Another Leading U.S. B-School Reports Rising MBA Salaries In A Strong Jobs Report

Stern School

Employment reports for the MBA Class of 2021 are trickling in, carrying mostly good news for graduates of the top programs. The latest to reinforce the image of the MBA as strong and strengthening is New York University’s Stern School of Business, ranked 15th by Poets&Quants, which reports record numbers in key areas in its 2021 employment report released today (October 15).

Not that Stern had a huge hole to climb out of — last year’s jobs report, while reflecting the reality of a market in the throes of a global pandemic, included plenty of evidence that MBAs from NYU find the jobs they want, where they want, for the salaries they want. This year continues the trend, with Stern’s Class of 2021 setting new school records in compensation, overall job acceptance rate, and international job acceptance rate — among other (mostly) positively trending numbers.

“For more than a year the world has contended with an unprecedented amount of change, but one constant has been the continued success of our students,” says Beth Briggs, NYU Stern’s associate dean of career services. “Our talented MBA graduates have proven time and time again that they are adept at not only embracing, but also leading, change. And employers took note as this year yielded record-breaking employment outcomes for Stern’s full-time two-year MBA Class of 2021.”

AVERAGE SALARIES GROW 3.9%

Median base salaries rose at Stern, to $155,000 from $150K, as did median signing bonuses, to $35,000 from $30K; both represent the highest-ever mark reported by an NYU MBA class. Stern also set a record for graduates accepting jobs within three months of graduation (95.2%).

"Stern’s deep and lasting ties with a range of industries and an incredibly engaged and robust alumni network were additional assets that allowed us to mitigate the disruption of external hurdles," Briggs says, "leading to 95.2% of graduates accepting jobs within three months of graduation — a record for the school.”

Average salary grew 3.9%, one year after it (somewhat counter-intuitively) grew more than 6% amid the global health crisis. The highest-paid Stern grad reported a starting salary of $230,000, and the lowest-paid, $60,000. Someone also got a signing bonus of $85,000.

CONSULTING BACK AS TOP INDUSTRY FOR STERN MBAs

Top hiring industries were consulting (31.3%), back on top after finance claimed the top spot last year; followed by finance (28.3%), down from 33.5%; and tech (19.2%), up from 16.9%.

Another bright note for Stern: international students set a new school record for job acceptances, with 97.3% of international grads saying yes to offers within three months of graduation. That's especially encouraging for a school whose struggles in attracting international students in recent years have been amplified by virtue of its location in New York City and its ample portfolio of globally minded programs.

“Our international students have had to overcome even more challenges due to the pandemic, but we are extremely proud to report that these students demonstrated unwavering tenacity and persistence and 97.3% accepted jobs within three months of graduation, another Stern record," Briggs says.

'AGILE LEADERS FOR AN UNKNOWABLE FUTURE'

For the second year in a row, 100% of the 279 Stern students in the MBA Class of 2022 who were looking found summer work. (That's down from 318 students last summer and 337 in the summer of 2019.) The MBA Class of 2022 all got jobs, but weekly pay took a hit compared to last year, dropping 6.2% to $2,308. U.S. citizens and permanent residents saw a bit of a bigger drop than their international colleagues; see table above for details.

"Throughout the past year, NYU Stern students demonstrated their ability to act as change agents, positioning themselves as agile leaders for an unknowable future," Briggs writes in the introduction to the new employment report. "As we returned to campus in person this fall, it has been a joy to see our students engaged in the classroom and with one another.

"The community spirit that embodies NYU Stern endures and provides all of us with hope for what is ahead."

See more employment and internship data on the NYU Stern Class of 2021 and Class of 2022 on page 2.