What Harvard MBAs Made This Year

LOWEST REPORTED SALARIES ARE IN GOVERNMENT AND NON-PROFIT SECTORS

The sectors with the lowest median salaries were in government and non-profit jobs. Harvard MBAs who entered those two fields reported median starting salaries of just $90,000—50% lower than MBAs who went into consulting—with no signing bonuses or other guaranteed compensation. Harvard said about 3% of the Class of 2012 went into the non-profit and government sectors, up from 2% last year but still well down from 6% in 2010 and one of the lowest recorded percentages in the past ten years.

ABOUT ONE IN FOUR OF HARVARD’S CLASS OF 2012 GOT JOBS IN NEW YORK CITY

After financial services and consulting, the most popular industry destination for the Class of 2012 was technology. Some 11% of the class took jobs in tech, the vast majority in the computer software field. Those positions paid a median starting base salary of $119,000, with 88% of the grads reporting a median sign-on bonus of $20,000.

Healthcare grabbed 7% of the Harvard MBAs, while manufacturing got 6% of the school’s output this year. MBAs in healthcare reported median salaries of $120,000, with 76% reporting median signing bonuses of $20,000. MBAs who ventured into manufacturing reported median base salaries of $115,000, with 76% saying they received median sign-on bonuses of $25,000.

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of the Class of 2012 landed jobs in the northeast part of the U.S. Harvard said 41% of the class had jobs in the northeast, with 24% in New York City and 11% in Boston. Nearly one in five HBS grads ventured westward, with 12% of the class landing positions in California’s Bay Area and another 3% in Los Angeles. Some 8% of Harvard’s Class of 2012 took jobs in Europe, while 7% headed for Europe. India and China each accounted for only 1% of the jobs taken by HBS MBAs this year.

DON’T MISS: LONDON MBA LANDS HIGHEST MBA SALARY IN 2011 or WHARTON’S HIGHEST-PAID MBAS OVER THE YEARS or 2011′s HIGHEST PAID MBAS

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.