Santa Clara MBA Programs and Business Schools

Santa Clara, Calif., has a claim to being the epicenter of Silicon Valley: It is home to the world headquarters of Intel, the maker of the world's first commercial silicon microprocessor chip. While Intel remains the city's largest private employer, it is only one of many high-profile tech companies now located in Santa Clara. Applied Materials and Agilent Technologies also have their world headquarters in Santa Clara, and together employed about 5,000 people as of 2010. The Santa Clara operations of Oracle, National Semiconductor and NVIDIA also employ more than 1,000 people each. Dell Computers opened a research and development center in the city in 2011, planning to ramp up quickly to transfer 1,500 jobs there.

Although the advanced tech industry is undoubtedly the backbone of Santa Clara's economy, the tremendous success of this sector supports diverse businesses -- 12,000 of them, according to the city's 2011-2013 economic development report . About 40 percent of the city is zoned for commercial, industrial and retail use, and Santa Clara has seen some substantial building projects recently, including a 215,000-square-foot office development and a 300,000-square-foot addition to an existing complex. Not surprisingly, real estate is a thriving industry in Santa Clara, as demonstrated by this construction, as well as the 2 million square-foot high-rise office of commercial real estate firm Equity Office Partners.

Hot Management Jobs in Santa Clara: Information Systems, Real Estate, & General Management

Considering the city's reputation as a worldwide tech hub, students in Santa Clara MBA programs will no doubt be interested in IT-related concentrations such as e-business, information systems and technology management. The reason? Computer and information systems managers working in the Santa Clara area earned a 2010 mean annual wage of $170,590, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov). These concentrations could help plan for such a career.

Real estate is likely to be another popular concentration at business schools in Santa Clara with the city's property, real estate and community service managers earning a bls.gov-reported 2010 mean annual wage of $83,370. With major construction underway in the area, industrial management could also be a smart choice for students at Santa Clara business schools. Construction managers working in the city earned a bls.gov-reported 2010 mean annual wage of $124,780. The density and diversity of Santa Clara's business community suggests students of MBA programs in Santa Clara who focus on general management or specific aspects of running an enterprise, such as marketing, will likely have excellent career prospects after graduating. Santa Clara marketing managers earned a 2010 mean annual wage of $152,560, according to the bls.gov, and general and operations managers earned mean annual wages of $152,850. You can make your own career epicenter in Silicon Valley by putting the skills you gain at MBA programs in Santa Clara, Calif., to work for you.

Additional Resources Found on MBAPrograms.org
MBA Schools for Marketing
MBA Schools for General Management

Additional Resources for Santa Clara, California
Major Employers in Santa Clara County
Bureau of Labor Statistics Data for Santa Clara
City Page for Santa Clara