 2014

MBA salaries for LBS MBA graduates have risen 5.2% from last year. The medianbase MBA salary for the LBS class of 2014 is US$117,836 compared to US$112,000 for 2013. While this salary isn’t the best one we’ve seen for 2014, it is higher than the salaries reported for other top schools such as Tuck and Michigan Ross.

Consulting is the sector with the highest median MBA salary. This year’s base median consulting salary of US$125,117 USD is 4.6% higher than last year. Finance, typically one of top sectors in terms of MBA salary, was the source of the lowest median MBA salary of US$112,166.

Australasia wins the award for the region with the highest median MBA salary of US$134,923. This should come as no surprise; Australia has consistently laid claim to the world’s second highest average MBA salary (after Switzerland), as documented in the QS TopMBA.com Jobs & Salary Trends Report. The US & Canada was a close second with a median MBA salary of US$130,000.

Consulting jobs are up, finance has plateaued

Consulting is on the rise at LBS, a 3% rise to be exact. In 2014, 32% of LBS’ graduating class took jobs in the consulting sector, mostly in strategy consulting. Most of these jobs were with the MBB consulting firms. In fact, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group were the top two employers overall, hiring 31 and 21 LBS graduates respectively. Bain also figured into the top four by hiring 12 LBS MBAs this year.

After a steady seven-year decline, finance jobs seem to have reached a plateau. Between 2007 and 2013, the percentage of LBS MBAs working the finance sector dipped from 46% to 28%. In 2014, however, the percentage of MBAs working in finance remains unchanged since last year.

Slightly lower MBA job acceptance rate, more graduates staying with current employer

The job acceptance rate has dipped slightly. The 2014 job acceptance rate of 93% represents a 2% decrease compared to last year.

When asked about the reason for the decrease, Lara Berkowitz, executive director of career services at London Business School, stated "All schools see fluctuations from year to year based on several factors including the labour market environment. Our employment rate has always been consistently high."

Of those students that did accept jobs, fewer accepted offers with new employers. In 2014, 72% of students took jobs with new employers compared to 79% in 2013. This means that a little over a fifth of the 2014 graduating class ended up staying with their previous employer or started their own business.