The Best Long Angeles MBA Return on Investment Bets
Return on Investment (ROI) is one of the most important factors a prospective MBA can take into consideration when choosing the right business school.
Of course, the true value of each MBA program may ultimately be something impossible to measure. The kind of connections made through professional networking, the soft skills that students attain which help them navigate through both their personal and professional life—these aren’t things that can be easily quantified. But, thankfully, factors like average salary increase, rate of post-graduate employment and the overall tuition of a program are. And these numbers can help students start to better see an overall picture of what each MBA is worth.
The Best Long Angeles MBA Return on Investment
The Marshall School of Business – USC
The Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California is consistently one of the top ranked MBA programs in the state of California and even throughout the country. Specific ROI aside, these sorts of honors should also be a factor when considering the overall value of the program: for example, Marshall has been named the third best program for “Most Satisfied Business School Graduates” by Forbes and sixth on The Economist’s ranking of “Best Alumni Networks.”
Based on tuition for the 2017-18 school year, the total expense (tuition, fees and living expenses included) to pursue a full-time MBA at Marshall would be $95,881 for the first year and $82,522 for the second, for a total of $178,403.
Now take into consideration the fact that the average salary for graduates of Marshall’s full-time MBA program within three months of graduation is $115,309, and that the large majority of job offers (38 percent) for MBA students came from on-campus recruiting or job postings through the university. The second highest source of employment (21 percent) came from internships held while in the MBA program. Furthermore, a number of top organizations—such as Apple, AT&T, and Walt Disney Studios—hired the graduates of Marshall’s 2016 MBA class. All of these factors boost the overall ROI of Marshall’s program, making it one of the top valued programs in L.A.—even with the high price tag.
Anderson School of Management – UCLA
The Anderson School of Management at UCLA is another program which offers a high ROI when considering the types of opportunities and salaries available to students after graduation. While the tuition cost is certainly high—roughly $194,220 (including fees and living expenses) for the the two years of the program, the benefits to students are undeniable.
A look at the full-time employment report for the most recent MBA class finds that 92.4 percent of students were offered full-time employment within just three months of graduation, with 87.7 percent acceptances. By far (72.2 percent) , students found their employment opportunities through Anderson-facilitated resources, such as internships, on-campus recruiting, or from UCLA Anderson alumni and classmates.
The salaries for graduating Anderson students also reveals a positive trend: the average post-graduate compensation was $118,150, with 70.6 percent of students earning signing bonuses of up to $89,500. The connections sewn by Anderson internships and alumnae also reveal a significant payoff in the types of organizations hiring Anderson alum: companies like NBC Universal, IBM, Barclays, Google, and other major corporations now have Anderson MBA graduates on staff.
The Paul Merage School of Business – University of California, Irvine
The UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business is one of the top business schools in the Los Angeles metro area, as evidenced by its consistently high rankings from various publications, such as the Financial Times and U.S. News & World Report.
With the program’s recognition for its high lifetime earnings combined with the relatively low cost the degree, it’s no surprise that that the program at UC Irvine produces a high return on investment. The estimated total annual cost of an MBA at Merage ranges from $67,422—$83,967, depending on if you whether or not you are a resident of California and whether or not you will be using campus. This is compared with an average post-graduate salary of $97,808 for the 2017 graduating class. About 50 percent of all students were employed by graduation, and 81 percent held full-time jobs within three months.
Graziado School of Business and Management – Pepperdine University
One of the reasons Pepperdine’s Graziado School of Business boasts such a high return on investment is the many different formats in which students can pursue a full-time degree. With the opportunity to take the full-time MBA over the course of 12, 15, or 20 months, the Graziado MBA typically costs less overall ($74,250 for the 12-month program, $99,000 for all others) and means less time away from a full-time paycheck.
Combine this with the success rate of 82 percent of students accepting job within three months after graduation and a $120,000 starting salary (at highest), and its understandable why Graziado graduates find incredible value in their degree.
Top MBA Employers in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is an attractive city for young professionals for a number of reasons—and that’s not even to mention the weather or proximity to the beach. As the center of the nation’s entertainment, however, MBA graduates may be inclined to think the city is more a home to actors than business leaders. Nevertheless, Los Angeles is a thriving center of business for a wide variety of industries, from entertainment to healthcare to energy.
When one also considers the recent growth in employment in California—with almost 60,000 jobs added in just one month in 2016—Los Angeles is an appealing new home for an MBA graduate.
We’ve rounded up some of the top employers in Los Angeles for MBAs. Representing a wide variety of industries, these and a number of other top employers in the LA metro area make the city a perfect place for MBAs looking to get to work.
Walt Disney Studios
One of the most recognizable brands across the globe, the Walt Disney studios were founded 93 years ago and headquartered in Los Angeles County. Today, the Disney Corporation is one of the top employers of MBAs in the nation. In employees, Disney seeks many of the same values that are taught with an MBA degree—innovation and global thinking.
Disney offers several opportunities for MBA students looking to join the team, such as recruitment efforts at a number of schools in the country, summer internships and even a program which allows students to rotate recent grads through several different departments.
DirecTV
Headquartered in the Los Angeles metro area, DirecTV is a provider of direct broadcast satellite across the country. In 2014, AT&T purchased DirecTV, expanding its reach across the country in the pay-TV sector. AT&T currently employs more than 280,000 people in its locations and stores around the world.
There are a number of benefits in working for AT&T/DirecTV, which ranks fourth in DiversityInc’s Top Companies for Diversity. There are currently at least fifteen jobs available at DirecTV’s El Segundo location which require or prefer applicants to hold an MBA.
Amgen Inc.
Headquartered in Thousand Oaks in Southern California, Amgen is a multinational biopharmaceutical company and the world’s largest independent biotechnology firm. As of December of 2015, the company employed roughly 17,900 people with a net income of $8.47 billion.
Amgen is a top employer of MBAs in California and offers a number of MBA-specific opportunities through their internship program. Available for students who have completed the first year of their MBA program, Amgen offers internships in finance, global strategic sourcing, operations, sales & marketing and international sales.
Mattel, Inc.
Mattel is an American multinational toy manufacturing company and 403rd on the Fortune 500 list. Based in El Segundo, Mattel had a net income of $498.9 million as of 2014 and roughly 31,000 employees in 2015.
Mattel is consistently recognized as a top company for its employees, with a comprehensive benefits program and several career development opportunities in place to cultivate and retain talent. In addition to available jobs, Mattel offers an MBA specific internship for students in both full-time and part-time program. Several divisions within the company, such as marketing, finance, supply chain and human resources have available internships for MBAs.
AECOM
AECOM is an American multinational engineering firm offering services such as design, consulting and management to a wide variety of clients. Placing at 156 on the 2016 Fortune 500 list, AECOM currently employs roughly 95,000 people and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
AECOM is always looking for new and passionate employees, and focuses on recruiting both current students and recent graduates for internships and new careers. According to their website, AECOM is the place for you if “you are driven and love to work with creative, fun professional teams” and “you are looking for a career and career growth, not just a job.”
