As you begin the process of choosing an MBA program, there are probably a lot of factors you have already considered — things like program cost, starting salary for graduates and faculty support are tremendously important in selecting your degree.
Moreover, since where you earn your degree will likely have an impact on internship and employment opportunities, there’s one more crucial factor to consider. As the old saying goes, “location, location, location”.
If you are looking for a career in tech, it’s no coincidence that California is the first place to come to mind. Sunshine and tech innovation are what Northern Cali is all about.
Technology in San Francisco
The tech boom in San Francisco and Silicon Valley has made this area synonymous with successful tech companies.
In just one year, the 75 largest tech companies in San Francisco collectively hired more than 7,000 new employees. Of these 75 companies, over half were founded in the last ten years.
Students pursuing their MBA can concentrate in tech at a number of schools in San Francisco, such as an elective in information technology at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business or the full-time MBA in Technology at UC Berkley’s Haas School of Business.
Once you’ve earned your MBA, there’s no better place to put it to use than San Francisco.
Below are just a few of the major tech companies hiring right now in San Francisco.
Major Players in San Francisco Tech
Salesforce.com Headquarted in San Francisco, Salesforce.com is a web-based cloud computing company recognized around the world for its customer relationship management (CRM) product. Between January of 2014 and 2015, Salesforce.com hired 1,000 new employees, and as of 2016, is considered one of the most highly valued American cloud computing companies. Throughout the years, the company has acquired and added additional platforms to the service, such as Force.com and Work.com.
Twitter, Inc. It’s likely no surprise to see Twitter, Inc. top the list of tech giants in San Francisco. The popular social networking has expanded wildly since its establishment in 2006, featuring at least 332 million active users around the world as of last year. In 2013, Twitter was among the ten most-visited websites on the internet. Today the company earns roughly $2.21 billion in revenue, hiring 500 new employees in San Francisco from 2014-2015.
Google.com We’ve all heard stories about the food in their cafeteria, so it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that Google makes the list as an impactful San Francisco employer. A multinational technology company, the mere word ‘Google’ has become synonymous with what they do: lead the world in search, ad, and cloud computing technology. Through rapid growth and acquisition, Google has become much more than just a search engine since its 1998 founding, adding services such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Hangouts and many others.
Yelp Inc. From its San Francisco headquarters, Yelp has become the leader in crowd-sourced reviews for local businesses. The company has witnessed extreme growth since its founding in 2004 by former Paypal employees Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman. By 2010, the company was worth $30 million, growing quickly to $550 million today. From 2014 to 2015, Yelp added more than 350 new San Francisco employees.
Other San Francisco Technology Companies
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. A San Francisco based company specializing in audio noise reduction and audio compression, Dolby Labs currently earns revenues of $909.67 million and boasted 732 San Francisco employees in 2015.
Autodesk, Inc. With earnings of $2.51 billion in revenue and 1,007 San Francisco employees in 2015, Autodesk specializes in software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries.
Square Founded by Twitter chairman and founder, Square has become a leader in the fin-tech industry. A financial services and mobile payment product, Square added 200 new San Francisco employees in 2015.
Lending Club The Lending Club operates the largest peer-to-peer lending service which allows users to obtain loans and purchase notes backed by payments made on loans. According to the company’s records, more than $15.98 billion in loans have originated through their site from its 2006 founding to 2015.