The Duke Fuqua MBA Class of 2019 had a record year for hiring. Within three months of graduation, 97 percent of the class had received job offers with 95 percent accepting, which, according to the associate dean of their Career Management Center, Sheryle Dirks, marks the highest percentages in at least twenty years. The median annual base salary also rose 8 percent from the previous year to $135,725. But that’s just scratching the surface of the Duke MBA Employment Report for 2018/2019.
Let’s take a more in-depth look.
Consulting, Technology, and Finance Top Industry Choices
Once again, consulting was the top industry for Fuqua graduates, with 32 percent of the class pursuing consulting careers. Within consulting, graduates were divided between other (19 percent), strategy (9 percent), healthcare (2 percent), human capital (1 percent), and technology (<1 percent). This was also the highest-paying industry with an average median salary of $150,500.
Technology landed as the second most popular industry of choice, with 23 percent of all graduates entering the field. They chose to work in a range of technology services, including internet/e-commerce (11 percent), software and applications (5 percent), equipment/hardware/networking (5 percent), and telecommunication (<1 percent). Graduates who chose this industry earned a median base salary of $130,250.
Finance was the third most popular industry, with 20 percent of graduates—a four percentage point increase from last year. Graduates who pursued finance careers were mostly interested in financial services, with private equity and venture capital garnering less than one percent of interest. Fuqua graduates working in finance were well compensated with a median salary of $150,000.
Here’s a glimpse of top Fuqua employers:
- McKinsey (45 hires)
- Boston Consulting Group (37 hires)
- Amazon (38 hires)
- Microsoft (23 hires)
- Dell (18 hires)
- Google (18 hires)
Graduates Head West and Northeast
Graduates continue to head to the West Coast for work. For the third year in a row, the West Coast was the top geographic destination for Duke Fuqua’s graduating class, garnering 25 percent of the class. That popularity can be attributed to the increased interest in the technology and healthcare industries, as well as the increase of consulting jobs in the region.
Beyond that, the majority of graduates ventured to the U.S. Northeast (22 percent) and U.S. South (17 percent). Internationally, students ventured to Asia (5 percent) and Latin America/the Caribbean (3 percent). Less than one percent of the Class of 2019 took a job in Europe.
“I’m proud our data continues to show that Fuqua graduates are able to pursue their career interests in a wide variety of industries, functions, and locations,” wrote Sheryle Dirks, associate dean of the Career Management Center. “Mostly, I’m proud of the stories I hear about the ways our graduates are impacting companies and their communities. Knowing our team helped highly talented people find fulfilling roles where they can use their skills and passions to help make companies and the world better is always our best metric of success!”
