More graduates from Harvard Business School are going into technology, preliminary career data published by the school shows. Technology companies hired 18 percent of MBA graduates from the class of 2013, up from 7 percent in 2008 and 12 percent in 2012. Financial service companies hired only 27 percent of the graduating class, down from 45 percent in 2008 and 35 percent in 2012.
Why are MBAs choosing tech over banking? Wall Street lost much of its appeal among MBA graduates since the financial crisis began in 2008, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Technology, consulting, and venture capital have been more reliable employers. And companies like Amazon.com have aggressively pursued MBA talent. Amazon hires hundreds of MBAs annually, and is now the fifth-biggest employer of graduating MBAs and No. 4 on the list of most popular MBA employers, Businessweek reported in June.