But what jobs can you get with an MBA or business master's, exactly?
Measuring responses from 1,120 current students and graduates in 94 countries, the recently published 2024 AMBA and BGA Graduate Survey uncovered significant findings on students’ pathways after business school, including their employment status, sector distribution, management roles, and work environment.
So, if you’re curious about the reality of career prospects after business school, read on to find out the results.
Popular industries and roles for business school graduates
Between April and June 2023, the survey asked students and graduates about their motivations for enrolling at business school and the career paths they'd embarked on since graduating.
Featuring a diverse group of respondents, with the UK constituting the largest segment at 22%, the gender distribution of participants was 69% male, 30% female, and 1% did not disclose their gender. Participating graduate cohorts spanned from the 1970s to as recent as 2023, with around 80% graduating between the years 2010 and 2023 and fewer than 1% graduating in the 1970s.
Reflecting the positive impact of business education in shaping career trajectories, the most common industries that graduates entered were also among the most popular desired sectors before enrollment. The predominant sectors for both were consultancy, representing 10% of graduates, and banking and finance, at 8%.
With a wide variety of sectors represented among the survey respondents, other popular industries included education (7%), manufacturing (6%), and IT (6%).
Looking beyond the broader alignment of sectors between current students and business graduates, the survey delved into the specific management roles and working environments graduates found themselves in within today's workplace.
Among 86% of surveyed graduates who were in full-time work and a further 5% in part-time work, 40% revealed themselves to be in middle management positions, including division heads, principals, and senior management. An additional 17% were in senior management, categorized as VP level roles, directors, partners, or country heads, while 13% were in junior management and 10% were business owners.
The survey went on to quiz respondents about their current working practices. With hybrid work emerging as a popular option as the working world continues to change post-pandemic, nearly half (48%) of graduates revealed they were working in a hybrid format. A further 30% were in the office full time, while 18% were fully remote. An additional 3% of respondents described themselves as digital nomads.
