UCLA's Preliminary MBA Jobs Report Reinforces School Image As A Strong Tech Feeder

UCLA Anderson School of Management

It’s not the full picture, leaving out the context that has made 2020 a year to remember — or forget. But a preliminary employment “summary” posted last week by UCLA Anderson School of Management gives a glimpse of how a top-20 business school survived coronavirus, even if it shows only a standard array of salaries and employers with no mention of offers, acceptances, or employment rates at graduation or three months later.

The most striking thing about the preliminary statement — a complete employment report is promised “during first quarter of 2021” — is the predominance of tech, which at 31.8% was the top industry for Anderson MBAs this year. Consulting was next at just over a quarter of the class.

Anderson MBAs made a median base starting salary of $130,000 in 2020, and an average of $132,460, with a range of $55K to $210K. The highest salaries overall were in consulting, at an average of $152,316, though the highest reported salary of $210,000 came from someone in investment management. Tech salaries overall lagged their counterparts in consulting and finance, at $125,385.

UCLA ANDERSON CLASS OF 2020 EMPLOYMENT DATA

RANGE OF BONUSES: $5K TO $80K

Interestingly, by function most of UCLA’s Class of 2020 MBAs went to work in finance, with 27.5% reporting they had accepted finance/accounting positions, and 27.1% taking on consulting roles. Another 21.6% took marketing roles.

Signing bonuses were in the same arena as UCLA’s peer schools, at a median of $30K and a mean of $31,239. Someone in consulting reported a bonus of $80K, highest in the class, while the upper range for both investment banking and investment management was $70K. Tech bonuses ranged from $5K to $55K.

As one might expect for a Southern California school, among the top employers were Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, though they were joined by familiar consulting names like Bain, EY-Parthenon, Deloitte, McKinsey, PwC, and Boston Consulting Group. In addition to 17 top employers, which UCLA did not provide any details for, another 130 hired at least one full-time MBA Class of 2020 graduate, the school says.

UCLA ANDERSON CLASS OF 2021 INTERNSHIP DATA

MOST CLASS OF 2021 MBA STUDENTS INTERNED IN MARKETING ROLES

Internships perhaps better reflected the reality of the summer health crisis, with the vast majority occurring in tech: 31.3%. No other industry was higher than 20%. Finance — including investment management, private equity, and investment banking — accounted for 19.7%, and consulting 12.5%.

Investment banking salaries were highest for Class of 2021 Anderson MBAs, at more than $12K per month, while consulting interns made about $10,700. Tech interns made just $7,882 per month, though their upper range — $13,607 — was in the same neighborhood as their classmates in finance and consulting.

By far the most popular function for Class of 2021 interns was marketing, at 32.2%, while another 24.5% fulfilled finance/accounting roles. The list of companies employing UCLA MBA interns is similar to the list of hiring companies, with a note appended: “180 additional companies hired at least one full-time MBA Class of 2021 student for a summer internship.”

DON’T MISS MEET UCLA ANDERSON’S MBA CLASS OF 2022 and UCLA GAINS STEM DESIGNATION FOR ALL THREE MBA PROGRAMS

AND DON’T MISS OUR CONTINUING COVERAGE OF MBA EMPLOYMENT AT THE MAJOR SCHOOLS:

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