A Breathtaking Pay Day For HBS Grads

Harvard Business School Baker Library - Ethan Baron photo

Harvard Business School Baker Library – Ethan Baron photo

TECH INDUSTRY CLAIMED 19% OF THE CLASS OF 2016

Technology remained strong, employing 19% of this year’s graduating MBAs, a percentage point below the 20% last year. Tech firms paid base salaries of $125,000, with $30,000 signing bonuses, reported by 70% of the grads going into tech, and other guaranteed comp of $27,500, paid to 14% of the MBAs.

After the three big industries, the class dispersed into a wide variety of industries and jobs. Healthcare claimed 8% of the class, up from 6% last year. Manufacturing firms hired 5% of the class, services 4%, consumer products and media/entertainment each employed 3% of the grads, while 2% went into both non-profit and the government sector and another 2% accepted jobs in retailing. Some 4% of the MBAs took jobs in the service sector, with half of them going into real estate.

MBAs who joined start-ups this year fell two percentage points to 7% from 9% a year earlier, though the mix of start-up jobs is changing somewhat. “What we are seeing in the start-up realm is that it is not just tech anymore,” says Fitzpatrick. “It’s all industries and a lot of it is around healthy food like Blue Apron.”

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