The University of Michigan Ross School of Business has released its MBA Class of 2024 employment report, demonstrating how this year’s MBA graduates have weathered economic uncertainty and leveraged their Ross experience to great success.
The median base salary for the class reached $170,000, with a reported $30,000 median bonus. At graduation, 77.5 percent of Ross graduates seeking employment had accepted a job offer. Within three months, that number rose to 84.6 percent; by six months after graduation, that percentage increased to 90.8. School-facilitated recruiting activities were responsible for 86 percent of accepted offers. A robust 95 percent of graduates are career switchers, pivoting to new industries or functions with 264 different companies.
“We were pleased to see that job offers increased at the six-month mark, which is the end of October for Ross grads. This speaks to the opportunities the Michigan Ross network provides, the tenacity of Ross graduates, and the career support students and alums receive from Michigan Ross,” said Heather Byrne, managing director of the Career Development Office at Michigan Ross, in the school’s announcement.
Top Industries
Consulting held onto the top spot for Ross graduates at 36 percent, despite representing a nearly nine percent decline compared to last year. The mean salary for consultants this year was reported at $180,948; consulting also held the highest median salary at $185,000. The financial services industry recruited 17.6 percent of the class with their average salaries landing at $162,023; the median salary for finance landed at $175,000. Roughly 15 percent pursued roles in technology, reporting an average salary of $156,066 and median salary of $157,205. Healthcare jobs accounted for 9.2 percent of the class and consumer goods 7.7 percent, both increasing over last year. The mean salary for healthcare jobs was $138,486 (median $137,250) and for consumer packaged goods, it was $122,643 (median $125,000).
| Consulting | 36% | $180,948 |
| Financial Services | 17.6% | $162,023 |
| Technology | 15.1% | $156,066 |
| Healthcare | 9.2% | $138,486 |
| Consumer Packaged Goods | 7.7% | $122,643 |
Geographic Career Hubs
Just over 30 percent of the Ross MBA Class of 2024 stayed in the Midwest for their post-graduate careers, with 16.2 percent relocating to the Chicago Metro area. The Midwest region overall saw an average salary of $157,829, while the average reached $165,155 in Chicago.
The next largest group of graduates, 24.6 percent, found work in the Northeast, where mean salaries were also a high $165,246. More than 20 percent gravitated toward the NY, NJ, and CT Tri-State Area. The Western U.S. attracted 21 percent of the class with mean salaries of $159,786, and the Southwest region saw 8.8 percent move there for a reported $158,695 mean base salary. In the Mid-Atlantic region, 6.6 percent of the class reported mean salaries of $166,889, and 4.8 percent went to the U.S. South, where the mean salary was a reported $157,041.
Four percent of graduates went overseas, reporting a mean base salary of $126,334.
| Midwest | 30.1% | $157,829 |
| Northeast | 24.6% | $165,246 |
| West | 21% | $159,786 |
| Southwest | 8.8% | $158,695 |
| South | 4.8% | $157,041 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 6.6% | $166,889 |
