硅谷青睞MBA畢業生 Silicon Valley goes back to school to manage growth

Growing up often means changing your attitudes to how the world works. The mantra of drop out, start up, helped define the revolutionary spirit of companies like Facebook, Apple and Microsoft, whose founders quit formal education to launch what became world-beating ventures.

長大往往意味着改變你對世界如何運轉的看法。輟學、創業的激情，曾幫助定義了Facebook、蘋果(Apple)和微軟(Microsoft)等公司的革新精神。這些企業的創始人退出了正規教育，創辦了日後成爲世界一流的企業。

However, data from business schools shows that these very companies, plus peers such as Google and Amazon, now rival consultancies and investment banks as the big MBA hirers. Growing up has brought a new attitude to business education among Silicon Valley’s elite.

然而，商學院的數據表明，這些企業、再加上谷歌(Google)、亞馬遜(Amazon)等同行，如今在招聘MBA畢業生方面媲美諮詢公司和投行。成長使硅谷精英企業對商業教育產生了新看法。

At UCLA Anderson School of Management in Los Angeles, 30 per cent of the 2015 MBA class took roles in technology companies. For the first time, the tech-bound cohort equalled the proportion of students taking the established business school graduate route into the consulting sector.

在加州大學洛杉磯分校安德森商學院(UCLA Anderson School of Business)，2015屆MBA班級有30%的畢業生進入科技公司。投身科技行業的畢業生與進入諮詢業這種商學院傳統去向的畢業生人數相同，這是有史以來第一次。

Adobe Systems took the lion’s share of Anderson MBA graduates last year, pushing Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Deloitte into second and third place respectively. The most popular place for an internship was Apple, ahead of Deloitte, Mattel and PwC.

去年，Adobe Systems登上了安德森MBA畢業生僱主榜的榜首，將美銀美林(Bank of America Merrill Lynch)和德勤(Deloitte)推後至第二、三位。蘋果是最熱門的實習公司，其人氣領先於德勤、美泰(Mattel)和普華永道(PwC)。

The increase in technology industry hirings is being driven by changing attitudes among Silicon Valley’s key players and an acknowledgment that many have become the kinds of large companies they used to contrast themselves with, according to Phil Han, Anderson’s director of recruiting operations.

安德森招聘工作主管Phil Han稱，科技行業招聘MBA畢業生人數上升的推動因素在於，硅谷的關鍵人物改變了對MBA的態度，同時很多科技公司意識到：它們已成爲過去被自己用作反襯的那種大型公司。

“Even five or six years ago, tech firms felt MBAs didn’t deserve to be in the technology industry because they felt they needed engineers,” he says.

“五、六年前，科技公司甚至覺得MBA畢業生不應進入科技行業，因爲他們覺得自己需要的是工程師，”他稱。

“Many of these companies are now growing so fast that they need the strategic thinking and leadership skills provided by an MBA. As a result they are coming to us more often.”

“如今很多公司正在迅速成長，他們需要MBA畢業生帶來的戰略性思維和領導能力。因此，他們更加頻繁地來到我們這兒。”

The biggest loser from the rise in technology industry recruitment at Anderson has been the entertainment industry, whose campus is a short car ride from Hollywood’s film and television studios.

科技行業在安德森廣招賢才，最大的輸家是娛樂業。安德森校區距離好萊塢(Hollywood)電影和電視製片廠只有一段很短的車程。

Companies like Google and Apple, with their freewheeling work practices, office ping pong tables and slides, have stolen the entertainment industry’s crown as the most fun place to work, according to Mr Han.

Han稱，谷歌和蘋果之類的公司以其自由的工作實踐、辦公室乒乓球桌和滑梯，已經從娛樂業奪走了最好玩工作環境的桂冠。

“It is not that students do not want to do media, banking or consulting jobs any more, but these tech companies are offering some really interesting perks and benefits,” he says.

“與其說學生們不想再做媒體、銀行或諮詢工作，不如說這些科技公司確實提供了一些很有意思的待遇和福利，”他稱。

Convergence means that it is also harder to distinguish between an entertainment and a technology business.

融合意味着想要區分娛樂公司和科技公司也更難了。

One of the biggest recruiters of Anderson MBA graduates in recent years was Hulu, a streaming service for television shows, video clips and movies. Many people would view this as a technology company but its output puts it at the heart of the entertainment industry.

近年來，安德森MBA畢業生最大的僱主是Hulu——爲電視節目、視頻短片和電影提供流媒體服務的公司。很多人會認爲這是一家科技公司，但它提供的服務使其置身於娛樂業核心。

Mike Carley is in the second year of his MBA at Anderson, but recently secured a job offer from Adobe after a summer internship as a product marketing manager.

麥克•卡利(Mike Carley)正在安德森MBA讀第二年，但是他最近已經拿到了一個工作機會。在Adobe完成暑期實習後，他拿到了產品營銷經理的offer。

“Tech companies hire incredibly smart people to work on really cool, complex, game-changing products,” he says. “That is the type of life I want to live, and the type of culture I want to be a part of.”

“科技公司聘請極爲聰明的人來做非常酷而複雜的顛覆性產品，”他稱，“這就是我想要的人生，我想投身其中的那種文化氛圍。”

Even at business schools where consultancies and investment banks still take the largest share of MBA graduates, the technology sector is now the fastest growing source of jobs.

就連在諮詢和投行仍然招聘最多MBA畢業生的商學院，科技行業如今也成爲增長最快的畢業生去向。

A fifth of MBA students graduating from London Business School (LBS) last year took jobs in technology companies, up from 6 per cent as recently as 2010.

去年，倫敦商學院(London Business School) MBA五分之一的畢業生進入了科技公司，遠高於2010年的6%。

Despite London’s global pre-eminence in banking, barely a quarter of last year’s MBA graduates took jobs in the financial services sector, down from more than a third in 2010.

儘管倫敦的銀行業在全球首屈一指，但是去年僅有不足四分之一的MBA畢業生進入了金融服務業，低於2010年的逾三分之一。

The rise in technology company hires reflects a rebalancing of London’s economy following the growth of tech start-up clusters around neighbourhoods such as Shoreditch and Bermondsey, in turn driving some of the most successful Silicon Valley-based companies to open large offices in the UK.

科技公司大舉招募MBA畢業生反映了倫敦經濟的再平衡，近年倫敦肖爾迪奇區(Shoreditch)和伯蒙德西區(Bermondsey)涌現出科技初創企業集羣，它們的壯大推動硅谷一些最成功的科技企業移師英國，在倫敦設立較大的辦公室。

Amazon is among the biggest recruiters of MBA graduates worldwide, amounting to hundreds of jobs globally. It tops the list of tech industry hirers at several top schools in Europe and the US, including LBS.

亞馬遜是全球MBA畢業生最大的僱主之一，每年提供數百個工作機會。在歐美多所頂級院校（包括倫敦商學院），亞馬遜是科技行業最大僱主。

Miriam Park, Amazon’s director of university recruiting, says her employer targets specific schools for a combination of factors, including an evaluation of whether the institution’s ethos fits with the online retailer’s culture.

亞馬遜的高校招聘總監米麗婭姆•帕克(Miriam Park)稱，該公司選擇學校要考慮一系列因素，其中包括評估該校校風是否符合這家在線零售商的企業文化。

“We value MBAs for, in many cases, the global approach that they can bring to the business with many candidates having worked and studied in more than one country,” she says.

“在很多情況下，我們重視MBA畢業生是因爲他們可以給企業帶來全球化視角，很多應聘者都在不止一個國家工作和學習過，”她稱。

“Their range of experience and variety of backgrounds is invaluable in bringing a different way of looking at our business.”

“他們豐富的閱歷和多種多樣的文化背景是無價之寶，給我們企業帶來了不一樣的思路。”

Edward Layoun was among 16 MBA graduates at LBS taking jobs with Amazon last year, more than went to work for Bain & Company or Goldman Sachs.

愛德華•拉尤恩(Edward Layoun)是去年加入亞馬遜的16名倫敦商學院MBA畢業生的其中一員。這一數字超過了該校去年進入貝恩公司(Bain & Company)或高盛(Goldman Sachs)的MBA畢業生人數。

The former management consultant, who changed careers to work for the online retailer after graduating with a distinction from LBS, says he was attracted by the chance to lead teams that are trying to make significant changes to the age-old activity of shopping.

在以優異的成績從倫敦商學院畢業後，這位前管理顧問改變了職業道路，進入亞馬遜。他稱，有機會領導正在嘗試給購物這種歷史悠久的活動帶來重大變化的團隊，這吸引了他。

He claims that his career highlight last year was helping to lead the roll out of Amazon Prime’s same-day delivery service. “It showed how you can really touch people’s lives in this job,” he says.

他聲稱，去年他的職業亮點是幫助推出亞馬遜Prime當日送達服務。“這表明你可以通過這份工作真切地影響人們的生活，”他稱。

The perception that companies born in Silicon Valley value employee happiness and work-life balance as a crucial part of their success is a big selling point for those who have worked in other sectors. “I fundamentally disagree with the concept that you have to answer emails at 1:30am or work multiple 20-hour days to do good work, yet stories involving those elements are ubiquitous in the consulting and finance industry,” Anderson’s Mr Carley says.

對於那些在其他行業工作的人來說，在硅谷誕生的企業把員工幸福和工作/生活平衡視爲其成功的關鍵部分這個印象是最大賣點。“你必須在凌晨1時30分回郵件或者爲了做好工作而連續多日每天工作20個小時，我壓根不認同這種觀念，但是，包含這類元素的故事在諮詢和金融行業隨處可見，”安德森的卡利稱。

Jovanna Youssef, another Anderson MBA student, is moving from Deloitte to Apple after working in the Cupertino-based computer company’s product management team during an internship.

安德森另外一名MBA學生喬安娜•優素福(Jovanna Youssef)在蘋果的產品管理團隊實習後，從德勤跳槽到了這家位於庫比蒂諾(Cupertino)的電腦公司。

“While I enjoyed my time at Deloitte and learned a lot, I knew I no longer wanted to work on engagements for various clients, but rather I wanted to work within a company,” she says.

“儘管我很享受在德勤工作的日子，並且學到了很多，但是我知道我不再願意與不同的客戶打交道，而是想在一家公司內部工作，”她稱。

LBS’s Mr Layoun claims he switched away from a career in consultancy into technology because he was not satisfied with the focus on moneymaking in his former job.

倫敦商學院的畢業生拉尤恩稱，他從諮詢行業跳到科技行業，是因爲他對自己在上一份工作時專注於賺錢的狀態不滿意。

“Consulting and investment banking can get you a big pay cheque but at the expense of a lot of things,” he says, adding that he wanted to work for a company that talked about innovation and not just the bottom line.

“諮詢和投行的薪資豐厚，但代價也很高，”他稱。他補充說，他想爲講創新的公司工作，而不是那些只談盈虧線的公司。

Given the cost of obtaining an MBA, money does play a part and may be a barrier to technology jobs surpassing consultancy positions as the career of choice for business school graduates.

考慮到拿到MBA學位的成本，薪資確實是重要的部分，可能也是科技企業超越諮詢公司成爲商學院畢業生首選去向的障礙之一。

Among the class of 2015 MBA graduates at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, the average base salary for those taking jobs in the technology industry was $119,459.

在美國西北大學(Northwestern University)凱洛格管理學院(Kellogg School of Management) 2015屆MBA畢業生中，進入科技行業的畢業生平均底薪爲119459美元。

This was better than the average for many other sectors, but not as good as consulting, where the average base salary was $133,253, and financial services, with an average base salary of $125,415, according to data from the school.

凱洛格管理學院的數據顯示，這一水平超過了其他很多行業的起薪，但是比不上諮詢行業（平均底薪133253美元）和金融服務業（平均底薪125415美元）。

At Kellogg, the largest proportion of 2015 graduates took consultancy and financial services jobs, pushing the technology industry into third place.

在凱洛格，2015屆畢業生最大的去向是諮詢和金融行業，科技行業排在第三位。

There are some mixed messages coming from those at the top of the fastest-growing technology companies about whether getting an MBA is important for a career in the sector.

MBA學位對於投身科技行業的職業是否重要？對於這個問題，發展最迅速的一些科技企業的高層有不同的看法。

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, said in an online Q&A last December that her MBA from Harvard Business School was not necessary to get a job at her employer.

在去年12月的一場在線問答中，Facebook首席運營官謝里爾•桑德伯格(Sheryl Sandberg)稱，她在哈佛商學院(Harvard Business School)拿到的MBA文憑對於她得到現在這份工作不是必要的。

Her boss, Mark Zuckerberg, has taken the opposite journey. Having dropped out of his Ivy League education to build his social network, in 2014 Mr Zuckerberg joined the advisory board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management, one of China’s top business schools. He even delivered an address in Mandarin to students at Tsinghua University’s Beijing campus. Perhaps it is time for Facebook to post a status update to clarify its position.

她的老闆馬克•扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)則選擇了相反的道路。當年他從常青藤(Ivy League)輟學、全力打造自己的社交網站。但是2014年，扎克伯格加入了中國頂級商學院之一清華大學經管學院的顧問委員會。他甚至在清華校園裏用中文向學生們發表了演講。或許Facebook是時候發佈新狀態來澄清自己的立場了。