NYU Stern MBAs Join The $200K Compensation Club

All the talk these days is about MBAs having trouble finding jobs in the current economy. But 2023 graduates at one major MBA program have largely eluded the pain.

NYU Stern School of Business released its annual MBA employment report today (October 20), showing that this year’s grads found jobs at about the same rate as their predecessors, while setting new school records in both average and median base salary as well as average total compensation. They also flocked in record numbers to one of the industries that has reportedly been hit by hiring cutbacks: consulting.

“The two-year, full-time MBA Class of 2023 has been breaking records since they first arrived on campus with the school’s highest-ever average GMAT at the time,” says Brian Ruggiero, Stern’s associate dean for careers, “and they have only gained steam. One hundred percent of the students seeking internships from this class secured them with record median weekly base internship salaries. And now, we are thrilled to report that the Class of 2023 continues to impress with the school’s highest-ever average total compensation and average base salary.”

NYU STERN MBA SALARIES & BONUSES 2022-2023

Total MBA Grads	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High	2022 Average	2022 Median	2022 Low	2022 High
Base Salary	$168,182	$175,000	$85,000	$225,000	$161,475	$170,000	$90,000	$225,000
Signing Bonus	$38,192	$30,000	$5,000	$120,500	$40,936	$35,000	$5,000	$92,800
U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High	2022 Average	2022 Median	2022 Low	2022 High
Base Salary	$168,802	$175,000	$85,000	$225,000	$162,042	$170,000	$115,000	$225,000
Signing Bonus	$38,765	$30,000	$5,000	$120,500	$40,900	$35,000	$5,000	$92,800
International	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High	2022 Average	2022 Median	2022 Low	2022 High
Base Salary	$165,888	$175,000	$85,000	$202,947	$159,287	$175,000	$90,000	$225,000
Signing Bonus	$36,170	$30,000	$10,000	$65,000	$41,067	$32,500	$15,000	$71,500

AN ASSET MANAGER, AN INVESTMENT BANKER & A LAWYER POST TOP 2023 SALARIES

The Stern School reports that median base salaries grew $5,000 to $175,000, the highest ever reported by a Stern graduating class, while median signing bonuses were $30,000, down $5K from a record high the last two years. The class average starting salary grew by more than 4% to $168,182 from $161,475, while average signing bonus was $38,765; Stern’s mean MBA salary has grown 12.5% in two years. Average total compensation — salary plus bonus, weighted by the percent of job seekers who reported getting a bonus, in this case 87.8% — grew 3% to $201,714 from $196,143, another school record, and one that puts Stern in good company in the $200K compensation club.

This year’s highest reported base salary at Stern — $225,000 for grads in three sectors: asset management, investment banking, and law — is the same as last year’s high, but the top signing bonus of $120,500 eclipses last year’s high bonus of $92,800 by more than $27K. U.S. citizens in the class reported a slightly higher average base salary and slightly lower average signing bonus than their international colleagues (see table above), just like last year, and both U.S. and foreign grads had the same median base salary of $175K.

The lowest reported base salary for a Stern grad this year was $85K, reported by MBAs in financial services and transportation/logistics (see next page for details); that’s $5K lower than last year’s low of $90K. Both U.S. citizen and foreign Stern grads reported the same low salary; last year’s low for U.S. grads, who typically make more than their global colleagues, was $115K.

TIMING OF JOB OFFERS FOR NYU STERN MBAs 2015-2023

Timing Of Offers	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
Received By Graduation	85.4%	87.4%	86.2%	83%	90%	89%	83%	87%	83%
Accepted By Graduation	85.1%	86.6%	85.9%	79%	86%	84%	79%	82%	79%
Total Received 3 Months After Graduation	94.3%	94.1%	95.8%	92%	95%	95%	94%	94%	93%
Total Accepted 3 Months After Graduation	94.0%	94.1%	95.2%	89%	94%	94%	91%	92%	89%

CONSULTING JUMPS MORE THAN 10 POINTS AS DESTINATION FOR STERN MBAs

Placement rates for the 315 Stern MBAs seeking jobs this year were slightly weaker at graduation time than their 2022 colleagues, but about the same compared to that class after three months. Class of 2022 grads who received offers at graduation time were 85.4% of the class, down from 87.4% last year, while those who had accepted by the time they donned a mortarboard cap and gown were 85.1%, down from 86.6%. By three months after graduation, 94.3% of Stern MBAs had received job offers, and 94% had accepted; the former is about the same as last year but down from a school record 95.8% in 2021, and the latter is also similar to 2022 and down from a record 95.2% two years ago. Consider, too, that this year’s class saw 72 more students get jobs due to a larger class over last year.

Top hiring industries saw a huge upheaval this year in one key way: The consulting boom, which saw the sector draw an incredible 41.9% of the class, up more than 10 percentage points from 31.2% in 2022 (see page 2 for details). Consulting’s gain was finance’s and tech’s loss: Financial services dropped 5 percentage points in a year, to 29.4% of the class, while tech dropped to 14.2% from 17%. Tech has lost 5 percentage points in two years as a destination for Stern MBAs, which partly explains the school’s interest in appealing to techies laid off in the recent waves of downsizing that hit the industry.

McKinsey was the top employer of Stern MBAs this year, hiring 24, taking over the mantle from Amazon, while Deloitte and Strategy& hired 18 and 15, respectively (more details on page 2). In fact the top five employers of Stern MBAs in 2023 were consulting firms, with last year’s top hirer, Amazon, coming in at sixth with 10 hires.

NYU STERN MBA INTERN PAY CLASSES OF 2023 & 2024

Total MBA Interns	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High	Class of 2023 Average	Class of 2023 Median	Class of 2023 Low	Class of 2023 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,771	$3,288	$431	$7,373	$2,699	$3,173	$600	$4,154
U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident with Permanent U.S. Work Authorization	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High	Class of 2023 Average	Class of 2023 Median	Class of 2023 Low	Class of 2023 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,760	$3,288	$500	$4,808	$2,694	$3,173	$600	$4,154
International without Permanent U.S. Work Authorization	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High	Class of 2023 Average	Class of 2023 Median	Class of 2023 Low	Class of 2023 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,803	$3,298	$431	$7,373	$2,715	$3,035	$923	$3,877

CLASS OF 2024 SETS INTERN PAY RECORDS

Meanwhile, interns in the MBA Class of 2024 received salaries this summer that were the highest ever reported by students at the B-school.

“This accomplished track record speaks to the quality of Stern MBAs who demonstrate leadership agility and strong emotional intelligence,” Brian Ruggiero says. “Our students were highly sought by companies in our top three industries — consulting, investment banking, and tech — as well as a diverse range of sectors including entertainment and media, consumer products, and healthcare, to name a few.

“Our rising second-year MBAs demonstrate the demand for Stern talent remains strong, with record median internship salaries for the Class of 2024.”

See the next page for more data from the newly released NYU Stern MBA Class of 2023 employment report.