Darden’s Class of 2017 Takes More Tech Jobs, Reports Higher Salaries

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business continues to see high demand for its graduates, with the Class of 2017 reporting strong increases in salary on a year-over-year basis.

According to the MBA Employment Report from Darden’s Career Development Center (CDC), the Class of 2017 reported an average base salary of $124,684, with an average signing bonus of $31,966. The figures represent rises from the average base salary and signing bonus of $122,806 and $31,370, respectively, reported by the Class of 2016.

Darden graduates went into a wide variety of fields and continued a growing trend toward technology jobs.

Consulting was again the top industry draw for new graduates, followed by financial services positions and technology. Collectively, nearly than three-quarters of Darden’s 2017 graduates went into those three fields.

Microsoft was the top employer of the Class of 2017, with 16 Darden graduates signing on with the tech giant. Microsoft’s top spot was followed by The Boston Consulting Group (14), McKinsey & Co. (14), Accenture (11), Amazon.com (10) and Bain & Co. (10).

About 93 percent of Darden graduates reported receiving at least one job offer by three months after graduation and 90 percent of those seeking employment accepted an offer by three months after graduation.

In another year-over-year increase, 10 percent of graduates reported starting jobs outside of the U.S., up from 9 percent for the Class of 2016.

“We are committed to giving Darden students the best career experience possible,” said Assistant Dean of Career Development Jeff McNish. “Our team provides personalized career support to students and we can see the strong impact of that support in our employment outcomes.”

Darden alumni were ranked No. 2 overall in Forbes’ rating of the most satisfied MBA graduates, which also reported that Darden alumni are among the most satisfied with their current jobs.

New Senior Career Advisers

The CDC also recently hired three new senior directors focused on key industries of technology, consulting and financial services.

• Christy Gunville joined the CDC as senior director of consulting and professional services careers. Gunville, who holds an undergraduate degree from UVA and an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, previously worked at Deloitte and boutique firms specializing in human capital advisory services. She is based in Washington, D.C.
• Paul Reeder (MBA ’98) has joined the CDC as senior director of financial services careers. Reeder has worked with a diverse array of companies in the financial sector via his roles at SNL Financial and S&P Global. He is based in Charlottesville.
• Jenny Zenner (MBA ’03) joined the CDC as senior director of technology, entrepreneurship, digital and consumer careers — all fields in which she previously recruited. Zenner is based in Seattle, where she has served as president of the UVA Club of Seattle and helped launch the city’s Darden alumni chapter.