ROI by the Numbers: 2019 MBA Graduates Set Career Placement Records

Once again, Full-time MBA graduates at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business have secured record salary numbers — seeing a 6% increase from last year’s average starting salary to $124,119 and a 15% increase since 2016.

“With a tailored approach to the search process, the MBA Career Center strives to deliver on each student’s individual goals for earning their MBA,” said Doreen Amorosa, associate dean of McDonough Career Services. “Building from our recent Bloomberg Businessweek ranking of having the best-trained graduates in the world, we expect to continue to match the best talent to highly sought-after employers.”

According to the school’s 2019 Employment Report, this year’s top employers included Amazon, American Airlines, Bank of America, Citigroup, Deloitte, EY, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, M&T Bank, Microsoft, PwC, and Salesforce — reflecting the leading industries of the graduates’ placements. This year, the most sought after industries included consulting (35%), financial services (27%), technology (14%), and real estate (7%).

In 2019, 95% of graduates received an offer within three months of graduation, and 92% accepted the offer within that time. In addition to the record-setting salary, students earned an average signing bonus of $30,737.

Among first-year students seeking internships, 100 percent secured one. The average monthly compensation for internships was $7,668, a 9% increase from 2018.

In recent years, the MBA Career Center has adapted to significant changes to the ways in which companies recruit students, including developing an individualized career strategy at the very start of the program, preparing students for automated screening processes, and shifting the curriculum to better align with interview schedules.

Full-time MBA students begin their program with a job search course the summer before they arrive on campus, ensuring they prepare a strategy and framework to execute on day-one of the program. During this time, the students use a career inventory tool developed by the MBA Career Center to help narrow the focus of their search early in their first year. Then coaches work with students to create personalized outreach plans for each employer. The school also has implemented McDonough CareerView, a leading-edge recruitment technology solution for employers, students, and the MBA Career Center staff.

“The Career Center has created a comprehensive playbook spanning the spectrum of skills needed for my job search — technical, people, social, and communication,” said Summi Sinha (MBA’19). “What really stood out was the early and iterative approach that helps in anticipating and preparing for the roller coaster ride of a job search.”

Career preparation is not isolated to the MBA Career Center – it’s woven throughout the program in collaboration with the career team, student peer advisors, and alumni. Programs like the Executive Challenge, career treks throughout the United States and around the world, and student career days provide a hands-on, in-depth view of future opportunities.

“We are proud of our latest career successes beyond our record salary placements,” Amorosa said. “The true ROI of the McDonough MBA is that it prepares our graduates for a lifetime of success, providing them the knowledge, tools, and network to make a difference for years to come.”