What Tech Companies Think of MBAs

Key Takeaways 

• MBA graduates continue to be highly regarded in the tech industry, with major firms outlining their professionalism, comfort with hybrid working, and business acumen as key reasons why
• Several major business schools reported an upturn in tech hiring in 2025, suggesting that the increased demand for AI skills is creating a demand for MBA graduates
• Most MBA graduates tend to move into strategy or innovation-based roles within tech firms. The next most popular areas include product management, consulting, and marketing
  

If you're in the early stages of your career, you want to make career decisions that will set you up for success in the long-term. Part of that is choosing the industries and roles that will continue to be in high demand far into the future. When it comes to future-oriented sectors, the first that comes to mind for most people is tech—one of the most rapidly growing industries in the global economy.

While coding and other highly technical skills are surely in-demand at large tech companies, a smart move to secure long-term career success at these kinds of organizations is actually to focus on developing the skills most closely related to managing people. Unlike technical skills, which can fall in and out of favor or be replaced by new technologies, human-centered communication and leadership skills tend to stand the test of time and will help you secure ever-higher levels of responsibility.

One of the best ways to gain these skills and grow your professional credibility is through earning a Master in Business Administration (MBA). But you may be wondering, given their reputation for disruptive thinking, what do tech companies think of MBAs? Do they respect MBAs in the same way as traditional MBA hirers in the consulting and finance industries?

To find out, as a part of our annual Corporate Recruiters Survey, we asked recruiters at leading tech companies questions about how they view the value of a graduate business degree, what skills seek out most in new hires, and their hiring plans for 2026 and beyond.

How tech companies view MBA degrees

Are MBA graduates respected in the tech sector? Survey responses from the recruiters who make their key hiring decisions indicate the answer is a resounding “yes.”

For one, tech companies express a high degree of confidence in business school graduates’ ability to adapt to new technologies. According to our 2025 survey, 59% of tech employers agreed that “the skills gained through a graduate business degree are more important than before because businesses are adopting new technologies (e.g., AI, new software, etc.) that require business acumen.”

What’s more, 64% of tech companies agreed that “recent business school graduates demonstrate the same level of professionalism as graduates from previous years.” Only the energy sector had a higher level of agreement among employers.

Another finding from the survey suggests that MBA graduates are highly valued in the tech industry because of their comfort with hybrid and flexible working arrangements. Just over half (55%) of tech recruiters agreed that an MBA graduate’s skills are more important in remote and hybrid work environments. No other industry had a higher level of agreement with that statement.

The report also found that tech employers were most likely to value online and in-person programs equally. That’s welcoming news for MBA graduates given the rise in popularity of online MBAs in the past decade.

Do tech companies hire MBAs?

Though there have been a number of layoffs in the tech industry in recent years, there are signs that confidence is starting to return to the sector. According to our 2025 survey, over 90% of tech employers planned to hire MBA graduates in 2025, with 85% planning to hire the same number or more as the previous year.

The survey results are reflected in MBA employment reports. At Darden School of Business, the proportion of MBA graduates moving into tech almost doubled from 8.8% in 2024 to 16.1% in 2025. At MIT Sloan School of Management, tech hiring increased by 4.3% to make up 23.3% of the class. At Stanford Graduate School of Business, 35% of the Class of 2025 moved into tech—a 13% increase from the year before. At other schools, the proportion of tech hires was even higher.

“Tech was the number one hiring sector for our 2025 MBA graduates,” says Abby Scott, assistant dean of MBA career management and corporate partnerships at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. “Nearly 40% from the full-time class accepted jobs in tech, heading to firms such as Amazon, Adobe, Google, Nvidia, Microsoft, and ServiceNow.”

So what’s behind this revival? While there are a number of factors behind it, it increasingly seems that the emergence of AI is one of them. “The advent of new technologies such as AI are transforming the tech landscape and generating entirely new roles—from AI product managers to transformation consultants—while at the same time reshaping old roles altogether,” explains Robert Preda, careers consultant at Imperial Business School.

The Corporate Recruiters Survey found that “skills in using AI tools” is the top future skill valued by tech employers, suggesting that MBA graduates with AI knowledge will become increasingly valuable to tech employers. In fact, last year’s survey found that 36% of tech companies believe AI skills are important for MBA graduates— significantly more than any other industry.

“The thing that makes MBA-trained candidates stand out is their ability to deliver where AI cannot: showcasing strategic thinking, cross-functional leadership, and stakeholder communication skills that purely technical candidates might lack,” adds Preda.

It also appears that layoffs in the tech industry have started to slow down after peaking in 2023. According to the industry tracker layoffs.fyi, there were over 150,000 layoffs in Q1 2023 compared to 26,470 in the first quarter of 2026 - the lowest figure since 2024.

With tech MBA hiring on an upward curve and the prospect of more AI-related jobs appearing in the coming years, it’s up to MBA graduates to capitalize on these opportunities.

What do MBAs do in tech companies?

Our research from previous years has discovered that MBA hires in the tech industry mostly take up strategy and innovation roles. Other popular areas for MBA grads to move into include product management, business development, general management, consulting, marketing, and logistics.

In terms of specific job titles, some of the highest paying tech jobs for MBA graduates include:

• Chief technology officer (CTO) - $193k average base salary

• Enterprise architect - $153k salary

• Cloud architect - $148k salary

• Product manager - $124k salary

• AI engineer - $134k salary

• Data scientist - $118k salary

Is it worth getting an MBA for a career in tech?

As the tech sector continues its rapid expansion and growing prominence in the global economy, tech company recruiters are placing increasing importance on hiring individuals with the strategic, interpersonal, and decision-making skills needed to effectively manage organizational growth and drive innovative thinking across departments. These are the core skills of graduate business education, and investing in these timeless skills can set you up for a long and successful career in the tech industry.

Are you thinking about the future of your career? Our Career Planning Guide will walk you through key personal and professional questions you need to explore to set the course for your next steps. This career plan template will help you learn about yourself, understand your responsibilities, identify what you want, and bring your career vision into focus.

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