Last month Stanford GSB published its final job placement statistics for the Class of 2008.
Consistent with prior years, consulting was the most popular single industry for Stanford MBAs, with 27% of the class opting for a median starting salary of $1250,000 and a median signing bonus of $20,000. Private equity came next, at 14% of the class, with the median starting salary being $150,000 and the median signing bonus clocking in at $32,500.
Slicing it by function, consulting was still the most popular, at 29% of the class, with private equity (16%) and investment management (8%) coming next.
The most popular careers for the Stanford GSB Class of 2008 were:
Industry | Percentage of Class | Median Base Salary | Median Signing Bonus |
Consulting | 27 | $125,000 | $20,000 |
Private Equity/LBO | 14 | $150,000 | $32,500 |
Hedge Funds | 8 | $150,000 | $25,000 |
Internet Services/E-Commerce | 6 | $115,000 | $22,500 |
Investment Banking/Brokerage | 5 | $ 95,500 | $40,000 |
Nonprofit | 5 | $ 80,000 | n/a |
Venture Capital | 5 | $155,000 | n/a |
Investment Management | 4 | $127,500 | $19,125 |
Real Estate | 4 | $112,500 | $15,000 |
Consumer Products | 3 | $100,000 | $20,000 |
Pharma/Biotech/Healthcare | 3 | $103,750 | $20,000 |
Note that the non-profit sector accounted for 5% of Stanford grads' post-MBA careers. While this is consistent with other top business schools' statistics, we wonder if this number will increase this year and next as the rough economy encourages more grads to pursue non-profit and social enterprise careers in place of high-paying consulting and banking jobs, which may not be plentiful in the near term.
If you are applying to Stanford this year or next, take a look at our Stanford admissions essay analysis.
