There is an MBA at LBS who will earn 200 a week for a financial services internship this summer

22 March 2011

2 minute read

There is an MBA at LBS who will earn 200 a week for a financial services internship this summer

Not long ago, a university student left a question in our Answers area, enquiring whether it's a bit insulting to be paid a mere 35k pro rata for an investment banking internship this summer.

In response: no.

Not when you consider there's a far more experienced MBA intern at the London Business School who'll only be getting 200 per week this summer.

Admittedly, this is an outlier: the mean weekly income for an LBS MBA working in the financial services industry in summer 2011 will be 1,024. At the top end, someone will earn 1,936.

But it does show that some people have an inflated concept of what the financial services industry pays and that not everyone who works in it is going to become rich.

Also: Proof that consulting careers are inferior

The LBS MBA Employment Report for 2010 also offers solid proof that careers in consulting are less compelling than careers in investment banking.

In 2010, only 5% of LBS MBAs who came from financial services careers chose to go into consulting when their course finished. However, 14% of former consultants chose to go into financial services.

Investment banking pays more in Europe, hedge funds pay the most in the US

Consultants' motivation for metamorphosing into financial services professionals was probably pay: post graduation, the average LBS investment banker earned 126k (70k base, 20k sign-on, 36k bonus); the average consultant earned 94k.

LBS doesn't break out MBA careers information for the hedge fund industry. However, information from Harvard suggests the most lucrative post-MBA options are there.

Harvard MBAs going into hedge funds received a median base salary of $138k last year, plus a $28k sign-on. Harvard MBAs going into investment banking received a median base of $100k, plus a $40k sign-on.

Harvard doesn't divulge how much its MBA interns get. Therefore, there was no sign of someone there earning around $325 a week for their internship. We assume this is a purely European phenomenon.

AUTHORSarah Butcher

Global Editor

Ja
James
23 March 2011
LMFAO at Soros and BB! If you guys really believed that, why are you posting on here?! Go watch the news instead if you feel that strongly. Hypocrites.
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gr
grown up
23 March 2011
what a bunch of abusive teenagers. Sarah, don t take the stupid personal comments for yourself. They are merely expressing the immaturity of these wannabee smartasses. Keep up the good journalistic work. We enjoy it!
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yi
yifeng
23 March 2011
Consulting IS inferior to IB! You consulting losers, face the truth!
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d1
d1j1star
23 March 2011
Seriously guys, are you kidding me. Doing an MBA is a personal choice. IB and Consulting are two concentration amongst many others, sensible career worthy ones at least. The point I'm driving at is not everyone attends to business school to be a banker or consultant.
@Sarah, I have to say some of the comments you made were a bit unfounded but I give you plenty of credit for clarifying and putting your points across, although I still don't buy them
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ug
ugh
23 March 2011
Sarah - obviously, you are an apt example of people who mangle statistical data to make their point - square peg, round hole - get my drift? At this rate (and to borrow from Steven Levitt whose books you should read) you will soon be predicting that on average, the average human has one breast and one testicle, given the roughly 50-50 split between males and females on the planet.
Know what, your use of LBS data in support of your rather tenuous conjecture is wrong and not appreciated by LBS alumns.
And one should pick the profession that makes one happy even if it means working for a non-profit.
And yes I am a big baller banker and an LBS alumn!
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