Ross MBA Employment Outcomes, Alumni Network, and Life in Ann Arbor
Here at Menlo Coaching, we appreciate the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for its commitment to teamwork and real-world experience.
Menlo Coaching’s Founding Partner, David White interviewed Soojin Kwon, the Managing Director of MBA Admissions and Student Experience at Ross to get the inside scoop on what it’s like to be both an applicant and a student at this prestigious MBA program.
In this part of the interview, David and Soojin discuss:
Like most top MBA programs, Ross continually puts out impressive Employment Data. Ross Business School specializes in a few career paths that might be especially appealing to some MBAs. In the previous year, the Ross Class of 2022 MBA cohort experienced impressive job placement outcomes, with 99% of graduates securing job offers three months post-graduation—an increase from 97.5% in 2021. Additionally, 98.4% of graduates accepted job offers, up from 96.1%. Remarkably, over 93% of the class had job offers in hand even before graduation. However, the Class of 2023 witnessed a slight moderation, with just over 90% of graduates accepting jobs at graduation and 95.9% securing employment within three months of program completion. This represents the smallest post-graduation job acceptance rate at Ross since the pandemic class of 2020.
This year, graduates from Ross reported a median salary of $175,000, reflecting a noteworthy increase of $10,000 within a year, $31,000 over two years, and an impressive $40,000 since 2020. The median starting pay, a calculation that combines the median salary, median bonus (reported by 90% this year), and adjusts for those reporting a bonus, experienced a 5.1% growth, reaching $202,000. This marks a substantial 18% increase from the $171,450 reported two years ago.
In the previous academic year, consulting emerged as a dominant career choice for Ross graduates, constituting over 42% of the class—a significant increase from the 35% in 2021. Meanwhile, the tech sector experienced a slight dip, accounting for 17.3%, resulting in a combined total of just under 60% for consulting and tech. Notably, MBB firms (McKinsey & Co., Bain & Co., and Boston Consulting Group) hired 23% of all 2022 graduates and a substantial 55% of those entering consulting roles. The number of graduates pursuing finance-related careers remained relatively steady at 15%. Impressively, 93% of the class underwent career switches, a figure consistent with the preceding year.
In the current academic year, McKinsey, Bain, and BCG continue to hold the top positions as the preferred destinations for Michigan Ross graduates. Consulting now represents just under 45% of the class, with tech accounting for 15.5%. Together, these two industries attract 60% of the 2023 class, while financial services (14.2%) stands as the third-most popular sector. Top tech recruiters include Amazon, Dell, and Adobe Inc., while JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citi lead the way in finance. Healthcare and consumer packaged goods round out the top five industries for the Class of 2023.
In the previous year, approximately one-third of Ross graduates secured employment in the Midwest, primarily in Chicago (18.9%), while another quarter headed to the East Coast, with a focus on the New York area (21.6%). The West, particularly San Francisco, emerged as another significant destination, attracting around a quarter of the graduating class. This year, the distribution of Ross graduates remains relatively consistent, with two-thirds (66.2%) of the class set to work in key regions: the New York Metropolitan area (24.3%), the West Coast (19.3%), or Chicago (22.6%).
Additionally, about two thirds of Ross’ graduates are located in places other than the Midwest, including international markets. For students who don’t like the idea of staying near Ann Arbor, it’s important to note that Ross’ biggest post MBA markets are San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Chicago. And while there are a lot of marketing jobs in Minneapolis and Chicago, Ann Arbor is less than half an hour from an international airport making it easy for recruiters to get to and for students to fly out of in order to visit different companies.
Apropos of this, Ross offers a number of recruitment treks so that students can meet recruiters on their home turf. Through partnerships with professional student clubs and the career development office, Ross offers a tech trek, real estate trek, marketing trek, emerging market trek, and healthcare trek. Most of these occur in late October, during the professional development week between Ross’ first two terms.
For those students interested in smaller companies or paths that don’t have the full-support of on-campus recruiting, MBAs find themselves conducting what Ross refers to as self-directed or off-campus searches. These are facilitated by the alumni network and a professional student club that is focused on their particular area of interest. Even when the school is less able to help in a structured way, Ross’ excellent alumni and club networks share resources that help individual searches feel less arduous.
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To propel these career outcomes, Ross’ career office has a number of great resources. Two stand out as more or less unique to the campus.
FACT Groups. Functional Accountability Career Teams. These are small-group teams led by second year students which work with first year students to help them acclimate to the industry in which they wish to work. They meet weekly to keep first years on track: reviewing resumes, checking timelines, examining pitches, and looking at the companies a first year is reaching out to. The collaboration of these groups helps keep them accountable and therefore more functional.
Career Coaches. Ross has more than seventy career coaches: second-year MBA students who are interning at the companies that first-year MBA students are interested in interning for. They conduct mock interviews, resume reviews, discuss what different industries are looking for, and give first-year students one-on-one guidance on how to be successful in an industry-specific career search.
This is all in addition to student clubs, alumni visits, conferences, workshops, and speaker series.
The implicit bias against Ross is that, because of its location in Ann Arbor, and its focus on tech and consulting, applicants often think they won’t be able to get jobs in the industries or regions they want. Given Ross’ wide-ranging network, this particular critique is more of a myth. As they say on campus: “Go Blue, Go Anywhere.”
Michigan Ross Alumni Network
The Ross Business School, as a part of the University of Michigan, is part of a huge alumni network. If you’ve heard someone say “Go Blue” or seen the Michigan M, you’re probably aware of the far-reaching cultural footprint that the university has. Ross MBA students will be able to take advantage of that extensive network.
Ninety percent of Ross MBA students come from outside of Michigan and, because Ann Arbor is a smaller town than many of the bigger-city applicants might be used to, it forges a powerful, close-knit bond. Without expansive networks of friends and family that many MBAs find in larger cities, the relative isolation of Ann Arbor helps students become hyper-focused on their relationships with one another and cement the bonds that the alumni network provides.
There is a genuine willingness to support one another. Students leverage their alumni network to find internships and full-time jobs. All one has to do is say “Go Blue” at the bottom of an email and it opens up a deep well of passion and camaraderie that connects students and alumni.
Life in Ann Arbor
Perhaps one of the reasons the companionship is so strong among the UMich community could be due to the shared-experience of calling Ann Arbor home for a time. With MBA students coming from New York, San Francisco, Boston, LA, Tokyo, and London, the vast majority all seem to have a deep passion for this small Michigan town. There are plenty of fun things to do in Ann Arbor.
Outdoor Activities. Ann Arbor’s river can be crossed by kayak and paddleboard. There are golf courses, parks, and bike paths. Outdoorsy students generally find all sorts of things to do.
Food. Many people are surprised to find that Ann Arbor has a vibrant food scene with many great restaurants. Additionally, with Detroit only forty-five minutes away, there are many options for an MBA foodie to find great places to eat and drink.
Sports. The UMich sports scene is fantastic. The baseball team was just in the College World Series and whether it’s football, tennis, soccer, track, or what have you there are all sorts of amazing athletes that one can see compete for very cheap.
The Arts. The Royal Shakespeare Company regularly comes through Ann Arbor, Yo-Yo Ma performs every year and a number of elite, big-name performers come through to see University of Michigan’s musical society. Additionally, with Detroit nearby, all sorts of big bands can be seen while on tour. The Red Hot Chili Peppers and John Mayer both recently performed.
In short, Ann Arbor has all the perks of a walkable, livable small town with friendly people, and the advantage of a nearby big city with all the amenities and events that implies.
Gain personalized guidance from our seasoned MBA consultant professionals to navigate the nuances of employment outcomes and the extensive University of Michigan alumni network at Ross.
