MBAs: Here are the Los Angeles Internship Opportunities You Need to Know
If you’re looking for lots of sun, beautiful beaches, and a bustling business headquarters, Los Angeles is likely your city. So, it’s no surprise that it’s also a top location for earning an MBA. Not only is Los Angeles home to many top business schools—such as UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and the USC Marshall School of Business—but it’s also a central hub for tech startups and Fortune 500 companies.
Of course, this means is that Los Angeles is also an excellent city for MBA internships. There are a wealth of opportunities and companies where MBAs can start their careers. We’ve outlined some of our favorite Los Angeles internship opportunities below.
Los Angeles Internship Opportunities You Need to Know
21st Century Fox is an American multinational mass media corporation headquartered in New York City, but with a large office in Los Angeles. It’s the fourth largest media conglomerate in the U.S.
Both USC Marshall and UCLA Anderson have sent MBA students to intern at 21st Century Fox in the last year, according to their latest employment reports. These MBA students have the unique opportunity to participate in a summer internship program, which typically includes 20-25 hours per week of work.
More than 600 internships are offered each year in a range of divisions from film to television and sports. In addition, 21st Century Fox interns can work in a broad range of departments from marketing to finance, production, information technology, legal, digital, human resources, and business development and strategy.
Headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California, Amgen Inc. is a multinational biopharmaceutical company with a keen interest in MBA talent. Last year, Amgen hired 10-15 students out of UCLA Anderson, according to the school’s employment report. They were also a top hiring company at USC Marshall for full-time employment and internships.
As the world’s largest independent biotechnology firm, Amgen is the ideal company for MBA candidates interested in working in the biotech industry. MBA internships are offered in a variety of fields including finance, operations, marketing, or commercial leadership. According to the Amgen website, internships for first-year MBA students serve as the primary source of talent selection for the company’s full-time positions.
Located in El Segunda, CA, Mattel Inc. is one of the most well-known toy manufacturing companies in the world. They’re best known for brands such as Fisher-Price, Barbie, Hot Wheels, and American Girl. In 2017, the UC Irvine Merage School of Business sent six MBA students to Mattel for an internship opportunity and another four MBAs were hired full-time, according to the latest employment report.
Mattel Inc. offers internships for both full-time and part-time students interested in working in their marketing, finance, supply chain, or human resources divisions. Their Los Angeles internship programs are typically 12 weeks in length and often lead to full-time employment offers.
On Glassdoor, one MBA intern spoke about their experience at Mattel saying, “Mattel attracts diverse talent for various roles with serious intent to hire. Mattel’s summer internship is full of events and speakers that are specifically set up to welcome and educate interns, and the internship provides a great way for MBA students to try out the company before coming on full time.”
It won’t be surprising to hear this, but, Deloitte has a considerable presence in Los Angeles, CA; so it’s no wonder that the company hires many MBA students from the top business school programs in the area. Last year, Deloitte was the third largest employer of MBA students at UCLA Anderson. So, it’s no surprise that Deloitte made Fortune’s list of “25 Top MBA Employers.”
Internship opportunities vary at Deloitte with many options in consulting with focuses on either strategy and operations or business technology. Other internship opportunities include a business analyst summer scholar as well as a tax consultant internship. Depending on an MBA student’s interest and background, they can join various teams at the company.
In 2012, CNN Money ranked Nike as the 9th best company for MBAs to work for, and in the six years since, not much has changed. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company looks to Los Angeles for many of its internship opportunities, which is currently one of the best ways to gain full-time employment at the company.
Nike internships are offered in almost every division of the company from technology to finance, supply chain, merchandising, legal, marketing, procurement, analytics, and more. MBA students who are chosen for a Nike internship will find themselves working on a team project over the course of 12 weeks with a project pitch at the end of the summer. There are also social events throughout the summer. UCLA Anderson and USC Marshall both sent MBA students to Nike in 2017.
The Highest Paying MBA Internships You Can Find
An MBA education can open the door to an astounding number of lucrative opportunities before you’ve even completed your degree. Many MBA interns are earning hourly wages unfathomable to the larger majority who spent their undergrad internships restocking break rooms and memorizing coffee orders, all for a whopping $0 per hour. Below, we’ve laid out the highest paying internships in some of the most common industries for MBAs.
Stats for MBA interns on Management Consulted dwarfed most other intern salaries. Though the reality of management consulting may lack the seedy glamor portrayed by Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell in House of Lies, these numbers are certainly compelling enough on their own to keep the attention of ambitious young interns.
Deloitte, a consistent top hirer of MBA’s according to Fortune, may be a top destination for MBA interns as well, if compensation is any indication. In 2016, MBA’s at Deloitte make an average of $11,380 per month for a ten-week internship, with the opportunity to receive full second year tuition reimbursement for returning interns. Depending on their goals, interests, and professional backgrounds, interns join a client service team in Deloitte & Touch LLP, Deloitte Tax LLP, Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory, or Deloitte Consulting LLP.
Management Consulted put the average MBA intern salary at A.T. Kearney at a staggering $11,500 per month. A.T. Kearney offers a ten-week summer internship, during which interns will have unique experiences, such as a three-day opportunity in the middle of the summer to converge in a single location with all of the season’s interns. During these three days, students have the opportunity to network, socialize, and learn about the different facets of the company.
Outside of consulting, there are plenty of opportunities for MBA interns. It is no secret that some of the highest paying jobs out there are in tech. Luckily, there is a sizeable demand for MBA’s at tech companies.
Despite the recent, um, controversy surrounding Facebook’s security practices, the social networks interns are making out well. Facebooked topped Glassdoor’s list of Highest Paying Internships in 2017, with a median monthly salary of $8,000. The 12-week business internships offer frequent Q&A’s with higher-level employees and the opportunity to tackle real problems that face the social networking platform.
It would be remiss to talk about MBA’s in tech without mentioning Amazon, which is fast becoming one of the largest MBA tech recruiters. With a median monthly pay of $6,400, Amazon also made Glassdoor’s list of Highest Paying Internships in 2017. Keep in mind, this number is the median for all Amazon interns, and does not factor in MBA education, which would likely yield a much higher number. Interns are assigned a strategic project that provides the opportunity to contribute to solving a real business issue. Additionally, an internship with Amazon is often a foot in the door to a full-time career with the internet retail giant. Amazon’s website encourages MBA’s to apply, stating:
“You will have the autonomy to think strategically, make decisions, and drive significant impact to the customer experience and the business. To be successful, you must be passionate about the business, flourish in ambiguity, and demonstrate nimble leadership.”
Two Sigma Investments, a relatively young investment management company, has been getting a lot of press for its generous internship compensation. According to Business Insider, the $40 billion hedge fund, which started in 2001, grew 400 percent from 2012-17. The 10-week internships can pay upwards of $10,500 per month. Internships at Two Sigma are primarily in STEM, and MBA’s with an interest in Quantitative Research might find this program particularly rewarding.
In Search of the Best Chicago Internships for MBAs
Chicago is an ideal place to earn an MBA. In addition to having some of the strongest business schools in the country, the Chicago area is home to nearly 40 of the Fortune 500 companies. The bustling metro is also the financial and cultural hub of the Midwest, making it an ideal place for major corporations to set up large outposts. This means a wealth of internship program opportunities for MBAs at the start of their careers. So, for those with the gusto to live in the gustiest metro, the rewards can be huge. Below, we’ve laid out at which companies Chicago MBAs most often seek internships with.
Given Amazon’s involvement in nearly every industry, it is no surprise that the company is on the hunt for innovative MBAs to help maintain its dominance and status as the world’s greatest internet retailer. The mammoth corporation assigns interns a project for which they will partner with clients to glean true insight into the inner-workings of the company.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Amazon took in more interns from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business than either Bain & Co. or McKinsey & Co., which were until recently the school’s top hirers of interns …” Amazon also offers many interns the opportunity to come back to work at the company full-time.
Just last year, Amazon was a major player in hiring Chicago Booth School of Business MBA graduates and interns. Twenty-six graduates managed to earn a full-time job with the company, while an impressive 33 interns joined its ranks, which was the single highest total among all companies that employed Booth interns.
The companyalso brought in students from nearby Indiana. Several Class of 2018 MBA students from the Notre Dame University Mendoza College of Business earned vital internship program experience at Amazon, which often leads to direct hiring.
Many of the companies hiring MBA interns offer exposure to retail, tech, and financial services, or consulting. But Abbott Laboratories, headquartered in Lake Bluff, Illinois, is a popular internship destination for MBAs interested in pursuing a career in pharmaceuticals. The Commercial MBA Internship allows interns to get their foot in the door of this massive and growing industry.
Several MBAs at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University joined Abbot Laboratories, according to the school’s most recent employment report, joined the company’s summer internship program.
Deloitte, which has a Chicago office located right near the iconic Willis Tower, employs 40,000 people in the U.S. The company’s Client Service Internship can take place throughout the course of a semester or over two months during the summer. Consulting tends to be a popular area of focus for MBA grads, but Deloitte also offers a plethora of opportunities for advanced degree students interested in financial sectors such as auditing and tax. Depending on their interests and professional backgrounds, interns can join a client service team in Deloitte & Touch LLP, Deloitte Tax LLP, Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory, or Deloitte Consulting LLP. According to The Balance, summer interns at Deloitte can make anywhere from $3,850-$12,000 per month. Deloitte also made Fortune’s list of “25 Top MBA Employers.”
Around 50 percent of McKinsey & Company’s incoming hires have MBA degrees, so business school recruiting is a high priority for the mega firm. The consulting giant—which now has over 120 offices worldwide—was actually founded in Chicago in the 1920s, so it makes sense that the company is one of Chicago metro’s most active MBA recruiters. Though gaining entry to the elite consulting firm is extremely competitive, both University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business have been able to claim the company as one of the top places their MBA students land for internships and full-time employment after graduation.
In fact, no company hired more Booth grads than McKinsey and Co. The company managed to snag a staggering 48 employees from the business school last year, which accounted for nearly 10 percent of the entire Booth MBA Class of 2017. Not so surprisingly, McKinsey also brought in 26 Booth interns within the same year—the second most among any employers in that time frame.
So, what should an MBA at in the McKinsey internship program expect? According to the firm’s website, MBA interns “… join us as associates, working either as generalists or practice consultants if they have and area they’d like to focus on.”
