UCLA Anderson MBA Salary: By Industry (2025) (Analysis)

In this in-depth analysis of the UCLA Anderson MBA Employment outcome for the 2025 graduating class by industry, we cover:

•    Technology: West Coast Commercialization Cycle Drove the Largest Hiring Share
•    Consulting: California-Based Transformation projects Sustained Hiring Without Pay Increase 
•    Financial Services: Deal Execution and Capital Reallocation on the West Coast Expanded Hiring
•    Entertainment / Media: Profit Discipline, Streaming Consolidation, and Advertising Reset Reshaped MBA Demand 
•    Healthcare: Margin Compression and Cost Control Reduced Volume While Preserving Strategic Roles 
•    Consumer Products: Pricing Sensitivity and Portfolio Rationalization Limited MBA Intake 
•    Real Estate: High Interest Rates and Transaction Inactivity Constrained Hiring to Core Roles

Technology: West Coast Commercialization Cycle Drove the Largest Hiring Share 

Technology accounted for 28.3% of UCLA Anderson MBA placements in 2025, with a median base salary of $147,000 and a median signing bonus of $32,500, producing $179,500 in total median compensation. The scale of hiring in 2025 reflects not a generalized rebound in technology employment, but a regionally concentrated commercialization phase centered in California, particularly Southern California and the Bay Area.

UCLA MBA Candidates benefited from cost containment and revenue accountability

Between Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, technology firms moved decisively from cost containment into revenue accountability for prior AI and cloud investments. Public earnings disclosures across enterprise software, cloud infrastructure, and media-tech platforms show that while headcount growth remained constrained, spending shifted toward go-to-market execution, pricing strategy, enterprise partnerships, and internal transformation teams. These roles required MBAs capable of aligning product capability with monetization, rather than technical product development.

Unique Strength of LA -  Intersection of technology, media, advertising, and consumer platforms

This shift is particularly relevant for UCLA Anderson because Los Angeles sits at the intersection of technology, media, advertising, and consumer platforms. In 2025, firms operating in streaming infrastructure, ad-supported platforms, creator economies, and enterprise SaaS for media and healthcare expanded selectively in California, pulling MBAs into product strategy, growth analytics, and revenue operations roles. This explains why technology hiring at Anderson increased in share while base salaries rose modestly rather than sharply: demand expanded for commercial translators, not for scarce technical specialists commanding premium pay.

The rise in signing bonuses reflects competition between technology firms and consulting practices for the same analytically strong MBA talent on the West Coast, rather than a pure technology wage war.

Consulting: California-Based Transformation projects Sustained Hiring Without Pay Increase 

Consulting represented 25.6% of Anderson MBA placements in 2025, with a median base salary of $175,000 and a $30,000 median signing bonus, resulting in $205,000 in total median compensation. The hiring level in 2025 was shaped by where consulting work was being executed, not by a resurgence of traditional strategy demand.

California-focused Projects Hired from UCLA Anderson with a Standardized $175,000 Base Salary

From late 2024 through mid-2025, consulting firms expanded staffing for implementation-heavy mandates, including AI deployment, operating-model redesign, cost restructuring, and post-merger integration, particularly for technology, media, healthcare, and consumer clients headquartered or operating heavily in California. These projects were longer in duration and execution-intensive, requiring larger delivery teams rather than small strategy pods.

Transformation Projects in streaming platforms, healthcare systems, and consumer brands dominated in Consulting

Los Angeles and broader California markets played a distinct role here. Consulting offices in the region staffed transformation work for streaming platforms, healthcare systems, and consumer brands, adjusting to margin pressure and digital distribution shifts. UCLA Anderson graduates were absorbed into these client-proximate delivery roles, which explains why consulting hiring remained strong even without upward pressure on base salaries: firms were adding capacity at standard pay bands to meet workload.

The stability in compensation alongside sustained hiring indicates that consulting demand in 2025 was driven by operational necessity, not competitive scarcity for MBA talent.

Financial Services: Deal Execution and Capital Reallocation on the West Coast Expanded Hiring

Financial services accounted for 19.4% of UCLA Anderson MBA placements in 2025, with a median base salary of $175,000 and a median signing bonus of $50,000, maintaining $225,000 in total median compensation. The hiring share reflects a measured expansion of execution roles, closely tied to deal activity and restructuring rather than a full reopening of capital markets.

Between Q4 2024 and Q2 2025, financial institutions increased hiring to support large-cap M&A execution, refinancing, and restructuring, particularly in sectors such as technology, healthcare, energy infrastructure, and consumer businesses. While IPO markets remained selective, deal values increased as firms pursued fewer but larger and more complex transactions. This required additional MBA talent for modeling, diligence coordination, and integration planning, expanding hiring without altering established compensation structures.

California-based advisory offices and West Coast investment banking teams increased staffing 

For UCLA Anderson, regional context again matters. California-based advisory offices and West Coast investment banking teams increased staffing to support technology-adjacent transactions, media consolidation, and infrastructure financing tied to energy transition projects. This geographic pull explains why financial services hiring at Anderson increased in share while pay remained stable: firms reopened pipelines to handle execution load, not to compete for scarce candidates.

Compared with earlier cycles dominated by high-volume brokerage or capital markets roles, 2025 finance hiring skewed toward execution, restructuring, and corporate finance, aligning with Anderson’s placement profile and compensation outcomes.

Entertainment / Media: Profit Discipline, Streaming Consolidation, and Advertising Reset Reshaped MBA Demand 

Entertainment and media accounted for 7.2% of UCLA Anderson MBA placements in 2025, down from 8.6% in 2024, with a median base salary of $135,200, slightly lower than the $137,500 median reported the prior year. The contraction in hiring reflects structural changes in the entertainment economy, not a weakening of Anderson’s positioning within the sector.

Between Q3 2024 and Q2 2025, major studios and streaming platforms accelerated content rationalization, cost containment, and consolidation strategies. Following prolonged pressure on streaming profitability, firms reduced greenlighting activity and cut back on growth-oriented roles in marketing, expansion, and original content strategy. MBA hiring shifted toward finance, portfolio strategy, advertising monetization, and operational efficiency, resulting in fewer overall roles but continued demand for analytically rigorous candidates.

Structural Changes in Entertainment/Media but LA still a Critical Employment Hub

Los Angeles remained a critical employment hub despite this contraction. The fact that hiring persisted at all, at a still-material 7.2%, underscores that Anderson graduates were entering core commercial and strategic roles, not discretionary creative positions. The absence of signing bonuses in 2025 reflects the industry’s cautious capital posture rather than a loss of employer interest.

Healthcare: Margin Compression and Cost Control Reduced Volume While Preserving Strategic Roles 

Healthcare placements declined to 5.6% in 2025, down sharply from 9.1% in 2024, with median base salary falling from $140,000 to $131,500. This represents one of the most pronounced year-over-year contractions across industries at Anderson.
From late 2024 onward, healthcare providers, payers, and life sciences firms faced persistent margin pressure, driven by elevated labor costs, reimbursement constraints, and regulatory complexity. As a result, MBA hiring narrowed to cost-focused and operational improvement roles, including revenue cycle optimization, supply chain efficiency, and performance management.

Healthcare Decline from Peak 2021 Period is evident in UCLA MBA Compensation

In contrast to 2024, when healthcare hiring included a broader mix of strategy and innovation roles, 2025 demand was tighter, more execution-oriented, and lower-paying, explaining both the decline in hiring share and the compression in compensation. Southern California healthcare systems and healthcare-adjacent service providers continued to hire selectively, but expansionary hiring paused across most subsegments.

Consumer Products: Pricing Sensitivity and Portfolio Rationalization Limited MBA Intake 

Consumer products represented 5.6% of placements in 2025, down from 7.2% in 2024, with median base salary decreasing from $125,000 to $121,500 and signing bonuses largely absent. The decline mirrors the operating environment faced by consumer brands throughout 2024, 2025.

Consumer Goods Facing Pressure and It Showed in the Hiring Pattern

During this period, firms contended with price-sensitive consumers, inventory normalization, and margin pressure, particularly in discretionary categories. As a result, MBA hiring shifted away from traditional brand management and growth roles toward pricing analytics, demand forecasting, and supply chain coordination, functions that require fewer hires and command lower compensation.

UCLA Anderson’s continued presence in consumer products hiring reflects Southern California’s role as a center for food, beverage, lifestyle, and apparel brands, but the data indicate a more defensive hiring posture relative to 2024.

Real Estate: High Interest Rates and Transaction Inactivity Constrained Hiring to Core Roles 

Real estate accounted for 2.8% of Anderson MBA placements in 2025, marginally higher than 2.4% in 2024, but the median base salary declined materially from $127,500 to $115,000. 

Real-Estate Struggled with Elevated Interest Rate

The sector remained constrained by elevated interest rates and limited transaction volume throughout the period. MBA hiring was concentrated in asset management, portfolio operations, and restructuring support, rather than acquisitions or development roles. While Southern California remains one of the largest real estate markets globally, deal activity remained selective, and firms prioritized stability over expansion, limiting both hiring volume and compensation.

Reference

• UCLA Anderson MBA Employment Report 2025