Big Tech is Looking for MBA Students: What Courses Offer the Required Skills?

While the tech sector faced significant obstacles in 2024 with widespread layoffs, it remains one of the top three industries hiring MBA graduates—alongside consulting and finance. In 2024, technology accounted for 2,264 hires across 104 top business schools, underscoring its enduring appeal. 

Among MBA students and MBA applicants seeking a tech industry career, there is a lot of demand to work at leading ‘Big Tech’ firms such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple.

Among MBA students and MBA applicants seeking a tech industry career, there is a lot of demand to work at leading ‘Big Tech’ firms such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple. These large tech firms hire MBAs to fill a variety of positions including product management and logistics roles as well as more traditional corporate roles in strategy, finance or marketing.

So, where should you look to find the best MBA programs for tech careers in 2025? Here are the top global business schools that placed the most graduates in the tech industry in 2024—each offering a powerful launchpad for future-focused professionals.

Top tech companies recruiting ISB grads include Apple, Google, Samsung, and Microsoft. 

Soaring ahead with 148 graduates landing roles in the tech industry in 2024, making it the best MBA program for technology careers this year, is the Indian School of Business. 

The MBA program offers a range of tech-focused elective courses to prepare grads for a diverse range of careers in tech such as Data Driven Strategies For Digital Platforms, Business Value of Disruptive Technologies, and Digital Game Design Techniques for Businesses. 

The median salary for grads in tech from the Indian School of Business in 2024 was $43,405, substantially lower than other schools on this list due to various factors including lower average income levels in India, and a comparatively low cost of tuition.

Top recruiters include Amazon, PwC, TikTok, and Google. In 2024, Columbia MBAs graduates in tech careers earned a median salary of an impressive $160,000. 

The Columbia Business School MBA program ranks number two in the world, according to the Financial Times. The school is also among the elite M7 business schools. It’s no surprise, then, that Columbia MBA grads are landing roles in the most competitive business industries, with tech companies hiring 67 grads in 2024. 

The Columbia MBA has a theory-to-practice approach with case-based lessons and collaborative learning that encourages innovative problem-solving—an essential skill in any tech career. For example, in the Analytics in Action Master Class, MBA students team up with engineering students to work on company-sponsored projects to achieve real company goals using business analytics and data science. 

During the MBA programs, students can experience this first-hand in the LondonCAP project which connects students with major companies such as Google and Peloton as well as startups. The program also includes global experiences to experience different business cultures in which recent students have travelled to Johannesburg, Paris, and Peru. 

The median salary for LBS tech grads in 2024 was $113,678.

The chance to tap into London’s renowned tech business landscape—home to 1,382 AI companies—is not one to be missed. In 2024, 85 graduates from London Business School launched careers in the sector. 

You may even see a famous face while on campus as Harvard frequently welcomes celebrity guest lecturers including the likes of Kim Kardashian and David Beckham. 

In 2024, Harvard graduates who landed careers in tech earned a median salary of $158,050—the highest on the list. If you’re looking to launch a career with a top technology firm, Harvard is among the best MBA programs for tech worldwide.

Like its fellow M7 business schools, Harvard Business School is home to one of the most competitive MBA programs in the world. But that competition pays off as in 2024, 93 members of its graduating MBA class landed roles in the tech industry. 

Harvard MBA classes are centered around The Case Method and The Field Method in which students evaluate real-life business cases in the classroom and take part in a one-week immersion with a global company. Students can also specialize their degree with a range of Technology and Operations Management elective courses such as Digital Innovation and Transformation or Designing Technology Ventures. 

Students benefit from an immersive curriculum that blends analytics, leadership, and hands-on learning, with popular electives including Artificial Intelligence, Digital Product Management, and Data-Driven Teams. Being part of MIT also means gaining close access to the larger tech ecosystem, including research labs, entrepreneurs, and engineers shaping the future.

With an average salary of $157,100 and access to top-tier employers, Sloan offers a powerful platform for MBAs looking to build a career in the tech industry.

With 70 graduates landing roles in the tech industry in 2024—making up 24% of its class—MIT Sloan secured its place as one of the world’s top MBA programs for tech careers this year.

Sloan’s position at the intersection of business and innovation makes it a natural launchpad for those looking to break into technology. Top recruiters of Sloan grads include Amazon, TikTok, and Verizon, reflecting the school’s strong ties to both big names in tech.

Alongside learning core business fundamentals to prepare them for leadership roles, Booth MBAs can choose from a robust range of electives to hone their data programming skills and understanding of tech advancements. Just some of these electives include Advanced Decision Models with Python, Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, and Web3. 

One of a number of M7 business schools on the list, Chicago Booth saw 77 MBA graduates land careers in the tech industry in 2024, with Big Tech firms Amazon and Google among the list of employers. 

Booth tech MBA grads earned a median salary of $157,048 in 2024.

Another top-ranked US MBA program that saw 68 graduates land roles in the tech sector is the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business. Students at Haas benefit from being on the doorstep of top Fortune 500 companies in the Bay Area, such as Cisco, Salesforce, and Adobe. 

The Berkeley Haas MBA program favors hands-on, experiential learning with several initiatives to allow students to test their skills in real-world environments. Aspiring tech professionals will likely be interested in the Cleantech to Market project, where students work with scientists to evaluate the commercial viability of new technologies. 

In 2024, Haas tech MBAs earned median salaries of $157,100.

Studying an MBA can give you the analytical thinking, programming knowledge, and strategic insight to embrace and be at the forefront of these innovations. With salaries for roles such as product manager, AI engineer, and data scientist often exceeding $100,000, it’s easy to see why the tech industry is a magnet for MBA talent.

Yet industry is undergoing a major shift, fueled by the rapid rise of generative AI. While Big Tech giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are among the top recruiters of MBA grads, a new wave of AI-native companies—such as OpenAI and Anthropic—is gaining ground. 

There has also been an overall decline in tech industry hiring in the past year. Twenty of the business schools reported a decline in MBA graduates accepting tech industry jobs from the Class of 2023 to the Class of 2024.

Among the seven MBA programs that share firm-specific hiring data, Big Tech jobs remain popular as over 29% of tech jobs accepted by Class of 2024 graduates from these seven MBA programs were at four Big Tech companies. However, there was a collective decline in Big Tech jobs accepted by Class of 2024 graduates of these seven MBA programs compared to the Class of 2023. It will be interesting to see if tech industry hiring of MBAs begins to stabilize for the Class of 2025.