MBA Grads From Top Schools Like Duke and Georgetown Are Struggling to Find Jobs: ‘It’s Been Really Terrible.’
Some grads are considering pay cuts after months of searching in a difficult market
With companies scrutinizing every white-collar hire, even business school graduates from America’s top schools are taking months to land jobs, according to a Wall Street Journal report. At Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, 21% of MBA grads were still looking for work three months after graduation last summer. At Michigan’s Ross School, 15% remained on the hunt.
Those rates are sharply higher than 2019, when just 5% at Duke and 4% at Michigan were still searching. John Bush, who earned his MBA from UNC Chapel Hill in May, is now considering a luxury retail job paying $80,000 annually — less than what he earned before business school.
Georgetown’s career center managing director Christine Murray didn’t mince words about the situation: “The last two years have just been really terrible.” Why the slog? Companies are grappling with AI implications and economic uncertainty, leaving even elite graduates facing steep competition in a challenging market.
With companies scrutinizing every white-collar hire, even business school graduates from America’s top schools are taking months to land jobs, according to a Wall Street Journal report. At Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, 21% of MBA grads were still looking for work three months after graduation last summer. At Michigan’s Ross School, 15% remained on the hunt.
Those rates are sharply higher than 2019, when just 5% at Duke and 4% at Michigan were still searching. John Bush, who earned his MBA from UNC Chapel Hill in May, is now considering a luxury retail job paying $80,000 annually — less than what he earned before business school.
Georgetown’s career center managing director Christine Murray didn’t mince words about the situation: “The last two years have just been really terrible.” Why the slog? Companies are grappling with AI implications and economic uncertainty, leaving even elite graduates facing steep competition in a challenging market.
