For Job-Seeking NYU Stern MBAs, 2024 Was A Tougher Landscape Than Covid-Crushed 2020

Historically, consulting and tech are two of the three employment pillars for MBAs. Both sectors had a tough 2024 — and that meant so did many MBAs graduating from the top business schools who hoped to find work in them.

New York University Stern School of Business is the latest leading B-school to release an employment report reinforcing this fact. Its data, released today (December 3), shows a small step back from last year in average base salary and average total compensation — and big declines in placement rates at graduation time and three months afterward.

NYU STERN HIGH, LOW, AVERAGE & MEDIAN MBA SALARIES, 2023-2024

Total MBA Grads	2024 Average	2024 Median	2024 Low	2024 High	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High
Base Salary	$166,148	$175,000	$80,000	$225,000	$168,182	$175,000	$85,000	$225,000
Signing Bonus	$37,028	$30,000	$5,000	$120,000	$38,192	$30,000	$5,000	$120,500
U.S. Citizens/Permanent Residents	2024 Average	2024 Median	2024 Low	2024 High	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High
Base Salary	$165,630	$175,000	$100,000	$225,000	$168,802	$175,000	$85,000	$225,000
Signing Bonus	$35,275	$30,000	$5,000	$80,000	$38,765	$30,000	$5,000	$120,500
International	2024 Average	2024 Median	2024 Low	2024 High	2023 Average	2023 Median	2023 Low	2023 High
Base Salary	$167,891	$175,000	$80,000	$217,984	$165,888	$175,000	$85,000	$202,947
Signing Bonus	$43,411	$40,000	$5,000	$120,000	$36,170	$30,000	$10,000	$65,000

Source: NYU Stern

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PLACEMENT AT 3 MONTHS FALLS MORE THAN 9 POINTS

NYU Stern couldn’t keep shattering school pay records every year, as they did in 2022 and again in 2023. Going back to 2021, MBA base salary at the Stern School has grown more than 11%, and total compensation has grown by nearly 10%.

This year, Stern Class of 2024 MBAs report an average salary of $166,148, down 1.2% from their predecessors, and an average signing bonus of $37,028, down 4.5%. Total compensation — salary plus bonus, weighted by the percent of job seekers who reported getting a bonus, in this case 90% — dropped 1.4% to $199,473. On the plus side, Stern’s median base salary remained a school record $175K.

Stern is not alone in hitting a 2024 speed bump. At Virginia Darden School of Business, MBA average salary declined for the first time since the year before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. At Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, average base salary fell 5.4%; and at Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, starting base salary dropped 2.5%.

It’s in placement rates that the most dramatic effects of the economic uncertainty of 2024 show in these three schools’ employment reports, and the same is true for NYU Stern. Offers at graduation for Poets&Quants‘ No. 11-ranked B-school were down nearly 5 percentage points to 80.6%, while offers by three months after graduation (86.1%) were down more than 8 points. Both were the lowest since at least before 2015, and that includes the pandemic-impacted year of 2020. Job acceptances also swooned this year, with accepts by graduation dipping 6.7 percentage points to 78.4% and accepts by 90 days later dropping to 84.6%, a decline of more than 9 points.

NYU STERN MBA PLACEMENT RATES 2019-2024

Timing Of Offers	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Received By Graduation	80.6%	85.4%	87.4%	86.2%	83%	90%
Accepted By Graduation	78.4%	85.1%	86.6%	85.9%	79%	86%
Total Received 3 Months After Graduation	86.1%	94.3%	94.1%	95.8%	92%	95%
Total Accepted 3 Months After Graduation	84.6%	94.0%	94.1%	95.2%	89%	94%

Source: NYU Stern

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INVESTMENT BANKING A BIG BRIGHT SPOT

Tech’s struggles as a sector are well-documented. Same goes for consulting, though the latter’s travails are fresher and less turbulent. Both are written on the face of the new Stern School employment report — and its predecessor reports.

Consulting dropped from a record 41.9% of the 2023 graduating class to 37% this year — though as the school points out, that is in sync with industry correction and still exceeds Stern’s five-year average. It’s in tech that the numbers really raise eyebrows. Starting in 2021, tech accounted for nearly 20% of Stern’s graduating MBAs. But by 2023 the industry had lost favor among Stern grads, dropping to 14.2% of the class. This year the decline was even more pronounced, to just 9.1%.

Finance had dropped as consulting had risen, but now the shoe is on the other foot, with finance rebounding to 35.7% from 29.4%, with investment banking particularly strong. Accepted offers in that sub-sector are the highest in five years, up 4.1% year over year to 27.4%.

NYU MBA INTERNSHIP SALARIES CLASSES OF 2024 & 2025

Total MBA Interns	Class of 2025 Average	Class of 2025 Median	Class of 2025 Low	Class of 2025 High	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,677	$2,813	$640	$4,500	$2,771	$3,288	$431	$7,373
U.S. Citizen/Permanent Resident with Permanent U.S. Work Authorization	Class of 2025 Average	Class of 2025 Median	Class of 2025 Low	Class of 2025 High	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,729	$2,885	$640	$4,500	$2,760	$3,288	$500	$4,808
International without Permanent U.S. Work Authorization	Class of 2025 Average	Class of 2025 Median	Class of 2025 Low	Class of 2025 High	Class of 2024 Average	Class of 2024 Median	Class of 2024 Low	Class of 2024 High
Weekly Base Salary	$2,550	$2,598	$640	$4,327	$2,803	$3,298	$431	$7,373

Source: NYU Stern

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‘A REVERSION TO HISTORICAL NORMS’

“Business cycles vary by nature, which is a key reason why we always build resilience in our students throughout their MBA experience so they can thrive in changing environments,” says Brian Ruggiero, associate dean of careers at NYU Stern. “This past year saw fluctuations, especially in consulting and tech, which has had impacts across the board, including among business schools. For example, the consulting industry as a whole corrected for their above average hiring in 2023, reverting back to their more historical norms.

“That said, Stern MBAs outperformed our five-year average, indicating that firms continue to value Stern MBAs for their skills and high EQ in all kinds of markets.

“To put this year’s job acceptance rate three months out into a broader perspective, it syncs up with what we’re seeing in the markets overall, including a reversion to historical norms in consulting and tech, an industry going through transition. We worked closely with students interested in these industries to build long-term plans designed with stepping stones to build experience and support networks to ultimately reach their career goals.”

See the next page for more data from the newly released NYU Stern MBA Class of 2024 employment report.