Illustration by Magda Azab
The results are in! Nearly 2,500 of you responded to the 2021 alumni survey to share details on your career, your personal and professional interests, your relationship with the Booth network, and more.
The top five industries among those of you who responded to the survey are: financial services (28 percent); technology (16 percent); consulting (12 percent); education, government, and nonprofit (8 percent); and health-care products and services (8 percent). This is a shift from our 2019 survey, when 22 percent of respondents worked in consulting. Technology, conversely, has become more prevalent, as has health care, which previously didn’t rank among the top industries.
Entrepreneurship and innovation continue to be a strong focus among the Booth community, with 77 percent of you reporting that they’re important for determining the best business school. Over three-quarters of you rated entrepreneurship and innovation at Booth as excellent, and 40 percent of you are most interested in events on these topics.
Diversity and inclusion have also become increasingly important among alumni, with the majority of you saying that D&I efforts are an important factor for determining the best business school. Forty-five percent of you reported that Booth could do better in this area, and we’re working hard to improve our efforts.
In 2021, the school hired Angela Pace-Moody, AB ’97, as the inaugural director of global diversity and inclusion to oversee our efforts. We launched the D&I Dialogues series to delve deep into social justice, unconscious bias, cultures of inclusion, and other important topics. Booth’s Diversity and Inclusion Alumni Task Force focused on admissions, alumni engagement, and fundraising. Learn how that task force helped lower barriers for underrepresented MBA candidates in “Bridging Booth.”
We will continue to develop initiatives to address your feedback, and encourage you to continue reaching out to us with your input and ideas: you can contact Mary Adekoya, associate director of affinity programs and engagement, at alumni@chicagobooth.edu. Here, explore some highlights of the survey data, and see how your experience compares with your fellow alumni.
Of alumni are satisfied with how their career has unfolded so far
85%
Attribute a significant part of their professional success to Booth
81%
Serve at the senior, executive, or CEO level
75%
Are self-employed at least part time
20%
Have been in their current position for 10+ years
19%
Are currently seeking employment. (Career Services is available to Booth alumni for life to help you pursue your career objectives and professional development.)
4%
In the past two years a third of alumni recruited fellow Boothies to their company, and younger alumni were most likely to rank the Booth alumni network as helpful.
Paying It Forward
Recommended Boothies for positions outside their company
44%
Served as mentors to current students
20%
Connected with former classmates outside of Booth activities
78%
Of alumni are particularly interested in learning about business and the economy
52%
Are interested in entrepreneurship and innovation
40%
Want to be more engaged with Booth
53%Those who prefer to learn about Booth through virtual events, versus those who prefer in-person
Morgan Franklin, ’21, still early in her career, has already hit milestones others spend a lifetime trying to achieve.
The Woman Who Helped ‘Bring Home the Bud’
A casual ski trip among friends has grown into a decades-long tradition for one Booth class, full of bonding on and off the slopes.
Living the High Life
When the pandemic eliminated his position as an executive in the cruise industry, Bryan Herdé, ’11, took the opportunity to reassess his career—leading to a new venture in eco-friendly cleaning.
A Pandemic Pivot Offers a Clean Start
