Stanford Salaries Surging in 2019
The latest Stanford University Graduate School of Business full-time MBA class is beginning to carve out its immense career potential, already posting some better-than-ideal salary returns.
Continue reading…Silicon Valley Visits and More Out West Strengthen Dartmouth Tuck MBA Ties to Tech
Dartmouth Tuck might be tucked away on the East Coast, but that hasn’t stopped graduates from taking the West Coast by storm. In October, 40 students ventured West to network with tech and venture capital companies.
Continue reading…The Heart of Entrepreneurship, at the UC San Diego Rady School of Management
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For frequent visitors to Southern California, the seemingly endless list of adorning communities and picturesque landscapes likely come to mind first. But for locals and those in the business community, San Diego isn’t just a beautiful place; it’s also a landmark of entrepreneurship.
Continue reading…Friday News – USC Hosts Venture Summit, FSU’s Master’s of Business Analytics Class Graduates, and More
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from this week, including the USC Venture Summit.
Venturing Ahead – USC Marshall Hosts 8th annual Venturing Summit – USC Marshall News
The Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at USC Marshall hosted the 8th annual University Venturing Summit this month.
The event gave Future entrepreneurs from USC’s MBA community the chance to meet with VCs and supporting businesses such as accounting and law firms. USC faculty also took part in the Summit, including Patrick Henry, Assistant Professor of Clinical Entrepreneurship and organizer of the Summit.
“The perception of a lot of university ventures is that they are still in the ‘good idea’ stage…But the reality is that the university venturing world is more market-ready than ever, and university ventures are more ready to launch than ever,” Henry says.
USC MBA alum Jessica Schleder presented her venture, Adoptimize, which allows insurance providers to increase their volume of leads through streamlining the pet adoption process. Other student ventures, including a data security tool, addressed the trends present in the L.A. economy and beyond.
Sponsored by EY, among other private firms, the Summit also hosted student entrepreneurs from UCLA Anderson, UC Irvine, and Cal State University Northridge. Click here for more on the Summit and its participants.
Inaugural Class of Master’s in Business Analytics Students Set to Graduate – FSU College of Business News
Florida State University College of Business’ first Master’s in Business Analytics (MS-BA) class graduated this month from the School of Business.
The program was created in order to meet the demands of an economy increasingly driven by data, and its analysis and application in helping businesses grow. Students in the program combine a strong command of quantitative skills in various backgrounds with a desire to develop their powers of analysis.
One graduate, Jessie Tolbert, started his career as an environmental scientist. Curious about how the data he gathered was used to improve environmental conditions, Tolbert decided to pivot into analytics with the MA-BS degree. “I’ve learned in-demand technical skills and built my professional network with other students, distinguished professors and FSU alumni who are in the industry,” Tolbert says.
The degree comes on the heels of such studies as one by McKinsey, showing a 60 percent gap between the demand for talented analysts and the supply of qualified people in the workforce. For more on Florida State’s MS-BA, read here.
Village of Oak Park Partners with Graduate Marketing Class – Quinlan School of Business News
In an effort to retain both the rich history and the future growth of the Oak Park neighborhood, Loyola University of Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business MBA alum have teamed up with Oak Park residents and current Quinlan grad students.
Loyola Quinlan alumni Eric Pedersen (left) and Jeff Prior (right) / Photo via luc.edu
Eric Pedersen (MBA ’01), of the Oak Park Neighborhood Services team, sought to improve the visibility of the community’s housing rehabilitation loan program. “The need was a short, consistent, and readily understandable message, combined with a visually appealing ad campaign … And we needed it in less than 60 days with a very modest budget.”
The loan program assists those in need—the recently unemployed, people with disabilities, seniors, and single parents—obtain interest free loans to make necessary home improvements.
Quinlan Professor of Marketing Katie Hession’s class was able to work under the tight deadline and budget to create the program’s ad campaign. Using the tagline of “Brick by Brick, Chip by Chip, Panel by Panel, and Picket by Picket,” the ad package contains visually striking images and bold messages regarding the program. For more on the ads and Oak Park’s community improvement efforts, read here.
Wharton School Forms Analytics at Wharton – Wharton News
The University of Pennsylvania Wharton School announced the establishment of Analytics at Wharton, which unites industry leaders, researchers, and faculty with the goal of harnessing big data to help businesses grow.
An anonymous $15 million gift has allowed the creation of the Data Science and Business Analytics Fund. Wharton Dean Geoffrey Garrett says, “In the 21st century, leaders will increasingly use data and analytics to develop insights that will help them make better decisions and become better leaders. The creation of Analytics at Wharton demonstrates our commitment to using big data to transform how business is done.”
Along with the fund comes the creation of a new leadership position at Wharton, the Vice Dean of Analytics. Eric T. Bradlow, the K.P. Chao Professor and Professor of Marketing, Economics, Education, and Statistics will hold this position.
The new initiative will bring five existing Wharton programs: Customer Analytics; the Penn Wharton Budget Model; People Analytics; Wharton Neuroscience; and Wharton Research Data Services. For more on Analytics at Wharton, read here.
Brookings Institution Appoints Lemma Senbet to Africa Board – News at Smith School of Business
University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has appointed Professor Lemma Senbet to the Distinguished Advisory Board of the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
The Advisory Board is responsible for guiding members of the Africa Growth Initiative on key economic and social issues faced by the continent. Lemma W. Senbet is the William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance at the Smith School of the University of Maryland and the founding director of the school’s Center for Financial Policy. He also serves on the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund’s Advisory Board, and he is the former executive director and CEO of the African Economic Research Consortium.
Africa Growth Initiative Director Brahima S. Coulibaly says of Senbet’s appointment, “[Senbet joins a distinguished] panel of select, high-level policymakers, academics and practitioners on African socio-economic development issues.”
You can read here for more on Senbet and the Africa Growth Initiative.
New Kellogg Study Reveals Common Entrepreneurial Traits
When most people think of the “ideal” entrepreneur, they picture someone like Mark Zuckerberg, an individual who is young, ambitious, and nonconformist. They imagine someone who is eager to change the status quo. We tend to mythologize these young disrupters as the consummate startup founder with these common entrepreneurial traits.
However, a recent research study from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management has revealed that’s not the case at all. The reality is that most successful entrepreneurs are actually middle-aged, have extensive experience in their industry or sector, and their serious innovation arises from the result of their deep experience.
Entrepreneurs Are Knowledgeable
“Those with industry experience are much more likely to hit a home run than those who come from outside the sector,” explains co-author Benjamin F. Jones, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship. He goes on to say, “If you’re familiar with the ins and outs of an industry, having worked in it, and you have a strong professional network, your odds of success are greater.”
Most successful entrepreneurs have to know the products, customers, suppliers, competitors, and channels of distribution well. They have to know what works and what doesn’t.
For example, Ray Kroc gained years of experience in the restaurant industry before he experienced his breakthrough success with McDonald’s. The same goes for David Duffield, the founder of PeopleSoft. He began his career understanding the nitty-gritty details of the software industry before he made his innovations.
Entrepreneurial breakthroughs mostly happen to people in their 40s, like David Duffield, founder of PeopleSoft, according to new Northwestern Kellogg entrepreneurship research.
“I’ve studied age and creativity for a while, and there’s a pattern of Nobel Prize winners, inventors, artists, and innovative minds making breakthroughs in their 40s,” Jones says. “I don’t think it’s an accident that we see the same pattern in business. These are people who have been around for a while and seen what works.”
Entrepreneurs Learn from Every Experience
However, it’s just working knowledge of their industry that leads to entrepreneurial success; it’s the ability to learn from every experience. Successful startup founders need a combination of education, experience, and specific market knowledge to get their innovations off the ground.
There’s also a need for entrepreneurs to have access to an extensive network so that they can learn from those around them. Most founders work within their social networks to facilitate creation and to get their ventures up and running.
Entrepreneurs Try Again and Again
Finally, there’s the law of batting averages. The more chances an experienced entrepreneur takes, the greater the odds are that one of their opportunities will be successful. Not everyone is willing to keep trying even after a list of failed ventures. For example, Ray Krock was in his fifties before McDonald’s became a success. Before that, he struggled to get any of his ideas to take off.
“It’s a matter of probabilities,” Jones explains. “Those who study their industry and pay close attention have either learned some things through trial and error themselves, or learned by watching others. Maybe failure itself is a useful instructor. Or maybe it’s just about having more swings of the bat.”
You can read the full article on Kellogg Insight.
This article has been edited and published with permissions from its original source, Clear Admit.
The Big Payback: The Highest Paying Jobs for MBAs
Even in 2019, the search for the right MBA program is as unique as each student, and the reasons for applying are as varied as the programs themselves. Advancement in an existing career is an obvious motivation, as is breaking into a new industry or shifting one’s career focus.
One thing that all MBAs can likely agree with, however, is that earning potential is a leading incentive. This brings up questions about the most lucrative fields. Choosing the right concentration can be the first step toward achieving a position that will truly pay off. The following is a look at the current highest paying jobs for MBAs, as well as the majors that can open the necessary doors.
The Highest Paying Jobs for MBAs
Topping the list of the highest paid professions for MBAs in 2018 is strategic management. This specialization leads the way in terms of early to mid career salary, with salary averages beginning at around $125,000. Professionals with this degree and concentration earned $148,000 at the mid-point of their careers. Among the career functions for MBAs with a strategy focus are management consultant, senior strategy manager, senior product manager. Google, Amazon, PwC, and Intel are among the companies hiring for strategic management based positions.
Second on the list of highest paying MBA careers is technology management, which for many grows out of a background in IT or software development. According to Monster.com, tech management careers can start at around $113,000 per year, and advancement leads to a jump to upwards of $165,000. Roles such as senior project manager, vice president of IT, and IT director all emerge from a tech background. Companies such as Accenture, Deloitte, Cisco Systems, and HP all offer leading starting salaries in the IT management field.
Entrepreneurship also falls into the top three earning fields for MBAs. Starting salaries, according to data gathered from PayScale, hover around $100,000 per year, and reach up to around $135,000. Such roles as senior project manager and management consultant are options in the entrepreneurial field, as are various leadership roles in the growing fintech industry. Top hiring companies for entrepreneurship MBAs, according to PayScale, are Amazon, IBM, General Electric, and the Boeing Company.
A career in finance is the fourth of the highest paying categories for MBAs, with a starting salary hovering in the $100,000 range. Those with their sights upon chief financial officer, portfolio management, or financial management positions can hope to land jobs in this arena with high earning power. New York Life Insurance, Fidelity Investments, and Vanguard are currently seeking MBAs for various finance positions.
Along with strategy, tech management, entrepreneurship, and finance, marketing ranks among the most lucrative fields for MBAs. While some marketing jobs do not require an MBA, one can see a wider, more profitable range of options with a specialized study in marketing. Upper level marketing positions can start at around $80,000 per year, and can grow well above $120,000. Current listings for MBAs with a marketing focus include Dell, Microsoft, and, of course, Amazon.
