Barbara Coward's Blog

Over the last three weeks, we covered compensation, exit opportunities, the work itself and impact. This week, we’re finishing off the series by comparing the lifestyle.

Over the last two weeks, we covered compensation and exit opportunities. This week, we’re comparing the work itself and the impact you’ll have.

When it comes to the work itself, there’s really no right or wrong answer. It simply depends on what you’re looking for.

In Part 1 last week, we covered compensation. This week, we’re comparing the exit opportunities.

This one is a bit more straightforward than compensation. If you go straight into tech after you graduate, the most likely outcome is that you stay in tech and try to work your way up the ladder over time. Depending on which functional area you start out in - most MBAs join tech companies in product, finance, or some other type of business-related role (i.e. sales, marketing, business development, etc.) - that’s probably the career path you stay on over the long run.

For the longest time, investment banking has been one of the most sought after career paths for students at top MBA programs in the United States. In recent years, however, investment banking has declined in popularity, losing market share to technology companies. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal from June 2018:

“The share of full-time M.B.A. graduates from the top 10 business schools accepting jobs at financial-services firms dropped between 2012 and 2017 from 35.7% to 26.4%, based on a weighted average calculated by the Journal. The share accepting jobs in tech rose from 12.9% to 20.1% in the same period.”

So is technology really the better career path for MBA students? Or does investment banking still reign? In this battle between Silicon Valley and Wall Street for the best and brightest, who deserves your attention more?