In this in-depth analysis of the Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements outcome for the 2025 graduating class by job function, we cover: Consulting, Private Equity, Investment Banking, Investment Management, Venture Capital, Corporate Strategy / Strategic Planning, General Management, Marketing, and Law.
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Consulting Function - Booth’s Focus on Analytical Rigor Helped
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Finance - IB and PE took the Lion’ share of Offers
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Investment Banking: Competitive compensation Driven by High Bonus Structure
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Investment Management / Research: Fewer roles, higher technical expectations
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Private Equity - Fewer seats, higher bar, curriculum-aligned skill demands
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Venture Capital - A niche function in a Slowing Job Function
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Corporate Strategy / Strategic Planning - Recovered from the 2022 and 2023 Low
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in General Management – Stable But Below Peer School’s Compensation
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Marketing - Declining Specialization
- Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Law – Compensation Stabilizing Job Function
Trend 1: Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Consulting Function - Booth's Focus on Analytical Rigor Helped
Consulting was the largest functional outcome for the Chicago Booth MBA Class of 2025, accounting for 37.7% of total hires, with a median base salary of $190,000, a median sign-on bonus of $30,000, and total compensation of $220,000.
Consulting: A recovering Job Function at Chicago Booth with a stable $190,000 base salary
Functionally, this represents a rebound from 35.2% in 2024, though still below the 39.4% peak reached in 2023, indicating stabilisation rather than renewed expansion. This pattern aligns closely with the consulting market dynamics observed between Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, when firms reduced broad generalist intake but maintained strong demand for candidates who could operate at the intersection of strategy, analytics, and implementation.
Consulting work during this period shifted decisively toward AI deployment, operating-model redesign, cost transformation, post-merger integration, and supply-chain resilience. These mandates required consultants who could move beyond framing problems to quantifying trade-offs, modelling scenarios, and supporting execution.
How Chicago Booth MBA’s Curriculum played a role in Adapting to Modern Consulting requirements?
Booth’s curriculum plays a direct role here. Courses such as Competitive Strategy, Strategy and Structure, Game Theory, and Industry Analysis train students to think rigorously about incentives, market structure, and firm behaviour, while Statistics, Applied Regression Analysis, and Managerial Decision Modeling prepare them for data-intensive problem-solving.
Importantly, Booth’s flexibility allows consulting-oriented students to stack advanced analytics, economics, and strategy courses early, which aligns with the consulting industry’s move away from purely narrative-driven strategy toward analytically defensible recommendations. The sustained dominance of consulting at Booth reflects not just employer preference but a curriculum that produces graduates comfortable with ambiguity, quantitative reasoning, and execution trade-offs.
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Question 1: How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)
Question 2: Chicago Booth appreciates the individual experiences and perspectives that all of our students bring to our community. This respect for different viewpoints creates an open-minded environment 
that supports curiosity, inspires us to think more broadly, and take risks. At Booth, community is about collaborative thinking and learning from one another to better ourselves, our ideas, and the world around us.
The photos below represent some of the values described above that we uphold at Chicago Booth. Select one and share how it resonates with one of your own values. (250-word minimum)
Trend 2: Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Finance - IB and PE took the Lion’s share of Offers
Finance functions collectively accounted for 30.3% of hires, with a median base salary of $175,000, a median sign-on bonus of $50,000, and total compensation of $225,000, placing Finance on par with Consulting in total pay but with a markedly different internal structure.
Finance Expands in Representation at Chicago Booth: Driven by Investment Banking
Compared to the mid-to-high 20% range in 2021–2022, Finance hiring at Booth has re-expanded in 2025, though selectively. This expansion is best understood by examining Finance sub-functions individually rather than as a single category.
Trend 3: Investment Banking at Chicago Booth MBA: Competitive compensation Driven by High Bonus Structure
Investment Banking accounted for 11.9% of total hires, with a median base salary of $175,000, a $50,000 sign-on bonus, and total compensation of $225,000, the highest among all functional categories.
Investment Banking Offers Fell from 2023 Level: Above pre-2022 Levels
While the new offers represent a fall from 16.4% in 2024, it remains well above pre-2022 levels.
Between Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, global deal activity recovered unevenly, with fewer but larger and more complex transactions.
With a sizeable percentage of career switchers entering Investment Banking with Booth MBA, Employers weren’t willing to take the risk, even with Booth’s rigorous analytical orientation.
Banks prioritized analytical depth, modelling accuracy, and execution reliability.
Entry-level roles suffered from greater scrutiny on their ability to manage the complexity of a deal.
Experienced IB Candidates: Benefited from Chicago Booth MBA’s Curriculum
Booth’s continued strength in Investment Banking for experienced professionals is closely tied to its finance curriculum, particularly courses such as Advanced Financial Analysis and Valuation, Financial Instruments, Cases in Financial Management, Debt, Distress, and Restructuring, and Mergers & Acquisition Strategy. These courses prepare students for precisely the kind of technical, high-stakes work demanded in a capital-constrained banking environment. The orientation explains why compensation remained strong even as hiring volumes were disciplined.
Trend 4: Investment Management / Research - Fewer roles, higher technical expectations
Investment Management and Research roles absorbed 5.8% of the class, offering a median base salary of $165,000, a $40,000 sign-on bonus, and total compensation of $205,000.
Booth MBA Salary in Investment Management: Lower than Peer Schools
The compensation in Investment Management is lower than that of peer schools. During 2024–2025, asset managers increasingly adopted AI-assisted research and tighter risk controls, reducing demand for generalist analysts.
Need for Revamping Investment Management Curriculum at Booth
Booth’s curriculum supports specialists through offerings such as Asset Pricing I and II, Financial Econometrics, Advanced Investments, and Behavioral Finance, which emphasise quantitative reasoning and empirical decision-making.
Graduates entering this function as generalists have limited opportunities to upskill in a short time to a market that rewards technical sophistication and experience working in a dynamic investment climate.
Essay Editing - Consult with Atul Jose (Essay Specialist, F1GMAT)
The skills that a writer/editor brings to the table are different from what a former admissions officer or a consultant who has limited writing skills brings
Review Skills # Writing Skills
Movie Critics # Movie Directors
For any questions about the service, email me, Atul Jose, at editor@f1gmat.com
As F1GMAT’s Lead Consultant and Essay Specialist, I will help you structure the essay by:
1) Incorporating your Personal Brand
I will help you find unique life experiences that would differentiate you from the highly competitive Chicago Booth MBA application pool.
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I have developed a keen sense of storytelling from over a decade and a half of editing essays and writing essay examples for F1GMAT’s Essay Guides.
The skills that a writer/editor brings to the table are different from what a former admissions officer or a consultant who has limited writing skills brings
Review Skills # Writing Skills
Movie Critics # Movie Directors
It is easy to comment, but it is tough to structure the essay from the perspective of the applicant and turn the essay into a winning application essay.
3) Aligning with the Culture of the School
A big part of editing and guiding applicants is in educating them about the culture of the school
Some schools have very ‘specific’ traits that they are looking for in an applicant.
If you don’t highlight them and lean towards general leadership or cultural narratives, the essay won’t work.
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Trend 5: Private Equity - Fewer seats, higher bar, curriculum-aligned skill demands
Private Equity hired 5.5% of Booth graduates, broadly in line with recent years but well below the 2023 high.
Compensation data, while incomplete, shows continued upward pressure in prior years, reflecting the industry’s preference for fewer but more capable hires.
PE’s recovery didn’t help Booth MBA Graduates
The private equity market during Q3 2024–Q2 2025 was defined by slower exits, higher financing costs, and increased focus on operational value creation. This shifted hiring toward candidates with strong modelling skills, deal judgement, and operational understanding. Booth’s offerings, such as Entrepreneurial Finance and Private Equity, Private Equity Transactions, Deal Structuring and Financial Reporting Implications, and the PE/VC Lab, provide structured exposure to these demands, helping experienced candidates.
For newbies entering the industry, the curriculum and exposure were not sufficient in a job market that demanded more from its PE candidates.
Trend 6: Venture Capital - A niche function in a Slowing Job Function
Venture Capital accounted for 1.9% of hires, with a median base salary of $140,000, reflecting continued contraction from pre-2022 levels. This outcome mirrors the venture market’s recalibration during 2024–2025, when capital concentrated heavily in AI infrastructure and late-stage platforms, sharply limiting entry-level hiring.
At Booth, VC outcomes are less driven by on-campus pipelines and more by prior experience and network. While courses such as New Venture Strategy, Commercializing Innovation, and Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Web3 support venture-oriented thinking, the data suggest that VC remains a selective, experience-driven pathway.
Trend 7: Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Corporate Strategy / Strategic Planning - Recovered from the 2022 and 2023 Low
Corporate Strategy and Strategic Planning roles accounted for 6.2% of hires, with a median base salary of $160,000, a $30,000 sign-on bonus, and total compensation of $190,000. This represents a recovery from 3.7% in 2022 and 4.4% in 2023, reflecting renewed demand for internal strategy roles as firms navigated AI integration, restructuring, and geopolitical risk.
Chicago Booth Managed to Make Waves in a Challenging Strategy Job Market
Between Q4 2024 and Q2 2025, companies increasingly relied on internal strategy teams to coordinate transformation efforts across business units.
How Booth MBA’s Curriculum Helped Candidates Make a comeback?
Booth’s curriculum directly supports this function through Strategy Simulation, Technology Strategy, Platform Competition, and Managing the Firm in the Global Economy, which train students to think systemically across markets, technologies, and organisational boundaries.
Trend 8: Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in General Management – Stable But Below Peer Schools’ Compensation
General Management roles accounted for 7.7% of hires, with a median base salary of $147,500.
General Management: Lower Base Salary, But Growing Representation at Chicago Booth
While lower in compensation than finance or consulting, this function reflects steady growth from earlier years and aligns with Booth’s emphasis on operational leadership.
Leadership Orientation with the Booth MBA Curriculum Helped Candidates
Courses such as Managing Service Operations, Project Management, Leadership Studio, and Managing in Organizations prepare students for roles that combine execution responsibility with people management. Booth’s data suggests that General Management outcomes are less cyclical and more tied to long-term organisational needs for analytically grounded operators.
Trend 9: Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in General Management in Marketing - Declining Specialization
Marketing accounted for 2.6% of hires, with a median base salary of $128,000, a $35,000 sign-on bonus, and total compensation of $163,000. This relatively small share reflects broader market dynamics, where marketing roles increasingly demand deep analytics and digital capability rather than traditional brand management.
Booth’s strength in Data-Driven Marketing, Pricing Strategies, Digital Marketing Lab, and Statistical Insight into Marketing couldn’t convert to strong compensation for its candidates.
Trend 10: Chicago Booth MBA Salary and Placements in Law – Compensation Stabilizing Job Function
Law accounted for 4.7% of hires, with a median base salary of $225,000, the highest base salary among all functions. These outcomes primarily reflect JD–MBA pathways and regulatory-intensive corporate roles.
Function | Percent of Hires | Median Base Salary | Median Sign On Bonus | Total Salary |
| Consulting | 37.7% | $190,000 | $30,000 | $220,000 |
| Corporate Strategy/Strategic Planning | 6.2% | $160,000 | $30,000 | $190,000 |
| Finance | 30.3% | $175,000 | $50,000 | $225,000 |
| Investment Banking | 11.9% | $175,000 | $50,000 | $225,000 |
| Investment Management/Research | 5.8% | $165,000 | $40,000 | $205,000 |
| Private Equity | 5.5% | $175,000 | NA | NA |
| Venture Capital | 1.9% | $140,000 | NA | NA |
| General Management | 7.7% | $147,500 | NA | NA |
| Law | 4.7% | $225,000 | NA | NA |
| Marketing | 2.6% | $128,000 | $35,0000 | $163,000 |
Final Verdict
The Good
• Consulting recovered as a Job Function at Chicago Booth with a stable $190,000 base salary.
• Experienced IB Candidates Benefited from Chicago Booth MBA’s Curriculum with a competitive $175,000 median base salary.
• General Management function although couldn’t attract a competitive compensation, the function grew from earlier years and aligns with Booth’s emphasis on operational leadership.
• Corporate Strategy and Strategic Planning recovered with a competitive median base salary of $160,000
The Bad
• Offers in PE were below expectations. The lack of bonus data further reinforces the negative trend
• The Marketing Function suffered the most as the challenging market conditions demanded strong quantitative candidates; the demand couldn’t be met by the class.
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