Darden MBA Employment Trends: $100,000 Median salary, Finance Most Popular Followed by Consulting and Manufacturing

Darden is located in Virginia and offers a highly renowned MBA. The Full-time MBA class of 2011 had a median salary of $100,000 and a median sign-on bonus of $25,000. Below are the details of 2011’s employment report and the career services available at Darden.


Employment by Sector

Finance (Investment Banking, Other Financial Services, Investment/Portfolio Management & Venture Cap/Private Equity)

At Darden, the Finance Sector is by far the largest employer taking up as much as 36% of the class. In this sector, Investment Banking comes out on top, hiring 18% of the class. The median salary was $100,000 and the median sign-on bonus was $40,000 – the highest bonus for any sector. Other Financial Services was next with 11%, offering median salaries of $100,000 and sign-on bonuses of $20,000. Investment/Portfolio Management had a 5% share, with median salaries and sign-on bonuses of $105,000 and $13,500 respectively. Venture Cap/Private Equity hired just 2% of the class with a median salary of $95,000.

Consulting

Consulting hired 20% of the class - second to Finance as a whole, but higher than any of its constituents separately. The median salary of $125,000 was the highest at Darden, nearly 25% greater than salaries in most other sectors. The median sign-on bonus though was $20,000, well below the overall median bonus of $20,000.

Manufacturing

The Manufacturing sector was also quite active at Darden, accounting for a healthy 12% of the class, providing a median salary of $100,000 and sign-on bonus of $20,000. While the former matches the class median, the latter fell below it by $5,000.

High Tech/Telecom

As a proof that Darden offers a well-rounded employment profile, a good 11% of the class was hired by the High Tech/Telecom sector, which offered a higher than typical median salary of  $103,000 and a median sign-on    bonus of $30,000, greater than the class median by $10,000.

Employment by Function

Finance (Investment Banking, Corporate Finance, Investment/Portfolio Management & Other Financial Services)

Again Finance Functions dominated the jobs offered at Darden, accounting for 34% of the class. Yet again Investment Banking topped with 16% of the class opting for this field, which offered an average salary of $99,583 that fell below the class average of $104,478. But the sign-on bonuses made up for this with an average of $45,000, well above the class average of $27,900. Corporate Finance hired 8% of the class with an average salary of $99,752 and an average sign-on bonus of $20,967.

Consulting

Consulting functions accounted for 20% of the class, offering a very high average salary of $124,325 as much as 25% above the class average. The sign on bonus though averaged $25,489, slightly below the class average.

Marketing

Marketing also was a popular job function, offering average salaries and sign-on bonuses of $96,685 and $23,648 respectively to 15% of the class.

Executive Development/Leadership Program    

Darden’s core curriculum which has the ‘Leading Organizations’ course and its choice of 11 electives have resulted in a very high 13% being chosen for Executive Development/Leadership roles. The salaries averaged a slightly higher than typical $103,047, and the average sign-on bonus was $20,565.

Top Recruiters

Some of the top recruiters who hired 2 or more students include:

• A.T. Kearney
• Amazon.com
• American Express
• Boeing
• Boston Consulting Group
• British Telecom (BT)
• Caterpillar, Inc.
• CNN.com
• Credit Suisse
• Deloitte
• Duke Energy Corp.
• ExxonMobil Corporation
• Facebook
• Google
• Intel Corporation
• New York Times
• PepsiCo
• Walt Disney Company

Career Development Center (CMC)

Darden’s Career Development Center offers the following services to help students find the right career opportunities:

Individual Attention

Career Consultants

• Work in groups as well as individually.  
• Detailed self-assessment programs
• Develop Personal Career Plans
• Effective search tactics

Second Year Coaches

• 1st years are assigned a 2nd Year Coach
•  Advises throughout the 1st  year

Self-Assessment

Personal Career Assessment Program (PCAP)

• An optional workshop
• Understand yourself
• Review the requirements of various job offers
• Make informed career decisions.

Career Discovery Forums (CDFs)

• Learn more about MBA careers in different sectors
• Speakers and expert panel discussions
• Explore different career paths

Career Leader

• Access to Career Leader at lower rates

Skills Development

Career Management Curriculum

• Career management courses are integrated into the curriculum
• Instructs in the job search process
• Job search skills and techniques
• Determine a career objective
• Developing a personal career plan
• Resume writing
• Interviewing
• Corresponding with companies

Mock Interviews

• By Career consultants and Second Year coaches
• Interview feedback through InterviewStream
• Résumé and Cover Letter Workshops

Online Resources

• Over 1000 pages of information

Recruiting & Networking Opportunities

Job Postings/Opportunities

Company Networking Nights

• 3 First Year and 6 Second Year networking nights a year

Career Clubs

• Hosts 90+ networking events, conferences, and other activities

Company Briefings

• Around 100 company briefings a year
• Companies also hold additional brand-building activities with the briefings

Career Fairs and Interview Forums

Job Treks

• Over 20 job treks in USA and abroad
• Specific industry visits
• Networking with companies that cannot make it to Darden