5 Highest Paying MBA Internships in Philadelphia

Last Updated Sep 21, 2018 by Kelly Vo

The moment you decide to earn your MBA, you should already be thinking about your MBA internship. Within the first few months of your education, you’ll be discussing your internship opportunities and soon afterward, applying. For the most part, you’ll choose your internship based on your career interests, but there’s one other aspect to consider: the pay.

MBA interns can earn impressive hourly wages, which may be a shock if you’re still thinking like an undergraduate student who worked an entire summer for free. But is an MBA internship salary something to sneeze at? It could be depending on your job function, industry, and the company you work for. So, who pays the most?

We dug into Philadelphia MBA internships to find out which companies would pay the most, and here’s what we discovered.

Wharton MBA Interns

To come up with our list of the five highest paying MBA internships in Philadelphia, we first decided to take a look at The Wharton School, known for the highest paying salaries post-graduation. According to the school’s latest employment report, the top five best paying industries were:

Professional Services — $15,000/month
Consulting — $12,250/month
Investment Banking — $10,417/month
Hedge Funds — $10,409/month
Investment Management — $10,000/month

In particular, Wharton MBAs who took internships in legal services ($15,000/month), investment banking ($10,417/month), portfolio management ($10,409/month), consulting/strategy ($10,075/month), and research ($8,000/month) could expect to earn the most. So, where exactly did these high paying interns work?

While Wharton doesn’t break down which of their internship employers paid the most, we can draw some basic conclusions based off of their list of top employers as well as Glassdoor’s list MBA internship jobs in Philadelphia.

For MBA students looking for an internship in consulting, Deloitte is a great choice. Their summer associate internship positions are high paying and diverse. According to Glassdoor, summer internships can expect to earn $9,641/monthly with salaries reaching up to $12,000/monthly depending on your specialty. Deloitte offers internship opportunities in life sciences and healthcare, technology, strategy and operations, tax/finance/accounting, and more.

To earn one of these prestigious and high-paying internships, MBA students should demonstrate excellent written and verbal communication skills. You should also be able to develop innovative business models that drive performance using a breadth and depth of analytical and quantitative skills.

Another opportunity for a high-paying internship in Philadelphia is as an Associate Intern at McKinsey & Company. This position is ideal for MBA students interested in a consulting career. During the eight to ten weeks of the program, interns work in teams of three to five consultants playing an active role in all aspects of client engagement. This internship falls under Wharton’s second-most-profitable internship industry, and students can expect to earn $11,872/monthly according to Glassdoor.

To gain this internship, MBA students in Philadelphia must demonstrate exceptional analytical and quantitative skills. They also must have a strong record of academic and professional excellence with the ability to work in a team environment.

The Investment Management Track MBA summer internship at Vanguard Group is an ideal choice for a high-paying internship. It falls under Wharton’s top five best paying industries for internships and is an opportunity for MBA students to use their passion for investments to directly impact the financial future of investors. During the summer internship, MBA students can expect to earn $39/hour or about $6,747/monthly according to Glassdoor.

To gain this internship, MBA students will need to have a minimum of five years of work experience and exposure to investment management, strategy, and consulting. In addition, Vanguard looks for a deep interest and understanding of financial markets and exceptional analytical skills.

SAP was one of the top-hiring firms for 2018 interns at the Wharton School. Started in 1972, SAP is known as a market leader in enterprise application software, and with an office located in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, it’s an ideal company for MBA interns. According to Glassdoor, a Business Analyst intern can expect to earn $48-$78,000 for a six-month internship.

To earn this internship position, you must be willing to work independently while also willing to work in a flexible and inclusive work environment. Candidates should demonstrate work experience in sales and services, with knowledge and experience working with SAP tools considered a plus.

A global bank that provides financial services all over the world, CITI is a great company for MBA internships. They are a top recruiter at the Wharton School and offer internship programs in consumer banking, technology, markets, and securities. According to Glassdoor, summer interns can earn between $6,305/monthly and $9,000/monthly.

To gain an MBA internship at CITI, students should demonstrate leadership skills and have a track record of success in leadership positions. If you’re looking to work in investment banking, you should demonstrate your skills via extracurricular activities such as Finance Club.

regions: Philadelphia