Wharton Releases Latest MBA Careers Report

The Wharton School recently released its MBA Careers Report for the Class of 2019. Wharton’s annual report examines employment and compensation data for recent graduates from the School’s full-time MBA program.

Highlights from the 2019 MBA Careers Report include:

• Significant increase in median base salary (up to US$150,000 from US$135,000 for the Class of 2018)
• The highest number of Venture Capital job placements to date (4.2 percent of Wharton’s 863 students)
• Continued strong job placement rate (98.5 percent of students seeking jobs received an offer)
• Tied for highest-ever response rate (95 percent)

Demographics

Wharton’s MBA programs for both 2019 and 2020 boast 862 students undergoing the program. The 2019 class had 481 male students (56 percent), 381 female (44 percent), 282 US students of color (33 percent), and 285 international students (33 percent), 52 countries were represented, and students had an average of five years’ work experience.

The 2020 class has 487 students, 375 female students, 274 US students of color, 281 international students, 61 countries represented, and students have an average of five years’ work experience.

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Employment summary

Wharton MBA students were very eager to progress in their respective careers, both with summer internships and post-graduation.

There were 863 students in the Class of 2019 of which 664 students (76.9 percent) were seeking employment. Almost all of those students succeeded in their job search, with 654 students reporting job offers (98.5 percent) and 621 student (93.5 percent) reporting job acceptances. Only 17.6 percent (152 students) noted they weren’t seeking employment, with 102 students returning back to their company, 35 starting their own business, and 14 continuing education.   

Of the 867 students in the MBA Class of 2020, 798 students (92 percent) were seeking internship employment, with 100 percent reporting job offers and accepting the positions. Only 60 students said they weren’t seeking employment, with five returning to their company, and 30 branching out on their own to start their own business.

Compensation by industry

Students and graduates of Wharton’s MBA programs alike have landed roles in a wide multitude of industries.

The highest proportion of Wharton’s Class of 2019 landed positions in financial services (35.8 percent), earning a median salary of US$150,000, swiftly followed by 25.1 percent in consulting – but with graduates earning a higher median salary of US$165,000 – and technology roles were the third most accepted jobs with 14.9 percent and an average salary of US$135,000.

However, graduates taking on roles in legal & professional services (1.9 percent) earned the highest median salary by far at US$190,000.

Internships taken on by the Class of 2020 follow a similar pattern. Across all industries the median monthly salary was US$10,400, with the industry with the highest level of acceptance – financial services at 35.9 percent – earning the median.

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Employment locations

The vast majority of Wharton’s full-time Class of 2018 (87.7 percent) landed jobs in the US following graduation, with the largest proportion (39.3 percent) taking up roles in the Northeast. Outside of the US, 12.3 percent of graduates took up toles internationally, with the highest proportion (7.1 percent) choosing to work in Asia post-graduation.

Median salaries for the Class of 2018 had quite some variation across the US, with graduates earning the highest median salary in the Southwest with US$161,000, while the lowest median salary was in the West at US$145,000.

Employers

62 different big-name employers hired two or members of Wharton’s Class of 2019, including:

• Amazon
• Bain & Company
• Barclays
• Citi
• Credit Suisse
• Deloitte Consulting, LLP
• Facebook
• Google
• Microsoft
• Oliver Wyman
• Pimco
• Uber
• Walmart E-Commerce
• William Blair & Company, LLC

To see Wharton’s full data analysis, you can find out more here.