{"id":53754,"date":"2021-12-10T10:58:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T17:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/best-paying-jobs-in-finance-the-mba\/"},"modified":"2021-12-10T10:58:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T17:58:11","slug":"best-paying-jobs-in-finance-the-mba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/best-paying-jobs-in-finance-the-mba\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Paying Jobs in Finance & the MBA"},"content":{"rendered":"

The MBA is an essential stepping stone to a finance career and is often seen as a gatekeeper to the best paying jobs in finance. Business school students look to the MBA experience to acquire and refine the skills to be able to handle the weighty financial and managerial responsibilities associated with finance deals.<\/p>\n

Across our SBC client pool, we estimate about 30% of MBA candidates aspire to finance industry careers<\/a> upon graduating from B-school.\u00a0 The former MBA Admissions Officers on our SBC team<\/a> have views on which MBA applicants should include finance in their application essays.<\/p>\n

A former Wharton Admissions Officer on our team shared, “The investment banking career path is viable in an MBA application, if previous career trajectory makes placement realistic.”\u00a0 A former Columbia (CBS) Admissions Officer on our team cautioned, “Make sure you are an interesting person outside of work – what makes you unique?”<\/p>\n

Employment reports from the top MBA programs echo that finance is a dominant industry, as you can see from the snapshot below.<\/p>\n

Placement into Finance Industry Roles*<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Harvard<\/td>\n34%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Stanford<\/td>\n24%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wharton<\/td>\n36%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Columbia<\/td>\n33%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kellogg<\/td>\n15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Booth<\/td>\n30%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MIT Sloan<\/td>\n18%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Haas<\/td>\n14%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Duke<\/td>\n18%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Darden<\/td>\n19%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

*from MBA program Employment Reports<\/p>\n

What do finance jobs pay?
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

An investment banking analyst is charged with navigating mergers and acquisitions, a niche that continues to thrive even during the pandemic-induced economic volatility. Analysts in investment banking actively participate in raising capital for and advising entrepreneurial clients across different sectors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMergers and acquisitions (M&A) is a general term used to describe the consolidation of companies or assets through various types of financial transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, tender offers, purchase of assets, and management acquisitions,\u201d shared Investopedia<\/a>. We discussed the merits of the investment banking career path in a conversation with SBC consultant<\/a> Puja, whose professional trajectory followed a similar route.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are salary ranges for the investment banking path.<\/p>\n

Investment banker salary* + bonus:<\/p>\n