Slight Rise In MBA Salaries At HEC Paris

The HEC Paris campus

The HEC Paris campus

SIX OF TEN GRADUATES FOUND JOBS IN FRANCE

Finance employed 14% of the graduating class—roughly the same as the previous year. But salaries in the finance sector rose by almost 15% on 2014 to an average of €94,500, some 12,000 Euros higher than the average for the overall class.

“The other big story this year is the regional placement statistics,” noted Somers in the school’s employment report. “This year over 60% of the class found jobs in Europe, of which just over 30% was in France, and 20% in the UK and Ireland (UKI).” HEC said that 63% of its graduates have found jobs outside their home country, and 69% of graduates landed jobs outside France.

Somers used part of his employment report to give his predictions on the MBA job market moving forward. “Technology will become ubiquitous and affect every part of MBA recruitment,” he forecast. “It will extend into areas of finance (so-called ‘fintech’) and also sectors such as luxury. The tech companies that are reaching maturity (Google, Facebook etc) will continue to hire, and the ‘next generation’ will do likewise.

‘THE DAYS OF ‘BULGE BRACKET’ CAREERS ARE PROBABLY OVER’

“Consulting will become more operational in nature,” he added. “The ‘Big Four’ auditing firms will become increasingly dominant in both consulting and finance (particularly in areas such as M&A), unless they make the Arthur Andersen/Enron blunders of the early 2000’s. Non-US firms will become more prevalent.”

He was less optimistic about finance. “The days of ‘bulge bracket’ careers are probably over. Finance is becoming more fragmented, with other players entering the market, particularly the lucrative M&A sector. Private wealth management will become increasingly important, as will changing geopolitical circumstances.

“The luxury market will continue to grow, notwithstanding recent downturns in demand from the Chinese and Russian markets. Digital marketing and innovative use of social networks will become key. Luxury will become more about ‘experience’ than about ‘product’ French firms will continue to hold a dominant position.”

DON’T MISS: DEAN’S Q&A: PETER TODD OF HEC PARIS

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