12:18 pm - April 16, 2026Around the second year of an MBA program, students begin to ask a more difficult question: Was this worthwhile? Instead of focusing on what they came to learn. The answer is consistently “yes” at Harvard Business School, at least when it comes to the numbers. However, after looking at the Class of 2025 employment data for a while, something more intriguing than a tidy success story begins to take shape.
Even by itself, the headline figure is powerful. For HBS graduates in 2025, the median base salary increased from $175,000 to $184,500. When you factor in a variable bonus of $46,125 and a median signing bonus of $30,000, you’re looking at total first-year compensation that most people won’t see in their careers, let alone at age 28.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Institution | Harvard Business School (HBS) — Founded 1908, Boston, Massachusetts |
| Program Type | Full-Time, Two-Year MBA |
| Class of 2025 Size | 943 students |
| Acceptance Rate | ~10% (9,409 applications received in 2024–25) |
| Class Diversity | 44% women, 37% international students, 10% first-generation college students |
| Avg. GPA | 3.76 (on a 4.0 scale) |
| Median Base Salary (2025) | $184,500 — up from $175,000 in 2024 |
| Median Signing Bonus | $30,000 |
| Median Variable Bonus | $46,125 |
| Employment Rate | 90% received a job offer within 3 months; now closer to 94% |
| Top Hiring Industries | Finance (34%), Technology (22%), Consulting (21%) |
| Top Employers | McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, Google, Apple, OpenAI, Bain & Company |
| Entrepreneurship Rate | 17% of 2025 grads launched their own ventures — highest on record |
| Geographic Preference | 92% stayed in the US; 48% in the Northeast |
| Estimated Lifetime Earnings | Over $8.5 million (PayScale/Poets & Quants analysis) |
| Financial Aid | 50% receive needs-based scholarships; avg. package ~$100K over two years |
| Reference | HBS Employment Report 2025 |
Within three months of graduation, 90% of students looking for work received at least one job offer. The school claims that since then, the percentage has increased to nearly 94%. On the surface, this is a tale about a credential that is still highly respected.
However, there is another figure hidden in the data that merits further consideration. Thirty-five percent of Harvard’s Class of 2025 decided not to look for traditional jobs at all. It’s not a rounding error. Additionally, 17% of those who opted out stated they intended to launch their own business, which is the highest percentage in the program’s history and almost twice as high as it was in 2021.
That number might represent sincere aspirations for entrepreneurship. It might also be an indication of something more unsettling: a growing doubt about the potential of conventional career paths.
With 34% of the class, finance continues to be the most popular choice for HBS graduates. 14% came from private equity alone, which speaks to the school’s recruiting strategy, culture, and, to be honest, the type of student who typically gets accepted. With roughly 21 to 22 percent of the class, technology and consulting trailed closely behind.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were still in the running, along with the big three: McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. The 2025 class was recruited by Apple, Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. That final detail seems important. Investment banks and AI companies are now seated at the same table.
When you look at the industry-specific salary breakdown, some of the differences are striking enough to stop you in your tracks. The average variable bonus for private equity recruits was $150,000. Investment bankers received $50,000 in signing bonuses. In contrast, graduates who chose to work for nonprofit organizations made a median base salary of $130,000.
While this is a good living by most standards, it is far less than what their classmates seated two rows over are earning. Graduates in consumer products made about $146,000. Although the figures aren’t intended to disparage anyone’s decisions, they do subtly highlight the economic reasoning behind why some sectors continue to attract the most aspirational graduates.
Perhaps the most genuinely surprising aspect of the report is the rise in entrepreneurship, which is something to take seriously. Roughly 80 graduates joined early-stage startups, while about 150 are starting their own businesses. The cost of building something has decreased, the tools are better, and the mythology surrounding starting a business has never been louder, all of which give the impression that AI has significantly altered this calculation.
A generation that witnessed twentysomething startup founders become billionaires has come to its own conclusions. Ambition is a part of that. It’s likely that some of it stems from frustration with institutions.
The underlying tension in all of this is difficult to ignore. Some of the architects of contemporary corporate America came from Harvard Business School, but its alumni are increasingly leaving the school. Not yet, not in large quantities. However, it appears that the direction of travel is clear. The school’s senior managing director for career development, Kristen Fitzpatrick, presents the sharp increase in entrepreneurial interest in a positive light.
That makes sense. However, it also raises issues that the data cannot resolve on its own: Are these graduates departing because opportunities have increased or because the conventional route seems less certain?
In response, the school has added second-year elective tracks that go beyond the typical finance and consulting pipeline, expanded its entrepreneurship programming, and developed its Career and Professional Development platform. It’s still unclear if that will be sufficient to align with the direction of the culture.
It is evident that despite its high cost and rigorous requirements, the Harvard MBA still opens doors that few other credentials can. More candidly than in earlier classes, its graduates are now questioning which doors are truly worthwhile.
