Wharton MBA Jobs & Salary Review

The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, known as the Wharton MBA or the UPenn MBA, needs no introduction. The Philadelphia-based Ivy League giant is hailed as the best business school in the world by the Financial Times. 

Founded in 1881, the Wharton School has built a prestigious name for itself, bolstered by world-renowned faculty, research strengths, and stellar MBA career outcomes. 

Not to mention that the school’s reputation is boosted by its impressive Wharton MBA notable alumni, who include Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google parent company Alphabet Inc., and former CEO of Time Inc., Laura Lang.

Aside from creating powerful business frontrunners, the two-year Wharton MBA is known for its prowess in finance. The Wharton School also sits proudly amongst the elite M7 business schools, a notoriously selective group of business schools that includes the likes of Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia.

So, what kind of return and MBA jobs can you expect from the Wharton MBA?

Companies hiring Wharton MBAs

Wharton MBA grads enter impressive careers at top companies across a range of sectors. Big Three Consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Bain, and McKinsey hired Wharton MBAs from the class of 2024.

Wharton MBAs also landed careers with big tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, as well as major players in the finance industry such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Bank of America.

Of the 634 Wharton MBAs from the class of 2024 seeking employment, 93.1% reported job offers, and around 88.2% reported job acceptances. This is a marginal decrease on the percentages from the class of 2023.

Popular Wharton MBA jobs

Unsurprisingly, given the Wharton MBA program’s strengths in the subject, finance is the most popular career route for grads in the class of 2024. Around 37% of MBA grads entered financial services, within highly desirable areas like investment banking and private equity. 

The finance career path provides high salaries and good progression opportunities, so it’s a popular route for challenge-hungry MBAs.

Almost 25% of MBA grads joined high-flying consulting careers, a slight decrease from 2023. 

Meanwhile, companies within the technology sector reported slightly higher numbers of Wharton graduates entering the sector compared to last year, with 14.1% of MBAs landing roles in tech. This makes it the third-most popular destination for Wharton MBAs.

A further 5% of Wharton MBAs landed roles within healthcare, while almost almost 3% of grads found jobs in social impact, a rise from 2023 when just 1.4% of Wharton graduates entered this sector. 

Wharton MBA jobs

Average Wharton MBA salary | Is the Wharton MBA cost worth it?

Considering that the average Wharton MBA cost in total is almost $250k, according to our Cost of MBA Report 2024, it's good to know that the Wharton MBA also produces some of the world’s highest paid business school grads. 

Among the Wharton MBA class of 2024, grads earned a median salary of $175k overall. 

The highest-paying industry for Wharton MBAs was legal and professional services, with the 2% of Wharton MBA grads who joined this sector landing a median salary of $225k. 

The second highest paid grads were those who entered careers within consulting, where they earned a median salary of $190k, on par with typical consulting salaries reported at the top firms in 2023.

In third place in terms of industry salaries, grads across financial services earned $175k, with the highest reported salaries being in hedge funds and venture capital. The growing fintech sector paid grads a median salary of almost $157,500, a decrease of $5k compared to salaries reported last year. 

Other industries also saw a drop in median salaries between 2023 and 2024. Wharton grads who found MBA jobs within the media, entertainment, and sports industry earned a median salary of $140k, down from $158k the previous year. Median salaries in social impact decreased by almost $14k. 

Meanwhile, grads in technology, the third most popular Wharton MBA career route, landed a median salary of $162k, on par with last year.

Many students are motivated to ace the Wharton MBA application due to the return on investment (ROI) of attending the Wharton MBA. After three years, Wharton MBAs earn an average graduate salary of $245,772 a year.

Wharton MBA salaries

Wharton MBA career destinations

The US is not only one of the best places to study an MBA, but it also offers some of the best MBA jobs for ambitious grads.

The most popular regional destination for Wharton grads this year was the Northeast of the US, with roughly 47% of MBAs landing jobs there. Meanwhile, around 21.5% entered careers on the US West Coast and almost 12% landed roles in the Mid-Atlantic, a rise of 3% on last year’s graduating class. 

Beyond the US, Asia was the most popular MBA career destination, with 3.9% of students starting jobs there. Other Wharton MBA grads entered careers in Canada and Europe. 

Wharton MBA grads across the US earned the highest MBA salaries, reaching a median salary of $175k. Those who ventured further afield to Asia made a median salary of around $150k while across Europe grads earned a median salary of roughly $119k. This is a significant decrease compared to the median European salary last year of $141k.

Who is the Wharton MBA for?

If you’re a hopeful MBA student with plans to enter high-flying careers within the traditional MBA triumvirate of finance, consulting, and tech then the Wharton MBA is sure to provide great career links to top MBA employers in these fields.

With its strong subject expertise in finance in particular, students looking for high paying finance careers should consider the Wharton MBA.

Attending the Wharton MBA also means access to a global alumni network of successful business school grads. Plus, Wharton’s prestigious brand name can go some way to opening doors for you, helping you to land some of the best MBA jobs out there.

The Wharton MBA is likely to be a good fit for you if you’re dreaming about landing a top MBA job in the US, but there are also many Wharton grads who find careers in Asia and Europe.

Find out more about the Wharton MBA class of 2026.

This article was written in Jan 2022 and updated with the latest data in January 2025