It has been remarkable to witness the Daytime MBA Class of 2024 overcome challenges with tenacity and resolve. It is no secret that navigating the MBA job market can be hard even in years without economic fluctuations. Supporting our students through this process and watching them flourish is the best part of my role with Fuqua’s Career Management Center (CMC), and this year is no different.

The Class of 2024 has had to learn new job-seeking techniques and refine or redefine their focus, gaining valuable experience they will leverage for years to come. Major industries are experiencing hiring reductions and employers are transforming the ways they source talent. This makes for a tough and ultra-competitive environment for job seekers. I’m proud to share their strong results with a few highlights from the 2023-2024 Daytime MBA Employment Report.

Compensation Matches Record High

In short, the market continues to highly value Duke MBA graduates. Graduates matched a record-high median salary of $175,000 and a median signing bonus of $30,000 with 87% reporting receiving a signing bonus.

Within three months of graduation, 85% of the Class of 2024 reported receiving a job offer and 82% reported accepting an offer. This is an encouraging achievement given the decreased market supply of MBA jobs, especially in the consulting and technology industries. It’s important to mention that the three-month post-graduation mark is a reporting standard across business schools. Graduates continue to receive and accept offers after the three-month mark. Those results are not reflected in this report, yet their work is also worth highlighting!

In any economic environment, we encourage students to be exploratory but reflective in their job search, pursuing roles that are meaningful to them. A crucial part of this process is learning how to evaluate the right path for achieving their ultimate goals, beyond industry or title, so it has been rewarding to work with graduates as they champion their search with intention.

A Customized Approach

Human connection is more important than ever in the job search, and we focus on equipping students to build connections using a customized search process. This involves identifying and developing advocates at employers of interest through methods developed by our career coaches.

We emphasize and support customized searches to empower students to actively advance their recruiting progress, staying ahead of recruiting changes and hiring disruptions. Our career coaches hold weekly sessions where students can dedicate time to their custom search, receive support, and engage with their classmates who are navigating a similar process.

We are also taking steps to diversify the humans with whom our students can connect. Under the leadership of Sheryle Dirks, associate dean for career management, Fuqua participated in a Duke-wide initiative engaging over 28,000 Duke alumni. This initiative showcased the diverse talent at Duke, stimulated hiring activity, and created an easy pathway to hire Duke students across majors and disciplines.

At Fuqua, we believe all students deserve meaningful work and our amazing team of career professionals, faculty, and alumni network care deeply about our students’ success. The Class of 2024 has had to hustle, focus, clearly communicate, and stay humble during their MBA career search journey. I am proud of their career accomplishments, and I can’t wait to see what they achieve next!