After the Financial Crisis of 2008, MBA with Finance was not a popular option. The aspiring applicants were looked down upon as potential criminals. Hiring was frozen, and the job markets had a 5-year lull, before picking up again in 2014. The 2016 class representation shows the comeback with 36.9% selecting Financial Services. The Median Signing Bonus is the highest, and the total median salary for the group has crossed the $175,000 range.
In terms of function, consulting was neck and neck with Financial Services, both taking up 38% class representation. Marketing and General Management was the other two popular job functions. Leveraging the media buzz in New York, nearly 10% of the class chose Media/Technology. Since the majority of Entrepreneurial activity in New York is at disrupting media with technology, MBAs leveraged the location advantage.
Reference: Columbia MBA Employment Report