Berkeley Haas MBAs Are Looking To Disrupt The Transportation & Mobility Space. Here’s How

Transportation and mobility jobs are gaining interest among MBAs at UC-Berkeley Haas School of Business and other B-schools

MBA students want to make an impact on our future world. More and more see the transportation and mobility industry — battery companies, infrastructure, charging stations, car sharing, electric cars, and more — as the vehicle to do so.

UC-Berkeley Haas School of Business is among a number of business schools seeing MBA students’ growing interest in sustainable supply chain jobs. This year, after two years of negligible to non-existent numbers, the industry accounts for 3.1% of Class of 2022 graduates.

The growing interest is surely a result (at least partly) of two-plus years of pandemic, as well as rising concern over climate change. Whatever the cause, Haas is responding: 20 students in both the 2022 and 2023 MBA classes had internships in the transportation sector over the past two summers, working for companies like Zoox, Nvidia, and Tesla. And the Haas Transportation & Mobility Club has become one of the school’s largest student-run organizations, growing from around 70 members in 2019 to more than 180 now.

‘IT’S A SPACE THAT’S REALLY EXCITING FOR PEOPLE’

Haas MBA student Yiannos Vakis: “Technology and sustainability are radically changing the industry and creating some exciting problems for MBAs to go and solve.”

Yiannos Vakis, second-year Haas MBA student and co-president of the club, says its flagship event, the Haas Mobility Summit, is slated for Saturday, November 5. The summit will feature industry leaders, UC-Berkeley faculty, and students with a range of majors, from engineering to urban design to law and business.

“It’s a space that’s really exciting for people,” Vakis says. “It brings together so many different disciplines.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for management analysts in the transportation and logistics sector has a projected growth rate of 14% from 2020 to 2030. That growth is not fueled by interest in cars and trucks alone, says Doug Massa, MBA relationship manager for transportation and mobility in the Berkeley Haas Career Management Group.

“It’s electric vehicles, it’s autonomous vehicles, it’s charging infrastructure, it’s venture capital companies that are funding these,” Massa says. “The industry has so many more opportunities for students than it used to.”

DRIVERS OF TRANSPORTATION & MOBILITY GROWTH: TECHNOLOGY & SUSTAINABILITY

Vakis says Haas and other MBA students are interested in the transportation industry for two main reasons: some want to make it more environmentally sustainable, and others want to disrupt it with new, cutting-edge technologies.

“Technology and sustainability are radically changing the industry and creating some exciting problems for MBAs to go and solve,” Vakis says. “For example, about 20% of US emissions come from passenger vehicles. We can work on technologies that reduce that.”

Sarah Thorson, who works alongside Vakis as Haas Transportation & Mobility Club’s co-president, believes that many MBAs are attracted to the transportation and mobility space because of the opportunity to make an impact. “At Haas, there’s a lot of interest in energy and sustainability,” she says. “When people look at where they can make an impact, transportation and mobility is a big part of that.”

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.