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Employment Prospects Survey |
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When I graduated in 1997, it was in the middle of the 90's fast-growing economy,
but not yet into the height of the Internet bubble. Thus, competition for MBAs
was heavy, but not insane.
Most students in my class would end up with several good offers to choose from.
Many had offers at their first choice firms. I was focused on strategy
consulting, and managed to get an offer at one of the 3 big firms in that area
(Bain, BCG, and McKinsey), which was a harder offer to get than most.
Similarly,
the very top investment banks (Goldman especially), were reasonably hard to get.
But in general the business climate was good for both internship and full-time
prospects, and the consulting and I-banking industries were hiring loads of
graduates. General management, sales & trading, and brand management were also
popular choices. There were a few complaints among my peers that high-tech
firms
didn't recruit on campus as heavily as students would have liked.
Geographically, the biggest areas firms recruited into were the Midwest and East
coast, but the opportunities were truly global: Singapore, London, Hong Kong,
Sydney, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Johannesburg, San Francisco, you name it.
Starting salaries varied significantly, with the best generally in Consulting
and I-Banking. Starting cash compensation in 1997 at the top consulting firms
was around $90K - $130K including annual bonuses, plus a signing bonus, which
varied from $0K to maybe $35K.
The GSB had many programs to help prepare students for the recruiting process
and did a good job encouraging companies to come to campus. Some programs were
led by the administration and some self-managed by the various student groups.
There was also significant off-campus recruiting activity.
Things obviously changed subsequently with 1) the Internet bubble / insanity;
and 2) the bursting of the Internet bubble and recession that followed.
Over time, however, my impression since I graduated is that the GSB has invested
more and more in the recruiting process, however, and performs at or better than
other top schools in this area.
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University of Chicago GSB Admission & Application Surveys
