London Business School Jobs Report: Shining In Tough Times

MBA salaries and job offer rates stabilized in 2022 at most of the leading business schools in the United States. The pandemic recovery has been slower for European schools, however; the latest evidence is INSEAD’s recently released employment report, which last week showed that average salaries actually declined for the newest crop of graduates — a rarity year to year at any elite B-school.

If they want to be inspired, European B-schools may look to London Business School, which released its MBA Class of 2022 employment report this month showing that job offers 90 days after graduation were impressively high at 94% (up from 93% last year) and job acceptances were steady at 91%, down from 92%.

Other highlights for LBS include a big jump in average pay and continued high demand for tech grads. In U.S. dollars, base salaries for LBS MBAs jumped to an average of $124,822, up 9% one year after they increased 7.8% from the Class of 2020. Consulting was again the top industry, with 37% of the class finding work there, and the average consulting salary growing more than 11% to $129,195.

‘OUR STUDENTS SHONE ACROSS THE BOARD’

Finance salaries, reported by 27% of the Class of 2022, again paced all base salaries for LBS MBAs with an average of $135,949, up more than 10% from last year. And in tech, which drew 29% of this year’s grads (up from 26% in 2021), average salary climbed 9.6% to $114,929 — despite a perceived implosion in the industry.

Max salaries and other compensation were impressive as well, topped by someone in investment management who reported a starting salary of $210,000. A consultant reported other comp of $530,400, and a techie in fintech reported other comp of $368,812. See salary details in the table at the bottom of this page.

“We are delighted that 91% of our MBA 2022 graduates accepted job offers within three months of graduation,” says Christian Dummett, executive director of LBS’ Career Centre, in a forward to the new employment report. “The last year has been one of the toughest on record for business school graduates and we are proud that, despite these challenges, our students shone across the board.”

MORE THAN 5% OF 2022 CLASS ARE ENTREPRENEURS

Demand for LBS MBAs “continues to transcend borders, sectors and markets,” Dummett adds, with the 2022 class finding jobs in 40 locations around the world. The class of 514, itself comprised of 65 nationalities, overwhelmingly chose to stay in the UK: 63% opted to begin their post-MBA careers there, he writes. Another 7% found work in continental Europe, 7% in North America, 11% in Asia, and 6% in the Middle East/Africa. More than half of the 2022 class switched locations (55%) or sectors (58%), and one third (34%) switched both.

Top employers of LBS MBAs are the MBB consulting firms: McKinsey hired 54, Boston Consulting Group hired 32, and Bain & Company hired 29. Amazon is the top tech recruiter, with 25 hires this year.

Additionally, 28 of the Class of 2022 are “using the entrepreneurial skillsets developed during their MBA to pursue their own business ventures,” Dummett writes.

“I am confident that, having dealt with so much uncertainty during their program and overcoming every challenge with such collaborative spirit, this group of students are more than prepared to kick-start their professional careers,” he writes.

DON’T MISS OUR REPORT ON LAST YEAR’S LBS EMPLOYMENT DATA