Executive MBA Class of 2022 Achieves Substantial Career Advancement, Earning More Than 50 Percent Increase in Salary By Graduation

12 October 2022

By Mary Shea Watson


The positive career momentum for University of Virginia Darden School of Business graduates continued for the Executive MBA Class of 2022. By the conclusion of the two-year program, the most recent Executive MBA graduates earned strong salary gains, maintained demanding leadership roles across industries and functions, garnered new job titles and launched careers with new employers.

"The Executive MBA truly readies Darden graduates for sector-wide success."
Gopika Spaenle, Darden Career Center managing director for professional degree programs

Even as students worked full-time during the Executive MBA program, which is based at UVA Darden DC Metro, substantial career changes prevailed for these newest alumni. Eighty-six percent of the class earned new job titles, including changes in function, while 47 percent reported a new employer. Fourteen percent reported a new role at a new company.

The top corporate employers of Executive MBA talent included Capital One, Amazon and Deloitte.


MORE: MSBA Class of 2021 Reports Strong Career Momentum


Whether they stayed at their current roles or began new ones, the recent alumni notched a 51 percent increase in base salary by graduation, earning a mean salary of $180,998. Sixteen percent of graduates reported earning $200,000 or more, on average.

The top five industries where graduates are employed drew a nearly equal spread, with technology rising to the top at 16 percent of the Class of 2022. Next was consulting at 15 percent of class, followed closely by government, health care and hospitality at 13 percent each. For the top five functions, students saw a similarly diverse array, with general management employing 27 percent of graduates, 21 percent in marketing and sales, 19 percent in consulting, 14 percent in operations and logistics, and eight percent in finance and accounting.

“The Executive MBA Class of 2022’s positive career momentum across multiple  industries and functions reaffirms the tremendous value proposition of the Darden MBA,” said Gopika Spaenle, Darden Career Center managing director for professional degree programs. “The Executive MBA truly readies Darden graduates for sector-wide success.”

Later this year, the Career Center will release a comprehensive employment report detailing career advancement data for the Executive MBA Class of 2022, the Master of Science in business analytics Class of 2021, and the Full-Time MBA Class of 2022.

About the University of Virginia Darden School of Business

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business prepares responsible global leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Darden’s graduate degree programs (MBA, MSBA and Ph.D.) and Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programs offered by the Darden School Foundation set the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact. Darden’s top-ranked faculty, renowned for teaching excellence, inspires and shapes modern business leadership worldwide through research, thought leadership and business publishing. Darden has Grounds in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the Washington, D.C., area and a global community that includes 18,000 alumni in 90 countries. Darden was established in 1955 at the University of Virginia, a top public university founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

 

Press Contact

Molly Mitchell
Associate Director of Content Marketing and Social Media
Darden School of Business
University of Virginia
MitchellM@darden.virginia.edu