Question:
I was just reading the US News & World Report (March 29 1999 <> pg. 86),
and I noticed that MBA graduates from the top business schools have median
6-figure starting salaries (100K-115K). I also noticed the high GMAT scores
(high 600s). I am planning on getting a BS in Electrical
Engineering/Computer Science from UC Berkeley, and then getting an MBA from
UCLA. What would I need to do for this? Will I have to minor in business or
something? I also heard that competitive schools require work experience.
Will I need to work for about 1000 years before I can go after an MBA? Also,
in which concentration is the $money$ in? Marketing? Management Info.
Systems? Finance? Quant. Analysis? etc? And are the starting salaries
REALLY in the 6-figure neighborhood?I would appreciate any information.
Answer:
- Not much more than you seem to know.
Engineering is fine.
Three or four years sounds about right. You probably need to show some
forward momentum in your career.
USNews has the information for each school. Click on the name of a school
in the rankings and you can access more detailed salary information.
- Three or four years after undergrad or does work experience during
undergraduate schooling (internships and summer internships at Wall
St. firms, for example) count? Also, would you happen to know what the
"acceptance rate" for most of the 2-year analyst programs at Wall St.
powerhouses is?
Finally, if you do have a solid work experience (let's say you work
for three or so years after undergraduate), what counts more heavily--
your work experience evaluation(s) or undergrad. grades? With the last
question, I am mainly interested in one of the top five/ten MBA
programs.
- Interning is a way to get/choose a first job. It won't count towards
getting into an MBA program.
I would guess your undergrad grades, if only because most letters from
employers probably say the same thing and cannot really be used to
distinguish between applicants. Personal essays might be important as
well.
I am not really an expert on MBA admissions, so maybe someone else can
jump in here.
- The $$$ for MBA varies, which is why the median/average salary in USNews is
so deceptive because a lot of MBAs are 26-8 year olds while others are 30-40
year olds. What that means is that people have different experiences going
into MBA... some people were already high ranking executives while others
were analysts getting a degree in hopes of becoming an associate.
Read the footnotes to USNews. Compensation schemes sometimes include
bonuses (signing/end of year) or options. Many of these things are
unpredictable at the time of signing and so are usually given as a maximum.
So someone's bonus could be say 70% of base with 50% performance and 20%
performance in the market. So people will quote the 70% max. Other times,
the salary includes the tuition reimbursement while other companies provide
tuition reimbursement separately. I don't know how USNews does it, so it's
worth your time to check before you let the greed take over your life.
The $$$ also depends on the economy the YEAR they RECRUIT. 1998 was a great
year for business students undergrad and grad, while 1999 is still as good
but not as much. Pick on what you're interested in, not what pays better
because it changes from year to year... and person to person.
- When they talk about work experience, they usually mean "full-time."
Internships are not full-time (considered temp or part-time)... but they are
useful in landing the first jobs. Most companies will hire interns as
full-time after graduation, so it's in your best interest to find a good
internship. If not, at least find something where you can learn something.
Recruiters tend to hire college grads who did what they did in their last
internship. If you did banking and you design your resume to look like a
banker, it might be hard to get consulting interviews. If you did
consulting and your resume looks like you'd rather be in consulting, you'll
be hard pressed for banking interviews. Similarly, most people who were in
sales & trading internship will get sales & trading interviews more often
than other banking roles, etc. That difficulty exists even in a tight labor
market like the one we have now... who knows what it'll be like when you
guys graduate.
Bulge bracket banks in the last 2 years have been hiring close to 100-200
analysts a year nationwide through college recruiting. The numbers will
range widely based on the house. Typical would be 5-6 from a good school.
Maybe 10 offers will be extended. NYC will usually have the most people,
while regional offices will take 2-5 people. Turnover is HUGE on Wall
Street... it's one way of keeping their salary costs low and productivity
high. But that's in a bull market. All the banks this year hired college
recruits while laying analysts off big time at the same time... a mystery in
my mind... it's something fishy if you ask me. Standard Wall Street banking
base pay for 1st year analyst is $40K. Bonuses will be different. If you
came back from your internship, your base salary will be higher.
My understanding is that undergrad grades are important, but the type of
work experience and the recommendation are what counts more. Everything
else is also important like essays and GMATs, obviously... but this is a
feature that depends on the school... some are less GMAT oriented and grade
oriented, while others are less work oriented.
Type of work experience is very important because that's where you learn the
most. You can be working as paper clip counter at Goldman Sachs and not get
in. Experience is key as is exposure. Having been around the world will
definitely help you get in also. Most companies with an analyst program
have a B-school program where they give you time to study for the GMAT, have
seminars on how to get in with admissions officers, help you with essay
writing, help you put together your recs, and maybe even offer tuition
reimbursement... so when you shop for jobs look into what the company's
philosophy is about the future of the analyst... some will do everything to
help you get into B-school, others say you're on your own.
I'm not an expert on MBA admissions either, but this is what I've learned in
the past 9 months.
