Considering your career options for 2025 and wondering what you can do with an MBA? These top industries provide lucrative opportunities with top companies across the globe
It’s no secret that an MBA can open doors for your career—offering the opportunity to enhance your business acumen, develop new skills, and expand your network.
Among corporate recruiters taking part in a 2024 Graduate Management Admission Council survey, 90% reported that they had hired MBA graduates over the previous year. The list of top MBA employers includes big tech firms, leading consumer goods companies, consulting behemoths, and financial sector heavyweights.
So, with an abundance of jobs available after graduation, what are the industries that provide the most opportunities for MBA grads in 2025?
Each year, Bloomberg Businessweek compiles a ranking of the best MBA programs across the globe while also recording where grads of these business schools go to work.
So, if you’re wondering what you can do with an MBA degree in the year ahead, here are the 10 top industries where top b-school grads went to work in 2024. Check out the opportunities for you to make your mark.
MBA careers for the class of 2024: 10 top industries
10. Media and Entertainment
While it’s the lowest ranking industry on this list, media and entertainment attracted graduates from many of Bloomberg’s top business schools. In 2024, a total of 60 schools helped their students launch careers in the sector, with the overall number of MBA hires within the industry standing at 212—a slight decrease from 2023’s figure.
Among the top feeder schools for the media and entertainment industries were the likes of Stern, which saw 10 grads secure roles; Columbia, where 11 grads entered the industry; and UCLA Anderson School of Management, where 18 MBAs took up media and entertainment roles. Indian School of Business saw the highest number of grads—32—take media jobs.
9. Retail
Retail—including areas such as e-commerce, digital marketing, and consumer analytics—is increasingly an area where MBA expertise is sought after. In 2024, a total of 194 top MBA grads went into the sector, they came from 77 different schools. So, if you’re considering a number of MBA careers in 2025, it’s worth adding retail to the list.
Among the largest suppliers of top MBA graduating talent to the retail industry were Michigan (Ross), where 12 grads took up roles; Yale School of Management, where the figure was 17; and Barcelona-based IESE Business School which, for a second year, led the way with 18 hires in 2024.
8. Real Estate
Another industry that attracted MBA grads in 2024 was real estate, with graduates from 64 schools securing jobs. A significant number of top graduates—260—landed roles in the sector. Of the 111 schools that provided a launchpad into the industry, it was Kenan Flagler that stood out with 13% of the class taking up real estate jobs.
In total, 29 Kenan-Flagler grads landed roles, higher than first-placed Columbia Business School, with 16; and Wharton with 14.
7. Energy
If you’re wondering what you can do with an MBA in 2025, the energy sector is well worth your consideration—according to Bloomberg, of MBAs accepting a job within three months of graduation, 345 from 82 schools went to work in the industry. As the shift towards a green economy ramps up in much of the world, companies within the energy sector increasingly need the kind of expertise that an MBA provides.
With more schools acting as feeders for the industry, hiring was more evenly spread in this sector than in media and entertainment. The top four energy target schools were Spain’s IE Business School, with 20 hires, Jones, with 16, and Harvard and Hass, with 15 apiece.
6. Manufacturing
Manufacturing is a significantly popular industry offering opportunities in areas such as product management, supply chain and logistics management, and marketing. Among top schools in 2024, there were 93 that helped grads launch careers in the sector, more than previous industries in this list, such as media and entertainment and retail.
In total, 513 grads took up manufacturing roles, with Harvard topping the rankings with 20 grads securing manufacturing roles, followed by IMT Ghaziabad, with 19, and MIT Sloan School of Management, with 18.
5. Consumer Products
The consumer goods industry has long been a top choice for b-school grads with the likes of Pepsico and AbInBev ranking among the best companies to work for in the sector. In 2024, 628 top MBA graduates entered the sector.
Among the 64 schools that saw students enter the industry after graduation, Indian School of Business—a top-ranked MBA college in India—was the most prolific, with 63 grads recruited into the industry. Other top feeder institutions were UCLA Anderson where the figure was 23. Rutgers sent the biggest share of its cohort—21.4%—into the industry.
4. Healthcare
One industry that’s steadily grown more prominent over recent years—largely influenced by the Covid pandemic and sales of weight-loss drugs—is healthcare. In 2024 it was the fourth most popular sector for MBA grads at the world’s top schools. They typically find roles with industry leading firms such as Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Novo Nordisk.
If you’re wondering what you can do with an MBA in 2025, healthcare could offer a chance to work in a challenging and personally rewarding sector. There were 95 schools that saw their graduates enter the sector in 2024, with 730 students opting to bring their newfound skills and expertise into the industry.
Among the top schools for healthcare were Wharton, with 34 grads, Questrom, with 29, and Harvard, with 28.
MBA careers: The top 3 industries
There are few surprises among the top three sectors for MBA graduates in 2024, which replicate last year’s rankings. The ‘big three’ industries have long dominated MBA hiring, and if you’re asking what you can do with an MBA in 2025, launching a career in one of these sectors is definitely on the cards.
3. Technology
Despite it being a challenging year for the sector, tech companies maintained their position as top employers of MBA graduates. The likes of Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Apple all hire a wealth of students each year.
In total, there were 2,264 MBA students who were recruited from business school campuses into tech company jobs in 2024. That hiring spree was once again spread across 104 top schools.
The most prolific tech feeder school was Indian School of Business, by some distance: 148 students at the school took up tech roles after graduation. Second-placed Wharton helped 103 grads land roles, while for the prestigious London Business School it was 85. By percentage, ESMT Berlin saw 58% of its cohort entering the industry.
2. Finance
Finance remains a strong draw among MBA grads in 2024, with the likes of Stanford and Booth seeing 38.3% and 32.6% of their grads, respectively, enter the sector.
Many of the world’s top banks hire MBAs each year, grads often find roles with the likes of UBS, Evercore, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan.
A total of 93 top schools placed their students within the financial sector in 2024. Within the US, there are a select few top business schools that are renowned for their connections to the industry and their strong offering when it comes to financial teaching. It’s no surprise, then, that the top four schools placed more than 790 grads combined.
Wharton was the most prolific finance sector feeder school, with 237 hires. It was followed by Harvard, with 196, and Columbia, with 195. At 40.6% Columbia also saw the biggest proportion of its grads opting to pursue financial careers.
1. Consulting
Unsurprisingly, the consulting industry remained a top choice for MBA graduates in 2024. The industry has a reputation for hugely competitive starting salaries, strong training and progression opportunities, and the chance to work on projects that marry well with the holistic MBA skill set.
The Big Three consulting firms—McKinsey, Bain, and BCG hire vast swaths of business school students each year. There are also opportunities with other prestigious names such as Accenture, EY Parthenon, Kearney, and Oliver Wyman.
Entering the consulting sector after an MBA is therefore a tried and tested path, which is why 4,126 grads did just that in 2024—more than any other industry.
Those consulting hires were spread across 86 top global schools, with INSEAD once again topping the ranking, with 326 graduates (61% of its cohort) entering the industry. For its part, leading consulting feeder Indian School of Business placed 282.
Leading the pack in the US was Chicago Booth, with 192 of its grads working in the industry. For both Harvard and Columbia the figure was 140.
