Poets&Quants | Job Offers & Accepts Rebounded For MIT Sloan MBAs In 2025

MIT Sloan MBAs saw their median total compensation drop in 2025 but their average grew slightly

A year after MBA employment outcomes fell to modern-era lows at MIT Sloan School of Management, the school’s new employment report for the Class of 2025 shows a clear rebound in hiring, paired with a more nuanced compensation picture that reflects a market still working its way back from the post-pandemic reset.

By three months after graduation, 91.0% of Sloan job seekers had received an offer, up from 85.1% for the Class of 2024, while 87.1% had accepted positions, compared with 77.2% a year earlier. Outcomes at graduation also improved modestly, with 73.8% receiving offers and 67.2% accepting, versus 71.6% and 61.9%, respectively, for the prior class. As of publication, 94.1% of job seekers had offers, up from 88.9% last year.

The recovery, however, was not uniform. While hiring momentum returned and core pay strengthened, incentive-heavy compensation remained compressed, producing a year defined less by outsized upside than by stability and selectivity. The result was a class that benefited from improving market conditions without fully recapturing the boom-era peaks of the early 2020s.

PAY STABILIZES AFTER 2024 RESET

On total compensation, Sloan’s results show a mixed but stabilizing picture. Total median pay for the Class of 2025 – which Poets&Quants calculates by weighting both signing bonuses and other compensation by the percentage of those reporting them – was $209,130, down from $214,450 for the Class of 2024, reflecting fewer outsized outcomes in a more disciplined market.

At the same time, average total compensation edged up to $248,797 from $247,661 a year earlier, signaling renewed upside at the top end even as the middle of the distribution softened slightly. Even with the modest increase, however, Sloan’s average total pay remains below the school-record high reached in 2023: $269,227.

Beneath the headline totals, core pay strengthened while variable compensation compressed. Mean base salary rose to $173,132 from $169,550 and the median climbed to $175,000 from $169,370. Mean signing bonus increased to $40,192 from $35,900, while the median held steady at $30,000. By contrast, other compensation – including relocation expenses, stock and equity and tuition reimbursement – declined, with the mean falling to $85,149 from $88,870 and the median dropping sharply to $24,350 from $40,000.

MIT SLOAN MBAs BASE SALARY BY INDUSTRY

Industry	2025%	2025 Mean	2025 Median	2025 25th-75th Percentile	2024%	2024 Mean	2024 Median	25th-75th Percentile
Consulting	32.3%	$183,928	$190,000	$190K-$192K	32.1%	$179,172	$190,000	$175K-$192K
Finance	20.6%	$168,402	$175,000	$150K-$180K	25.3%	$176,677	$175,000	$150K-$185K
Investment Banking/Brokerage	3.6%	$176,250	$175,000	$175K-$175K	5.9%	$176,667	$175,000	$175K-$181,250
Investment Management	4.5%	$161,667	$165,000	$150K-$175K	5.4%	$180,909	$175,000	$157,500-$200K
Private Equity	3.1%	$194,500	$182,500	$150K-$235,250	2.7%	$205,000	$200,000	$190K-$240K
Venture Capital	2.2%	$166,000	$140,000	$120K-$170K	4.5%	$152,778	$150,000	$135K-$160K
FinTech	1.8%	$160,000	$165,000	$147,500-$175K	2.7%	$200,568	$165,000	$155K-$176K
Diversified Financial Services	4.9%	$168,611	$175,000	$155K-$178,500	3.2%	$162,667	$165,500	$152,500-$174K
Other Finance	0.5%	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Technology	23.3%	$169,849	$165,000	$154,250-$183,500	19.0%	$157,423	$161,375	$150K-$165K
Software/Internet	17.5%	$167,669	$169,000	$150K-$183K	14.0%	$156,496	$160,000	$143,200-$169,100
Computers/Electronics	5.8%	$177,182	$165,000	$165K-$192,500	5.0%	$160,000	$165,000	$150K-$165K
Healthcare/Pharma/Biotech	8.1%	$167,853	$160,000	$135K-$200K	6.8%	$158,300	$150,000	$138,750-$180K
Auto/Aerospace	2.2%	$159,000	$160,000	$151K-$167,500	4.5%	$162,222	$160,000	$160K-$165K
Retail/CPG	3.6%	$140,000	$145,000	$133,500-$151,750	3.2%	$146,500	$153,500	$132,750-$159,250
Energy	3.1%	$161,000	$170,000	$145K-$175K	3.2%	$152,857	$150,000	$147,500-$160K
Other Manufacturing	2.7%	$200,600	$180,000	$173K-$235K	2.3%	$160,000	$162,500	$153,750-$168,750
Nonprofit/Government	1.0%	–	–	–	2.3%	$153,500	$150,500	$134,250-$169,750
Other Service	1.7%	–	–	–	1.3%	$149,000	$160,000	$143,500-$160K
Media/Entertainment/Sports	0.9%	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Source: MIT Sloan

CONSULTING HOLDS, TECH REGAINS MOMENTUM

By industry, consulting once again anchored Sloan’s outcomes, accounting for 32.3% of accepted offers, essentially unchanged from 2024. Pay in the sector strengthened modestly, with mean consulting salaries rising to $183,928, while the median held at $190,000, reflecting standardized compensation bands.

Finance continued to normalize after its post-pandemic surge. Its share fell to 20.6% from 25.3%, and while the median salary held at $175,000, the mean dropped sharply, signaling fewer high-end outcomes. Within finance, private equity remained the highest-paying track but cooled year over year, while venture capital and fintech both shrank in share.

Technology saw one of the clearest recoveries. Tech placements rose to 23.3% from 19%, with mean salaries climbing to $169,849 and the median rising to $165,000, driven largely by software and internet roles. Healthcare, energy, and manufacturing also gained ground, with several smaller sectors posting notable salary upside despite limited headcounts.

Source: MIT Sloan

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION

Geographically, MIT Sloan’s MBA placements in 2025 remained heavily concentrated in the United States, reflecting both employer demand and graduates’ preferences in a still-cautious global hiring environment. The Northeast continued to dominate, led by Boston and New York, where consulting, finance, and technology roles anchored outcomes. The West Coast regained some momentum, driven primarily by technology and software roles in California, while the Midwest and Southwest attracted smaller but steady shares of graduates entering consulting, manufacturing, and operations-focused positions.

International placements remained more limited than in pre-pandemic years, with Asia, Europe, and Latin America accounting for a modest share of accepted offers. That pattern reflects ongoing visa constraints and employer caution rather than waning interest from graduates, particularly for roles tied to tech, sustainability, and emerging markets.

TOP EMPLOYERS OF SLOAN MBAs 2014-2025

Company	2025 Hires	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
McKinsey & Co.	20	17	26	21	30	20	12	22	26	26	31	32
Amazon	12	10	20	18	12	19	10	27	30	23	22	16
Bain & Co.	12	10	25	11	11	13	19	15	19	17	12	17
BCG	26	21	23	47	29	36	36	24	21	14	14	15
Google	3	3	3	12	9	14	15	10	3	9	14	9
Deloitte	1-2	3	6	5	3	3	3	9	11	6	13	9
Amgen	1-2	0	1-2	4	3	4	7	1-2	3	3	1-2	1-2
Capital One	3	3	3	5	3	1-2	1-2	0	0	0	1-2	0
Fidelity Investments	3	3	3	1-2	1-2	3	3	6	3	3	1-2	1-2
Goldman Sachs	3	5	6	8	3	4	3	6	3	3	3	3
Analysis Group	1-2	1-2	3	1-2	0	3	3	5	3	1-2	3	3
Microsoft	3	3	1-2	3	3	3	3	5	8	8	7	3
Tesla Motors	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	5	1-2	3	1-2	1-2
Wayfair	0	0	1-2	1-2	1-2	4	3	5	1-2	3	3	1-2
Ford Motor	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	4	3	0	0	0
IBM	3	0	3	3	3	3	4	4	5	3	1-2	1-2
Bank of America/Merrill Lynch	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	5	3	3
LEK Consulting	1-2	0	1-2	3	3	3	3	3	3	5	3	1-2
Apple	3	3	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	7	10
Parthenon-E&Y	0	3	3	1-2	0	0	4	3	3	3	6	3
Boeing	0	5	1-2	1-2	1-2	0	1-2	3	1-2	3	5	1-2
Strategy&	5	3	4-6	3	0	1-2	4	3	3	3	3	9
Nike	1-2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	5	3	3	3
Morgan Stanley	3	3	3	3	4	3	1-2	1-2	3	1-2	5	3
Facebook/Meta	0	0	1-2	3	3	3	3	3	6	1-2	3	3
Anheuser-Busch InBev	1-2	0	0	1-2	1-2	1-2	3	3	5	3	3	3
Cisco Systems	1-2	0	0	1-2	3	1-2	1-2	3	5	3	3	1-2
Verizon	7	5	9	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	0	0	3
NextEra Energy	3	3	6	3	0	1-2	3	3	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2
Re:Build Manufacturing	0	1-2	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Caterpillar	1-2	1-2	3	0	0	1-2	1-2	0	0	1-2	0	0
Evercore	1-2	1-2	3	3	3	3	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2	1-2
NVIDIA Corporation	3	3	3	3	0	0	0	1-2	1-2	0	0	0
Samsung	1-2	3	3	0	1-2	0	3	3	6-9	5-7	2-4	5-7
Verkada	1-2	1-2	3	1-2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TikTok	1-2	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
JP Morgan Chase	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Moderna	3	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Source: MIT Sloan

EMPLOYERS RETURN AT A NEW NORMAL

At the firm level, Boston Consulting Group led all employers with 26 hires, up from 21 last year, while McKinsey & Co. hired 20, rebounding from 17. Bain & Co. doubled its intake to 12, signaling that consulting demand has stabilized after two volatile cycles, though not at the extraordinary levels seen earlier in the decade.

Technology hiring remained selective but broader. Amazon hired 12 Sloan MBAs, up modestly from last year, while Microsoft, Apple, NVIDIA, IBM, Capital One, Fidelity Investments, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch each hired three. Verizon stood out with seven hires, while healthcare, energy, and manufacturing employers continued to appear intermittently, reinforcing Sloan’s applied, technology-driven positioning rather than reliance on pure-volume recruiters.

TOP REASONS SLOAN MBAs ACCEPTED A POSITION 2015-2025

Reason	Class of 2025	Class of 2024	Class of 2023	Class of 2022	Class of 2021	Class of 2020	Class of 2019	Class of 2018	Class of 2017	Class of 2016	Class of 2015
Growth Potential	38.4%	39.7%	38.6%	42.3%	40.7%	43.6%	44.3%	35.3%	33.3%	37.5%	31.4%
Industry	13.6%	12.1%	10.7%	13.5%	17.1%	11.1%	11.1%	16.0%	9.3%	11.7%	11.3%
Compensation	11.6%	8.0%	9.6%	4.2%	3.3%	2.5%	2.1%	1.5%	2.3%	2.1%	2.0%
Job Function	9.6%	19.1%	17.5%	15.1%	17.9%	19.3%	16.8%	23%	19.8%	14.8%	24.8%
People/Corporate Culture	6.6%	7.5%	7.9%	11.9%	7.7%	8.6%	7.1%	10.5%	9.6%	13.4%	9.2%
Prestige of Firm	6.6%	3.5%	3.2%	5.1%	5.7%	3.7%	5.7%	4.4%	8.3%	4.9%	6.1%
Other	5.1%	2.6%	2.5%	1.2%	NA	2.5%	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Location	4.5%	5.5%	3.2%	1.9%	2.0%	3.7%	5.7%	5.8%	5.9%	8.2%	4.4%
Commitment to Social Impact	2.5%	1.0%	2.5%	1.9%	2.8%	4.1%	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
Commitment to Sustainability	1.5%	1.0%	4.3%	2.9%	2.8%	0.9%	4.3%	0.4%	3.3%	1.4%	1%

Source: MIT Sloan

WHAT DROVE SLOANIES’ CHOICES

The reasons graduates accepted jobs also shifted meaningfully. Growth potential remained the top driver, cited by 38.4% of the Class of 2025, down from a high of more than 44% in the Class of 2019. Industry fit ranked second at 13.6%, while compensation jumped to 11.6% from 8%, its highest level in a decade.

At the same time, job function fell sharply to 9.6% from 19.1%, suggesting graduates were more willing to compromise on role specificity in exchange for stronger pay and long-term trajectory. Prestige of firm rose to 6.6%, its highest level since 2017, while location, culture, and social-impact considerations remained secondary.

In the introduction to MIT’s new employment report, Susan Brennan, assistant dean of MIT Sloan’s Career Development Office, frames the year as one of renewed momentum despite continued volatility. “The MBA Class of 2025 navigated a dynamic job market with clarity and focus, aligning with opportunities that reflect MIT Sloan’s expertise at the intersection of business and technology,” she writes, adding that graduates embraced roles “applying AI innovation in healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, and e-commerce, and bring critical thinking to AI governance and ethics.”

DON’T MISS HIRING TIMELINES REMAIN UNEVEN, BUT KELLOGG MBA PAY REBOUNDS TO MATCH RECORD HIGH and FOR CHICAGO BOOTH’S CLASS OF 2025, LOWER TOTAL PAY AS ELITE MBA HIRING REMAINS UNEVEN

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