More Harvard MBAs Are Turning to Politics
There’s no doubt that politics and public service have been hot topics since the November 2016 election. These subjects have dominated news stories and talk shows across the country. And, according to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, politics and public service are also moving up as career choices for graduates from Harvard Business School (HBS).
Around 40 Class of ’17 HBS MBA graduates launched careers in government and nonprofits—twice as many as the previous year. Even though this represents just 4 percent of the program’s 900 graduates, it still suggests a growing interest in policy-making for business students.
Of course, business and government have always been closely connected, and it’s common for MBA students to aspire to public service and nonprofit involvement as part of their long-term career plans. The difference is that MBA graduates are starting to head into public service careers immediately after graduation. At least that’s what Matthew M. Segneri, an HBS MBA Class of 2004 alumnus, has witnessed.
Segneri, the director of the Social Enterprise Initiative at HBS, has noticed that graduates are increasingly considering careers in politics. In an article in the Harvard Crimson, he said: “Over the last 12 to 18 months, I’ve had a number of conversations with folks and seen a real uptick in the number of people who are thinking about local, state, and federal office.”
He went on to observe a change in the timing of these plans. “When you look at the prior generations of alumni there is more the tradition of learn, earn, and return—folks would go to school, have a successful traditional business career, and then later in life they would pursue public office or get deeply engaged in nonprofits and their communities,” Segneri said. “Today, there’s both an urgency and an understanding that it doesn’t have to be that way.”
There are many factors driving the surge in interest in politics. One is the simple fact that the United States elected a prominent businessman as president in the last election. Another is a trend of prominent business leaders being very vocal about politics in recent months, reinforcing the connection between the business and political realms.
For example, during the 2016 November election, Meg Whitman, the CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., threw her support behind the Democratic candidate in New Jersey’s Fifth Congressional District race. And Carlos Diaz, a French entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, told the Financial Times that the tech industry has some responsibility for the 2016 election outcome.
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“The America that voted for Trump does not own a Tesla, nor an iPhone, and when it needs money, it does not ask business angels for help: it relies on bad credit,” Diaz said. “It is time to recognize that we need to develop technologies and businesses that will benefit the widest range of people possible, algorithms that do not divide but that bring together.”
So, it’s not a surprise that MBA graduates are heading into politics. In fact, more than a dozen Harvard MBA graduates have recently announced campaigns to run for local, state, or federal government.
Democrat Tim Keller, HBS MBA ’05, was elected mayor of Albuquerque, NM, last month while Republican Margaret Busse, HBS MBA ’01, recently announced her candidacy for the Massachusetts state senate. In addition, HBS MBA ’03 Sarah Amico is expected to announce her run for lieutenant governor in Georgia.
While Keller didn’t enter politics straight out of graduate business school, he understands why new MBA graduates are doing so. “In business school, what a lot of people do is say, ‘Oh, my second career is gonna be in public service. I’m gonna go into business, be successful, and then do public service,’” he told the Crimson. “What’s different all of a sudden is that people are opting out early, and they’re like ‘I’m gonna do this right now’ because they’re upset about something or fired up and want to make a difference.”
Adem T. Bunkeddeko, MBA Class of ’17, is currently running for Congress in New York’s Ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn—making him a perfect example of this phenomenon. Throughout his career at Harvard, Bunkeddeko maintained his connection to his local community and decided to use his business skills to better serve through politics. “At HBS we’re trained as general managers,” he said. “Understanding aspects of an organization, whether it be from the finance front or human capital, are important and useful skills that are actually quite lacking in public service today.”
And many other MBA graduates feel the same way. For Busse, who is running for the Massachusetts State Senate, the many case studies she read during her HBS coursework informed her desire to go into politics. “It’s really that ability to solve real-world problems that is needed in government today, that is needed in nonprofits today, and anywhere where people are trying to make a difference,” she said.
In addition, Busse sees widespread dissatisfaction with the current political climate as another reason MBA graduates are entering this arena. “I’m guessing a lot of people are feeling like me, frustrated with the current situation we have in politics today and feeling their skillset gives them a unique ability to help solve the problems we have right now,” Busse said.
In fact, that dissatisfaction led HBS MBA ’01 Daniella Ballou-Aares to recruit more HBS graduates into politics by forming the nonprofit Leadership Now with some of her fellow alumni. Developed after the 2016 election, Leadership Now recruits Harvard alumni and business leaders to run for office and helps to raise funds for their campaigns. After just a few months, the nonprofit already has the support of about 300 high-level business leaders.
Another example of HBS graduates encouraging public service is With Honor, which was developed by ’09 MBA Rye Barcott to support veterans running for office. In 2018, the organization plans to spend $30 million supporting campaigns for 25 to 35 congressional candidates.
In the end, Keller notes that the biggest motivation for MBAs to get into politics may be President Donald Trump. “Whether you like him or not, he is motivating. You’re either motivated against him or you’re motivated for him,” Keller said. “I also do think there’s just something about the millennial group that they’re not going to wait around.”
To learn more about how Harvard Business School facilitates students’ careers in politics, visit the school website.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.
What Are The Highest Paid MBA Salaries in San Diego?
If you’re looking to take in the California sun but avoid the fast-paced and high-priced centers of Silicon Valley or Los Angeles, heading southward to San Diego may be the perfect place for an up-and-coming business professional. Recently named the eighth best big city to live in the U.S., based on livability, education, health, and a strong local economy, San Diego is increasingly becoming the perfect spot for business students looking to advance their education and start a career. Not only is San Diego the perfect spot for those breaking into well-established fields within business, but it has also been ranked by Forbes as the best city to start a new business in the U.S. Demonstrating heavy concentrations in areas that predict high growth combined with adaptability to new business methods and tech make San Diego the perfect place for young entrepreneurs to put their education to work.
Of course, a city can really only top the list for business students if it can offer quality educations and high-value degrees. In a state with a notoriously high cost of living, students thinking about pursuing a degree in San Diego will want to be sure their investment is worth it.
Thankfully, San Diego offers a number of quality business schools with graduates that are able to quickly turn their degree into a high salary and promising career. Let’s take a closer look at the business schools with the highest post-graduate salaries for MBAs in San Diego.
Rady School of Management – UC San Diego
According to the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego Class of 2017 Employment Report for full-time MBA graduates, the overall salary average for MBA students was $84,335, with a majority of graduates finding jobs in San Diego’s ever-emerging technology industry. Tech-based companies actively hiring recent Rady MBAs include Amazon, HP, IBM, and San Diego’s own Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, among others.
Not only are the post-MBA salaries high for Rady graduates, but so is the likelihood that graduates will secure a job. About 82 percent of graduates had secured a job within just three months of graduating, and 10 percent started their very own company—reflective of San Diego’s entrepreneurial environment.
University of San Diego School of Business Administration
The average salary for graduates from The University of San Diego School of Business Administration is $72,363, with a true range of salaries anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 per year. Within just three months after graduation from the School of Business, 83 percent of MBA students would find employment, covering a wide range of industries from technology (40 percent) to consulting (20 percent) and consumer products (20 percent). Top companies such as Amazon, Deloitte, Intel, and Hewlett Packard have hired USD MBA graduates.
Fowler College of Business Administration – SDSU
The Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University also boasts some of the highest MBA salaries in San Diego. More than two-thirds of graduates from the full-time MBA program at Fowler would find jobs or promotions within three months after earning their MBA, with an average salary of $61,467. Graduates were spread through a number of industries and professional functions, the most significant percentage working in business development/sales and within the Technology/IT/Information Systems fields. Following graduation, Fowler students found jobs with some of the country’s top brands, such as The Gap Inc., GEICO, HSBC Group, and PepsiCo Inc.
For prospective MBA students looking to get paid out west, you can check out our overview of the highest paid MBA salaries in Los Angeles and San Francisco as well.
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