MBA Salaries Rise 7.5% At London B-School

Students gather on the campus of the London Business School

Median base salaries for London Business School’s Class of 2015 rose by 7.5% to $117,596 (£75,276) from $109,354 (£70,000) a year earlier, the school reported today (Jan. 19) in its 2015 employment report. LBS’ median is significantly below both Harvard and Stanford ($130,000) and many other U.S. schools, but that’s partly the result of a weaker economic recovery in Europe and the declining value of the British pound.

All in all, it was another very strong year for the 401 LBS grads. Some 93% of the 2015 MBA graduates from London Business School accepted job offers within three months of graduation–the same percentage as the previous year–and 27 started their own businesses, compared with 26 in 2014. That compares favorably to other European schools, including INSEAD and HEC Paris where 90% of the MBAs had jobs three months after commencement.

In addition to the increase in median base pay, LBS said that median other first-year guaranteed compensation was $24,995 (£16,000), including the value of stock which is typically excluded from U.S. school reports. The school did not break out sign-on bonuses from other guaranteed compensation this year. In 2014, LBS said median sign-on bonuses were $23,433, while median other guaranteed comp was $19,093 (£12,222). Not all graduates, however, receive signing bonuses or other year-end bonuses.

MCKINSEY IS SCHOOL’S TOP EMPLOYER AGAIN, HIRING 38 GRADUATES IN 2015

McKinsey & Co. again emerged the school’s No. 1 employer, carting away 38 graduates last year, up from 31 in 2014. Boston Consulting Group was next, hiring 19, two fewer than a year earlier. Amazon came in third with 16 hires, while Bain employed 15 LBS grads and Goldman Sachs employed nine, a big increase from only four in 2014.

Lara Berkowitz, executive director of LBS’ Career Centre, said that a few trends stood out from the data. “The number of students choosing careers in the technology and e-commerce sectors continued to rise, increasing to 20% of the class from 16% the previous year,” she said in the 2015 employment report. “Finance as a whole was similar to the previous year at 27% of the class; however, within the sector, the number of students choosing investment banking dropped from 12% to 8% while areas such as private equity and venture capital and diversified financial services picked up steam.

“2015 also saw a big jump in salaries as employers look to attract the best students,” added Berkowitz. “The most substantial increase was in the consulting sector where mean salaries rose from £73,108 to almost £79,773, closely followed by finance where mean salaries rose from £69,871 to £78,358.”

No wonder, consulting remained the number one industry choice of graduates, attracting 33% of the class, below the peak of 36% in 2011 but a percent above a year earlier (see chart below). Healthcare claimed 4% of the class, while consumer and retail attracted 3% of the graduates. The energy industry hired 3% of LBS’ output, and median and entertainment took just 2%.

HOW SECTOR CHOICES OF LBS GRADUATES IN 2015 COMPARE WITH PREVIOUS YEARS

Source: 2015 London Business School employment report