Harvard MBA grads are landing jobs paying $184K-but a record number are still ditching the corporate world and choosing entrepreneurship instead | Fortune

"The median base salary for HBS's 2025 graduates rose to $184,500, up from $175,000 the year before. Of the 65% of the class seeking employment, 90% received at least one job offer within three months of graduation, and 84% accepted-both improvements from the classes of 2024 and 2023. Data from PayScale, analyzed by Poets & Quants, estimates the median lifetime income of an HBS graduate at over $8.5 million."

"And yet, despite promising salaries on the horizon, the class of 2025 also set a record for graduates who did not see traditional employment: 35% chose to not pursue a post-grad job, driven largely by a surge in entrepreneurship. Seventeen percent of graduates said they plan to start their own business, the highest share on record, up from 8% in 2021 and 13% in 2023, according to Kristen Fitzpatrick, senior managing director for career and professional development at HBS."

"AI tools have lowered the barrier to entry for launching a business-streamlining tasks like market research, product testing, and innovation. And with many large companies shedding jobs as they adapt to AI, some graduates may feel increased urgency to build something on their own. A survey from Intuit released last year found that among young people aged 18 to 35, nearly two-thirds have started a side gig-and nearly half are doing it due to a desire to be their own boss."

Harvard Business School's 2025 MBA cohort posted a median base salary of $184,500, up from $175,000 the prior year. Sixty-five percent of the class sought employment; 90% received at least one job offer within three months and 84% accepted offers. PayScale estimates median lifetime income for an HBS graduate at over $8.5 million. Thirty-five percent of the class did not pursue traditional post-grad employment, with 17% planning to start businesses—the highest share on record, rising from 8% in 2021 and 13% in 2023. AI tools have lowered barriers to launching businesses, and job reductions at large firms are driving urgency to found ventures; an Intuit survey found nearly two-thirds of 18-to-35-year-olds have started side gigs, nearly half to be their own boss.

Read at Fortune