Career Services and Job Outcomes
From the moment you join the Master of Technology Management program, you develop life-long connections and gain access to powerful networks within the professional community. MTM graduates return to the professional world transformed by their experiences, backed up by the support of the faculty, staff, and Central Coast and greater California business community. Technology-driven companies seek individuals with a business acumen, management skills, and leadership capacity to recognize and manage innovation. Our dedicated career development team helps you bridge what you learn in the classroom to a career that aligns with your aspirations.
- Overview
- Timeline
- Outcomes
- International Students
- UCSB Campus Resources
- Meet the Team
- Alumni Careers
Throughout the program, you will work with MTM’s dedicated Career Services Team to help you assess your aptitudes and interests, envision potential career pathways, and connect with companies and individuals who hold the keys to those opportunities. You will not only develop connections within the University of California, Santa Barbara, but will also build a national network of alumni, mentors, and potential employers within your specific field of interest. MTM career services provides students with skills that will lead to successful job outcomes.
As a Technology Management master’s student, during the Fall, you’ll craft a compelling LinkedIn profile and resume, explore different career pathways, and develop a list of your initial target companies. The focus during the Winter quarter is on preparing for interviews and networking. Spring is when most students actively pursue job opportunities.
Throughout the academic year, Career Services provides students several opportunities to engage through various organized MTM and UCSB events, and in-class executive speakers. These opportunities are successful in helping students expand their business network, obtain job interviews, and land job offers.
After completing the Master of Technology Management program, many graduates go on to work within the thriving Santa Barbara technology sector, and others secure jobs throughout California and beyond at companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta. Over 80% of graduates have offers within 6 months of graduation. Many MTM graduates enter project and product management roles after graduation; others accept job offers in marketing, business development, customer success, analytics, and consulting. Job opportunities, outcomes, and salaries are commensurate with academic background and professional experience gained prior to MTM.
Based on a survey of MTM alumni who graduated from the program between 2016 and 2023, graduates who came into the program with prior work experience saw an average 30% increase in the base salary they were making immediately prior to MTM and the base salary they began making directly after completing MTM. Our graduates continue to see salary gains in the years following their completion of MTM. On average, 3-5 years after graduation our alumni see salary increases of 70%. 6-8 years later, alumni report an average 98% increase in their base salary from their salary immediately after graduating from MTM.
MTM alumni have competitive salaries as well. For alumni who graduated between 2016 and 2023 and who entered MTM without any prior job experience, the average bottom quartile starting salary post-MTM was $49,920 (base salary, not adjusted for inflation). The average top quartile starting salary without prior work experience was $87,000 (base salary, not adjusted for inflation). Those entering MTM farther along in their career journeys with at least one year of work experience had an average starting base salary of $66,000 in the bottom quartile and average starting base salary of $175,600 in the top quartile (not adjusted for inflation). From 2016-23, the average cost of MTM (tuition and fees minus the average fellowship support) was $36,614 for residents and $48,859 for non-residents.
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is employment or training which provides an opportunity for you to obtain work experience in the U.S. that is directly related to your field of study.
The UCSB master’s in technology management is a STEM-designated degree and is eligible for the OPT extension. International students who complete MTM are eligible for a three-year OPT extension. Most international students obtain jobs within the United States.
Learn more about OPT by visiting the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) website.
In addition to personalized career development provided by MTM, students also have access to UCSB career resources available to all graduate students. Learn more about University of California, Santa Barbara Job Outcomes and Career Services here.
Learn more about career resources provided by the Graduate Division here.
Joni Hoadley
Joni Hoadley spent 20 years in tech working as a product management leader. She also has experience interviewing and hiring hundreds of candidates for tech roles.
Matt Bartos
Matt Bartos has more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing, including in product management, product launches, new business development, and medical sales, much of it in the medical device field.
What makes the MTM career services team unique?
Many master’s in IT management or MBA technology management programs have a career services team. What sets the UCSB Master of Technology Management career services team apart is the focus on individual tech management skills and job outcomes from day one. Throughout the program, the career services team is with you identifying your unique areas of interest, creating opportunities for connection to the local tech ecosystem, and enabling you to leverage your new network of MTM alumni.
Alumni Job Titles
- Senior Business Systems Analyst
- Brand and Marketing Program Manager
- Product Manager
- Technical Product Manager
- Program Manager
- Project Management Analyst
- Data Analyst
- Software Developer
- Product Specialist
- Business Development Manager
- Associate Product Manager
- Senior Systems Engineer
- Operations Manager
- Implementation Manager
- Technical Marketing Manager
- Engineering Manager
- Supply Chain Specialist
- Entrepreneur
Alumni Industry Connections
- Biotech
- Pharmaceutical
- Property Management
- AdTech
- Business Software
- Energy
- Consulting
- High Technology
- Education
- Athletics
- Defense
- Construction
- Government
- Transportation
- Investment
- Human Services
- Healthcare
- Automotive
- Consumer Electronics
- Entertainment
- Fashion
- FinTech
- eCommerce
Careers in Our Tech Ecosystem
California is the global leader in technological innovation, and the majority of our graduates remain in California and become tech management leaders throughout the state. Santa Barbara has an especially vibrant and innovative tech community with diverse companies tackling some of the biggest modern challenges. MTM students have the opportunity to experience this ecosystem first-hand during their field projects with local companies.
One of those companies is Apeel Sciences, a UCSB Technology Management Program-based startup now valued at $2 billion that develops plant-based, edible preservatives. UCSB alumni include MTM graduates Michael Curtis as Director of Engineering Project Management and Dr. Jessica Vieira, who was the Vice President of Sustainability.
What our alumni say:
The MTM program has allowed me to see the strategic aspects of my responsibilities, allowing me to learn and grow quickly within my business. Additionally, the leadership and growth mindset I learned through MTM has helped me take significant steps in my career that otherwise I don't believe I would have had.
The MTM program gave me the confidence and knowledge to advocate for myself in an ever changing (volatile) tech industry.
MTM helped me double my salary and accelerate my career into some special areas. I have been working in the AI space now since 2018 and have been on the front lines integrating this technology. Classes from MTM helped me prepare for some of the intricacies in business, working with a variety of stakeholders, and preparing for any situations with a strategic approach. This Master’s is great for any leaders looking to switch to the fast lane in their career.
MTM helped me feel more confident in my abilities and pushed me to go for any position I wanted even if I didn't have the typical qualifications. I went for a position that should have required at least 1-2 years of a lower level role prior to it, but I nonetheless pursued it and successfully got the job.
I’ve gone from analyst to Director with a regional office and large contracts within four years in part due to the breadth and scope of business concepts I was exposed to in MTM.
MTM is a game changer for anyone who wants to lead in a technical industry. MTM builds a level of understanding of how to build high-performing teams and companies that many industry execs do not have!
Career Services
We're here to support you.
At UC Santa Barbara's Master of Technology Management Program, we have a dedicated Career Development team that works full-time to help you build a national network with mentors and potential employers within your specific field of interest. We’ll also help you assess your aptitudes and interests, envision potential career pathways, and connect you to the companies and individuals who hold the keys to those opportunities.
Connect with our career development team at Click here to show mail address.
Technology Management is a multidisciplinary field that examines the opportunities and challenges of technological innovation, industry disruption, and technology-driven organizational change, and their influence on business performance and competitive advantage. It focuses on understanding how technology affects individuals, organizations, and society and the challenges and opportunities this creates for businesses. It also focuses on best practices for dealing with and capitalizing on technological change.
MTM is the degree name of the Master of Technology Management. Unlike a Master of Science in management of technology (MS), a technology management MBA, or a master’s in IT management, the MTM degree is tightly focused on the intersection of technology, innovation, and management, empowering professionals to drive strategic growth. Unlike other MTM programs, the UCSB master’s in technology management welcomes students from a variety of both STEM and non-STEM backgrounds and includes students with and without engineering training and experience.
Technology is fundamentally changing the way that teams and businesses operate and innovate. The tech sector—and the number of firms that are becoming technology driven despite not being in what we usually call the tech sector—will continue to grow and offer exciting and rewarding career opportunities. The Master of Technology Management (MTM) program gives early- to mid-career professionals the essential business and technology knowledge to accelerate their careers and take on leadership roles in innovation-driven firms.
The MTM program is a STEM-designated degree offered by the Department of Technology Management, which is housed within the world-renowned College of Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. MTM does not require a STEM background and provides those with backgrounds in the humanities and social sciences the skills and confidence to pursue careers in tech-driven firms.
Meet Jessica and Natalie, who used their MTM degree to pivot into successful careers in leading tech companies. Watch this on-demand webinar for Humanities and Social Sciences majors about how three MTM alumni with these backgrounds used MTM to advance their careers in tech management.
The MTM program is eligible for a 12-month optional practical training (OPT) after graduation based on your student visa. Additionally, the MTM program is eligible for a 24-month STEM OPT extension after that. You can learn more about the OPT extension here.
We are looking for applicants with a keen interest in the application of technology in a business environment. You should be interested in things such as how to apply data analytics in decision making, how to work with intelligent machines to solve challenging problems, how to organize and manage technology teams in the challenging environment of a technology-driven firm, and how to apply an entrepreneurial mindset to identify and capitalize on the business opportunities new technologies create.
We are not looking for a specific educational background, as we know that studying tech management is compatible with many different backgrounds. You might have a background in the humanities or social sciences and want to gain the skills and confidence to launch a career in tech. Or you might have an engineering or science background and want to move from technical to leadership roles. What is important is that you want to drive change and propel innovation in technology-driven firms.
If you’re ready to make a high-impact investment in your career, drive innovation, and study in a beautiful, dynamic environment, the Master of Technology Management at UC Santa Barbara is for you.
The MTM program at the University of California, Santa Barbara job outcomes are strong, and our alumni secure competitive roles upon graduation and continue to advance in leadership roles throughout their careers. 81% of our students have jobs within 6 months after graduation. The most common roles for MTM graduates are in product and project management. Other MTM graduates accept job offers in marketing, business development, customer success, operations, product development and engineering, analytics, and consulting.
Many people consider going to graduate school for a master’s degree in technology management, a master of science in management technology, or an MBA. While there are some similarities in curriculum and focus across technology management MBA programs, a master in technology management degree from UCSB is a rigorous, 9-month program focused on launching early- and mid-career professionals into careers in tech, IT management, product management, entrepreneurship, and beyond.
Additionally, the MTM differs from MBA technology management online programs because of its cohort-based educational experience. Our students and alumni (like Shelby and Ken) have shared that the cohort experience is one of the most impactful and memorable aspects of the MTM program, and the connections you’ll forge during your MTM year are ones that will continue to serve you both personally and professionally for years to come.
The master’s in Technology Management at UC Santa Barbara is an ideal program for those interested in the intersection of technology, innovation, and management. If you are an engineering or IT professional looking to enhance your technology management skill set, or if you do not have a STEM background and want to launch a career in tech, consider applying to the MTM program. If you have questions about applying for a master’s, Technology Management, or the MTM application, please get in touch with our admissions team: Click here to show mail address.
The Technology Management masters program is a fully in-person, 9-month program at the beautiful University of California, Santa Barbara campus. Students live and learn on campus in a cohort-based environment, which students and alumni have shared is one of the most impactful and memorable aspects of the MTM program.
Because the Masters of Technology Management program is conducted in a cohort-based group, there is no online degree offered.
A Q&A with Nisa Gurbuz, PhD Student
A Q&A with Chuck Sheldon, Donor
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