An MBA is No Longer a Golden Ticket to Finance

The time was that the main motivation for shelling out for an MBA from a top business school was to boost your credentials for a more senior investment banking role. Not any more.

According to Financial News the most recent crop of MBA graduates are turning their back on finance, in particular private equity and investment banking, with only a very small percentage moving towards these sectors.

At Harvard, 11 percent moved to private equity (compared to 18 percent in 2008) and a measly 6 percent looked toward investment banking as a career path. At Insead, just 2.3 percent entered private equity, while 36 Percent of London Business School's MBA grads entered finance this year - the lowest level since 2003.

It's tempting to conclude, as was suggested in the Telegraph, that all the negative publicity around the financial sector has dented the industry's appeal. However, in the case of private equity, it may simply be down to a dearth of new job opportunities.