Kellogg 2022 MBA Jobs Report: Median Salary Jumps 10% To $165K

A Kellogg Global Hub classroom. Graduates of the two-year MBA program in 2022 earned a median $165K, up $15,000 from their predecessors in 2021. File photo

There wasn’t much room for improvement, but Kellogg managed it anyway. And the bottom line for MBAs graduating from Northwestern University’s business school is: If you want a job, you’re going to get a job, and likely at a handsome salary.

The Kellogg School of Management released its MBA Class of 2022 employment report today (November 1), showing that 99% of graduates who were seeking employment had job offers by three months after graduation, up from 97% last year, and 97% had accepted, up from 96%. Median salary for the class jumped $15,000, to $165,000, and is up 18% since the last pre-pandemic graduating class in 2019. Bonuses stayed at a median $30,000; with 87% reporting receiving them, median total pay comes out to $191,100, up 8.7% from $175,800 last year.

“These Kellogg graduates, who began their MBA journey during the disruption of a global pandemic and uncertain economy, demonstrated excellence and persistence in securing not only impressive, but impactful positions after earning their Kellogg MBA,” writes Liza Kirkpatrick, assistant dean of Kellogg’s Career Management Center.

“In a year when Kellogg graduated one of its largest-ever two-year MBA program classes, students continued to see high demand for their talent.”

NEW SCHOOL RECORD FOR CONSULTING HIRES: 40% OF THE CLASS

Liza Kirkpatrick, assistant dean of Kellogg's career management center: "We worked with these students throughout the process, equipping them with a special combination of skills."

Consulting has long been the top industry for graduating Kellogg MBAs, but it reached a new high in 2022 as 40% of the class accepted jobs in the industry, up from 37% last year and eclipsing the school record of 39% set in 2020. Nearly 150 graduates from the two-year MBA program were hired by top consulting firms, with McKinsey hiring an incredible 59 Kellogg MBAs, Boston Consulting Group hiring 50, and Bain & Company hiring 40. Students who took jobs in consulting received a median base salary of $175,000.

“Kellogg’s balanced approach in equipping students with the special combination of analytical and technical expertise with human-centric, social intelligence creates the ideal candidate for the fast-paced consulting industry,” Kirkpatrick writes. "Our coursework prepares students for these roles — including hands-on courses in which students act as consultants on projects for real companies. For example, the popular Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) course combines traditional classroom learning with problem-solving, teamwork and client service with an introduction into a specific region or global industry. And in Analytical Consulting Lab, students help real clients use real data to solve real problems."

Tech, which was less popular among 2022 Kellogg grads by 5 percentage points, drew 20.5% of the class at a median base salary of $145,860. Tech peaked at Kellogg in 2018 when 28% of the class went into the sector. This year's top hiring tech company was Amazon with 26 hires, up from 19 last year, followed by Google with nine. Kirkpatrick notes that Kellogg MBAs' opportunities in tech "will continue to expand" because of the school's newest degree, the MBAi program, which will graduate its first class of students in December.