Introduction to MBA Careers

14-Industry Alignment for MBA Careers

The McDonough Career Center supports student and employer relationships in the 14 industries and corporate functions briefed below. Thinking of your MBA career target as a set of “career coordinates” (i.e. function + industry) will help bring focus to your story, your personal brand, and to your job/internship search. To assist you in pinpointing your career coordinates, we have provided overviews for common MBA functions and for our 14 industries below. Once on campus, you will have many additional opportunities to connect with the McDonough Career Center, second-year MBA students, alumni, and employers at various career events in order to explore possible pathways.

Function Guides

You will find MBA careers across industries. MBA professionals provide leadership in an array of business functions that integrate and propel the enterprise. MBA careers usually progress from managing more tactical projects to devising the strategy to help the larger organization meet its goals. Explore our MBA Function guides included below for a better understanding of typical MBA career paths:

• Analytics 

• Corporate Functions

• Finance 

• Marketing & Sales 

• Strategy & Consulting

Industry Guides 

• Consulting 

• Consumer Goods and Retail

• Energy and Clean Tech

• Entrepreneurship

• Financial Services

• Government

• Healthcare

• Hospitality and Lodging

• International Development

• Manufacturing and Transportation

• Media, Entertainment, and Sports

• Social Impact / Nonprofit

• Real Estate

• Technology

Watch McDonough Career Center's 2025 Industry Overviews