Finance & Tech Hires Down At Tuck

TUCK NOT AS TRANSPARENT AS MANY OTHER PEER SCHOOLS

For the second year in a row, Tuck failed to report other guaranteed compensation, breaking with the standard practice of most of its peers to disclose that data. Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Michigan, Duke and other prestige schools routinely report other guaranteed comp because it is a fairly common component of MBA pay. The only other prominent business school that also has stopped reporting this data is Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where MBAs who accepted jobs in finance also fell to an all-time low of just 13%.

Other guaranteed compensation tends to be most common in the finance industry. As a result, schools with declining placement in finance are likely to see bigger declines in that stat that would make their overall comparative numbers less flattering. The last time Tuck reported this element of pay in 2014 some 38% of graduates were said to receive median other guaranteed comp of $25,000, though the average was $34,431, and for MBAs who took jobs in finance the median hit $75,000. Masland repeated his assertion from last year that he is unsure of what the number represents so he has decided to break with peer schools and not report it.

Without that additional component of first-year pay, however, Tuck saw itself fall behind many peer schools in total median compensation. The school’s total median comp number this year is below Stanford ($179,346), Harvard ($163,827), Michigan ($150,606), Wharton ($148,892), and Columbia ($147,000). At Kellogg, without that piece of the compensation pie, median pay came to $139,747 this year.

MAJORITY OF MBA GRADS ACCEPTED JOBS IN THE NORTHEAST

In general, Tuck is less transparent with its employment data than many other peer institutions. Besides declining to report other guaranteed comp data, for example, the school also fails to disclose the major employers of its graduates by number of hires or the amount and percentage of sign-on bonuses by industry or function, and does not make historical employment data readily available as many of its peers. In reporting this year’s stats, Tuck also did not yet reveal what percentage of its MBAs found their jobs through the career services department or on their own. Masland says that some additional data, however, will be made available when the school releases its formal employment report later.

As is typical for Tuck, the majority of this year’s graduates went to work for companies based in the northeast, accounting for 53% of the hires. Some 25% were in the Boston metro area, while 23% were in the New York metro region. About 15% of the class were employed in the West, with 6% in the Bay Area, 5% in Seattle, and 2% in Los Angeles. The midwest accounted for 8% of the class hires. About 11% of the graduates went to work outside the U.S., with 6% headed to Asia, 2% to Europe and 2% to South America.

Masland does not envision a let up in what has been one of the most robust market for MBA hires ever. “The internship market was strong last summer with 100% of employment, making it 100% on summer internship for 12 years straight,” he says.

At Tuck, career development is now playing a bigger role in MBA admissions. “We are doing more and more work with admissions,” says Masland, who notes that he and several of his staffers participated in the latest round one decisions to come out of the school. “I think that helps. We are in the room providing advice and counsel throuout the process. One unique thing about Tuck is we all work together, and I think there is greater collaboration here.”

2016 MBA EMPLOYMENT REPORTS

All Time Record High Pay For Stanford MBAs In 2016

A Breathtaking Pay Day For HBS Grads

Wharton Median Pay Packages Rise

Tech Hires Surge At Kellogg This Year

The Big Surprise In Chicago Booth’s 2016 Pay Report

At Columbia, Consulting Becomes As Popular As Finance

Ross Right Behind Big Two In Total Pay

Average First Year Pay At Duke Fuqua: $151K

$143K Average Total Pay For Emory MBAs In 2016