Michigan Ross: Class of 2015 Employment Report

Amazon continues to be the top employer of full-time MBA graduates of Michigan Ross and has ramped up its numerical lead on second-placed Deloitte substantially, according to the school’s latest MBA employment report.

Sources: Michigan Ross graduate and recruiter reports, 2015 & 2014

Technology on the up among class of 2015 but consulting remains number one

The technology (and telecoms) industry as a whole was responsible for hiring 18% of Michigan Ross’ MBA class of 2015, up from 15% last year. Consulting is down, from 34% in 2014 to 31%, yet the sector remains comfortably the most popular industry destination for the school’s MBA graduates and, indeed, the highest-paying one.

The median base salary for those taking MBA jobs in consulting is US$135,000 – just US$5,000 shy of those seen at Harvard this year and well in excess of the class of 2015’s overall median salary of US$117,750. Those entering technology careers, meanwhile, report a median salary a fraction below this overall average, at US$117,000.

Still, as was the case at Michigan Ross last year, more graduates are taking MBA jobs in the technology industry than in finance. Those entering the financial services and investment banking combined represent 15% of the class of 2015 – a rise of three percentage points on last year, but one that still puts it three points behind the proportion heading into the technology industry.

Substantial pay rise for those taking MBA jobs in finance

Interestingly enough, however, the number of students opting for MBA jobs in investment banking has more than doubled this year, from 3 to 7.5% of the class total. The median base salary across both areas of finance stipulated by Michigan Ross is US$125,000 – a substantial rise of 25% on the US$100,000 figures reported in 2014 and one which a Wall Street Journal report suggests might have something to do with a feeling, in particular, among investment banking firms that they need to up their game to secure top talent in light of competition from tech employers.

However, among Michigan’s class of 2015, there’s actually a fractional drop in the number of graduates taking MBA jobs on Wall Street, together with New York City as a whole this year, from 15 to 14%. One in five will work in Chicago, with roughly one in 10 taking positions in each of Seattle and San Francisco. Those journeying overseas for the start of their post-MBA career represent just 6% of this year’s class, down from 7% in 2014. Asia is the most popular destination here, taking 5% of the class – unsurprising given the region supplies Michigan Ross with by far its largest proportion of international students, with 22% of 2015’s graduating class hailing from the region (including 11% from India), and 25% of last year’s (including 9% from India).

Significance of MBA internships at Michigan Ross

This year’s report also reveals that more than a third of graduates from Ross’ class of 2015 (38%) are taking MBA jobs at the companies who took them on as interns during their course of study. So, it may well be interesting to note that the top employer of interns from next year’s graduating class is also Amazon, with 16 hires. In this the tech giant stands ahead of McKinsey, who took 10 Ross interns, as well as JPMorgan Chase and the Boston Consulting Group, who took eight apiece. Returning to the list of top full-time recruiters, the Boston Consulting Group is notable for doubling the number of its hires from the school this year, while Accenture and Microsoft took on noticeably fewer graduates.

Michigan Ross’ employment report relates to a class size of 455, of which 97% of those seeking employment secured an offer within three months of graduating and 92% had accepted an offer by this point. As few as 1% of this year’s class reported starting or buying their own company directly after graduating and 4% are returning to their pre-MBA employers.