Harvard Hit Hard By The 2023 MBA Job Market: Offers, Accepts & Total Comp All Decline

Harvard published its MBA Class of 2023 employment data on Wednesday, November 29, offering the most striking evidence yet that the MBA job market has significantly slowed

The standard measure of success for business schools is how well they place their MBAs three months after graduation: how many get job offers, and how many accept them. This fall, at school after school, placement rates are down: At Yale School of Management, by more than 4 percentage points in both offers and acceptances; at Chicago Booth School of Business, by a couple of points in each measure; and at Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business, by 2 points in each. Offers and acceptances were likewise down at Michigan Ross School of Business, Duke Fuqua School of Business, Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, and every other top B-school to release employment data so far.

Nowhere were they down by more than Harvard Business School. Harvard on Wednesday (November 29) published Class of 2023 employment data showing that 86% of this year’s grads received job offers 90 days after graduation, down from 95% one year ago, and 80% accepted, down 10 percentage points from last year’s 90%.

That’s one in five Harvard MBAs unemployed three months after graduating — as strong a sign of a tough jobs market as you’ll find anywhere.

“This year’s slow hiring market created unique dynamics as students with deferred start dates sought gap employment or alternative full-time roles,” Kristin Fitzpatrick, HBS’s managing director of MBA Career & Professional Development, tells Poets&Quants, “and more students than usual pursued post-grad internships, some of which have since converted to full-time roles.”

TOTAL MBA COMPENSATION DECLINES FOR THE SECOND TIME IN 3 YEARS

The other standard measure of MBA success is, of course, compensation: how much they make in starting salary, in signing bonuses, in performance bonuses, and altogether. And here, too, Harvard's 2023 class was hit hard by a less-than-welcoming market: The class median salary was flat at $175K, median signing bonus was flat at $30K, and median performance bonus was flat at $40K — and because fewer grads reported receiving the latter two, total compensation was down, to $220,100 from $223,100 in 2022. It's the second time in the last three years total comp for Harvard MBAs has declined year-over-year.

As Kristin Fitzpatrick points out, there were bright spots. Median base salary for the quarter of the class that went into consulting grew to $192K from $175K, leading to an increase in overall compensation for consultants to $246,280, up 7% in one year. In private equity, with 17% of the class the largest sub-category under the finance umbrella, median salary grew by $10K to $185K, and median performance bonus — already the envy of every other graduate — grew to an incredible $181,250, pushing total comp in the industry to $351,663. That's up more than 5% from 2022.

But the challenging environment is plainly evident in other areas. Sixteen percent of the class found jobs in technology, for example, down from 19% a year ago; median salary for Harvard techies declined to $158,050 from $165,000, and median performance bonus dropped by nearly $5K, putting overall compensation at a median $196,425, down slightly from $196,860 in 2022.

"Popular industries for students included technology, venture capital, and private equity, with some students holding out for job offers in those sectors," Fitzpatrick says, "and the majority working with HBS Career & Professional Development over the summer. Overall, from a trends perspective, we saw an increase in consulting salaries and a greater interest in general management roles."

HIGHEST 75TH PERCENTILE SALARY: PRIVATE EQUITY

Harvard does not list the lowest and highest salaries for its graduates, instead preferring to post the median salary at the 25th and 75th percentiles. In 2022, the highest 75th percentile for financial services was $225K in investment management, $208K in VC, and $200K in PE; for consulting, $175K; and for tech, $185K. The lowest 25th percentile median was government/nonprofit, at $110K.

This year, all the highs are not quite so high. PE took the prize for highest 75th percentile overall, at $220K, with hedge funders and venture capitalists next at $200K and consultants close behind at $192K. Tech was in the middle of the pack at $172K. The lowest 25th percentile was in "services," which includes real estate, and by function, business development, management, strategic planning, and marketing, at $112K. Just 2% of HBS's 1,010-strong 2023 MBA class went into services.

In 2022, the top field for median base salary was venture capital, at $178,000, with four others tied for second place at $175K: investment management, investment banking, private equity, and services. The top fields for median signing bonus were investment management and investment banking, both at $50,000, with consumer products second at $40,000; and for median performance bonus, private equity at $175K, with investment management second at $168K.

This year, the top field for median salary was consulting at $192K; for signing bonus investment banking, at $54K; and for performance bonus services, at $73K. See the table below for details.

HARVARD 2023 MBA SALARIES BY INDUSTRY

Industry	%	25% Base Salary	Base Salary	75% Base Salary	Median Signing Bonus	Receiving Signing Bonus	Median Performance Bonus	Receiving Performance Bonus
Consulting	25%	$190K	$192K	$192K	$30K	86%	$32K	89%
Consumer Products	4%	$125K	$140K	$166K	$35K	52%	$30K	86%
Entertainment/Media	1%	$145K	$153K	$161K	NA	NA	$16K	75%
Investment Banking	3%	$175K	$175K	$175K	$54K	100%	$100K	80%
Investment Management/Hedge Fund	6%	$160K	$175K	$200K	$50K	61%	$120K	79%
Venture Capital	6%	$153K	$175K	$200K	$20K	20%	$50K	54%
Private Equity	17%	$160K	$185K	$220K	$30K	42%	$181K	85%
Other Financial Services	3%	$120K	$176K	$183K	$35K	38%	$20K	69%
Health Care	5%	$138K	$165K	$180K	$20K	57%	$24K	68%
Manufacturing	6%	$139K	$150K	$168K	$25K	60%	$26K	66%
Nonprofit/Government	5%	$120K	$120K	$165K	NA	NA	NA	NA
Retail	1%	$146K	$159K	$178K	NA	NA	NA	NA
Services	2%	$112K	$140K	$170K	NA	NA	$73K	62%
Technology	16%	$143K	$158K	$172K	$30K	56%	$22K	47%
ALL INDUSTRIES	100%	$150K	$175K	$192K	$30K	57%	$40K	70%

MORE THAN HALF OF HBS STARTUPS ARE SOCIAL IMPACT COMPANIES

Harvard has gained a strong reputation for entrepreneurship in the last decade. In P&Q's Top 100 Startups of 2023, HBS was the academic launching pad for founders at 22 of the top companies that attracted the most funding from angel investors and venture capitalists over the last five years, second-most on the list behind Stanford Graduate School of Business. From the Harvard MBA Class of 2023, 13% went to work for a startup company, which Harvard defines as an organization that is still private and 10 years of age or younger. That's down from 14% in the Class of 2022, but up from 12% in 2021, 10% in 2020, and 8% seven years ago. Harvard tallies 127 founders in its class, more than half of whom connected with a co-founder at HBS, and more than half of whose companies — 66 — it classifies as "making a social impact."

Median base salary for the enterprising folks in the Class of 2021 was $150,000, up from $140K the previous year, and it grew to $160K in 2022. This year it went up again, to $165K, another bright spot in the employment data.

By far the top industry for startups in 2023 was tech, with 43% of HBS entrepreneurs going into software, e-commerce, or the like (down from 53% in 2022 and 48% in 2021); financial services was second at 22%, with healthcare and services at 10% each. Healthcare declined from 18% last year and 16% in 2021. Fifty-three percent of Harvard entrepreneurs stayed in the Northeast, down from 41% but up from roughly half the Class of 2021; but just 18% went West, about half the number of the previous year.

HARVARD MBA CLASS OF 2023 EMPLOYMENT BY LOCATION

Region	%	25% Base Salary	Base Salary	75% Base Salary	Median Signing Bonus	Receiving Signing Bonus	Median Performance Bonus	Receiving Performance Bonus
Mid-Atlantic US	3%	$147K	$175K	$192K	$35K	47%	$30K	53%
Midwest US	4%	$139K	$188K	$192K	$30K	85%	$29K	80%
Northeast US	54%	$155K	$180K	$192K	$30K	54%	$40K	73%
South US	5%	$151K	$192K	$192K	$30K	69%	$34K	69%
Southwest US	7%	$159K	$190K	$192K	$30K	74%	$35K	92%
West US	16%	$145K	$170K	$185K	$30K	60%	$30K	57%
Asia	3%	$102K	$121K	$145K	$40K	53%	$40K	79%
Europe	5%	$116K	$146K	$159K	$21K	46%	$78K	57%
ME/North Africa	1%	$130K	$140K	$161K	NA	NA	NA	NA
UNITED STATES	89%	$150K	$175K	$192K	$30K	58%	$40K	71%
INTERNATIONAL	11%	$112K	$130K	$154K	$33K	51%	$37K	66%
ALL	100%	$150K	$175K	$192K	$30K	57%	$40K	70%

THE CLASS'S HIGHEST MEDIAN BASE SALARY WAS IN AN UNEXPECTED REGION

The top location for Harvard MBAs overall is, once again, the Northeast, where 54% of Class of 2023 MBAs found work, up from 47% in 2022. Most of those jobs are in New York (35%, up from 31%) and Boston (15%, up from 14%). Next is the Western U.S., where 16% of the 2023 class found jobs, down big from 24% in 2022; grads mostly gravitated to the San Francisco Bay Area (9%, down from 15%), with 4% in Los Angeles, and 2% in the Pacific Northwest.

Most of the Harvard Class of 2023 remained in the United States: 89%, down from 91%. MBAs working in the South had the highest median base salary at $192K, followed by the Southwest ($190K), Midwest ($188K), and Northeast ($180K). The highest 75th percentile salary was $192K, shared by those in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, South, and Western U.S. The lowest 25th percentile salary was in Asia, at $102K.

International MBAs chiefly found work in Europe (5%) and Asia (3%), and altogether saw their median base salary decline to $130K from $140K. However, Asia was the top location for median signing bonus at $40K; and Europe was tops for median performance bonus at $78K. Asia was second for performance bonus, at $40K, tied with the Northeast U.S. See above for details.

HARVARD MBA INDUSTRIES 2014-2023

Industry	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
Consulting	25%	26%	23%	24%	21	25%	23%	25	24%	23%
Consumer Products	4%	3%	3%	3%	3	3%	4%	3	3%	5%
Entertainment / Media	1%	3%	3%	2%	3	4%	3%	3	2%	3%
FINANCIAL SERVICES	35%	34%	35%	34%	29	29%	31%	28	31%	33%
*Investment Banking*	3%	3%	4%	3%	3	6%	5%	5	5%	5%
*Investment Management / Hedge Fund*	6%	8%	8%	7%	4	6%	6%	9	9%	10%
*Other Financial Services*	3%	1%	2%	1%	1	2%	1%	2	2%	3%
*Venture Capital / Private Equity*	23%	22%	21%	22%	20	15%	18%	13	14%	15%
HEALTHCARE	5%	5%	6%	7%	7	6%	7%	8	6%	5%
*Biomed / Pharmaceutical*	2%	2%	4%	3%	2	3%	3%	3	2%	2%
*Health-Related Services*	3%	3%	2%	3%	4	3%	4%	5	3%	3%
MANUFACTURING	6%	5%	4%	4%	7	5%	5%	5	5%	5%
*Aero / Auto / Transport Equipment*	2%	1%	1%	1%	2	1%	1%	<1%	<1%	<1%
*Energy / Extractive Minerals*	2%	2%	<1%	1%	2	<1%	1%	2	1%	2%
*Highly Diversified*	<1%	<1%	<1%	1%	2	2%	2%	1	2%	1%
*Other Manufacturing*	1%	<1%	<1%	<1%	<1%	<1%	<1%	<1%	1%	1%
NONPROFIT/GOVERNMENT	5%	3%	3%	4%	5	2%	4%	2	4%	3%
*Government*	2%	<1%	1%	1%	2	1%	2%	1	<1%	<1%
*Nonprofit*	3%	2%	2%	2%	2	1%	2%	1	3%	3%
Retail	1%	1%	1%	<1%	3	3%	3%	2	3%	2%
SERVICES	2%	1%	3%	3%	3	3%	4%	4	2%	4%
*Other Services*	<1%	<1%	1%	<1%	1	<1%	<1%	2	<1%	2%
*Real Estate*	1%	<1%	2%	3%	2%	3%	4%	2	1%	2%
Technology	16%	19%	19%	19%	20	19%	16%	19	20%	17%
*Consumer Electronics*	<1%	1%	<1%	1%	1	1%	2%	3	2%	2%
*E-Commerce*	2%	2%	2%	3%	2	4%	4%	2	3%	4%
*Equipment / Hardware / Networking*	0%	<1%	<1%	<1%	0	<1%	<1%	2	1%	<1%
*Internet Services*	4%	3%	6%	6%	5	5%	5%	6	7%	7%
*Other Technology*	4%	7%	4%	3%	4	2%	1%	2	1%	<1%
*Software*	5%	5%	6%	5%	8	6%	3%	4	5%	3%