Ecommerce & Internet

For MBA graduates entering the workforce, there are few industries as appealing as technology. Who wouldn’t want to be involved with innovative companies such as Amazon, Airbnb, or Google?

One area of tech that is experiencing eye-catching growth is e-Commerce. Demand for MBA graduates is growing in the e-Commerce & internet arena as companies like Amazon increase their recruitment and traditional retailers work to become more competitive. E-Commerce sales in the U.S. are up more than 15% from this time last year, and sales made via the web continue to account for a larger piece of the retail pie. Schools all over the world – from INSEAD to MIT Sloan – have reported an increase in the number of students being recruited by E-Commerce companies such as Amazon.

The world is going digital and internet companies are now some of the largest and most talent-craving companies recruiting on MBA campuses.  Perhaps as a result of this increased demand for MBAs in the sector, average compensation for these positions is above average. While the salary for MBA graduates entering E-Commerce + Internet jobs is slightly below the average for all MBA graduates, these positions come with great benefits. In fact, the average stock compensation in this industry is 4 times higher than the all-industry average.

Our  250,000+ data points at TransparentCareer revealed the following breakdown of the average salary for MBA graduates entering the e-commerce and internet industry:

An average total compensation package rings in at $204,959 (77th percentile), and base salary makes up the largest portion at $118,682 (60th percentile). Average stock compensation follows at $31,840 (97th percentile) and just behind is an average signing bonus of $21,554 (74th percentile). To see compensation data for this industry and how it stacks up against other top industries, just sign up for free here and explore intuitive dashboards, representing data from over 3,500 employers.

A competitive salary and bonus package may attract MBA grads to these jobs, but our data reveals that it isn’t just the money that keeps people coming back. Industry scores for aspects such as happiness, company culture, and impact of work all clock in at above average. The average company culture score in the E-Commerce & Internet industry is 7.9 – 16% higher than the average for all MBA graduates. Also, the average happiness score of 7.4 is greater than the all-industry average by 10%.

Favorable work hours and travel schedules may be the driver of high satisfaction numbers. Average weekly hours in this industry is roughly average for graduated MBAs, adding up to 53 hours per week. However, the percent of time MBA graduates spend traveling for their E-Commerce jobs is just half the all-industry average –  just 13%. Even more astonishing, 76% of MBA graduates in this industry spend less than 10 hours per week traveling. Employees at Facebook reported above average travel times, while LinkedIn employees reported below average travel. Some companies, such as Google, boast below average workloads while still shelling out above-average salaries. Perhaps not surprisingly given the tech giant’s stellar reputation, job happiness and views on company culture at Google receive a 9/10 score. For more information about MBA jobs at Google, visit their company page here.

“…female MBAs also reported higher initial total compensation than male counterparts…”

While e-Commerce & internet companies house a wide variety of functions and positions, some definite concentrations of job functions boil to the top. For example, Product Management alone accounts for 37% of MBA jobs in the space. Another popular function within the industry is Operations, which accounts for 26% of positions. It’s no surprise that Operations is a popular function within the industry as these positions have above average compensation, happiness ratings, and views on company culture. As far as demographics go, more females tend to work in Operations while, interestingly, more men work in Product Management. In our sample data, female MBAs also reported higher initial total compensation than male counterparts (good on you, tech companies!).

As you may know, our database here at TransparentCareer also includes robust information on MBA internships. As compared to their Full-Time E-Commerce counterparts, those in internships report lower happiness scores and – unsurprisingly – feel their work is less impactful.Some popular companies among interns include Amazon, Google, and Walmart eCommerce.

Facebook is one company that quickly comes to mind when thinking about internet-based companies. However, the social media giant isn’t among the highest rated companies when considering a few important metrics. For example, MBA graduates working at Facebook reported an average travel ratio of 50%, along with longer-than-average work weeks. While company culture received a 9/10, average overall happiness was only 5/10 and impact of work was even lower at only 4/10.

Not all internet companies fared so poorly in the ranks. Amazon is a top employer in the category and was ranked number 5 on a Fortune list of companies where MBAs want to work in 2015. Want to get hired at Amazon? Here are a few traits they look for: a strong sense of ownership in your work, an “obsession” with the customer and their satisfaction, and strong teamwork skills. Below are a few other popular employers for MBA graduates entering the internet industry:

To see a full list of popular employers and their satisfaction ratings, visit our Career Explorer.

In addition to the growth in E-Commerce, the overall MBA job market looks strong for 2016. In an employer survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission council, at least half of the employers said that they plan to hire MBA grads. So how do you stand out in the crowd? Top cited traits that employers are looking for include the ability to fit into organizational culture and work well in a team setting.  Good luck, MBAs!

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