Top 5 Job Rotation Programs for University Business Students

If you’re a student in college on track to graduate with a business administration degree and you’re still not sure what you want to do with your professional career, you’ve made it to the right article!

Here, we’ll first cover the basics behind general graduate rotation programs, then we’ll explore some of the most reputable rotation programs currently available for new college graduates.

Corporate Rotation Programs Covered in this Article:

• Amazon Finance Rotation Program
• Apple Finance Development Program
• Visa Rotation Programs
• Boeing Career Foundation Programs
• Capital One Business Rotation Programs
• Other Honorable Mentions

Video Breakdown: The Top 5 Graduate Rotation Programs

What is a Graduate Rotation Program

Most graduate programs are designed to be 2-year programs consisting of four 6-month rotations across different corporate business teams.

These programs are great for fresh college graduates who can use this opportunity to get a taste of what it's like to work in different business careers.

Example Business Team Rotations:

• Financial Planning & Analysis
• Business Operations
• Business Strategy
• Business Analytics
• Human Resources
• Investor Relations
• Supply Chain
• Sales & Marketing
• Accounting
• Audit
• Real Estate

Most companies will recruit students for these programs at schools near their company headquarters or large offices.

At the end of these programs, graduates usually apply for permanent placement in a specific business team. Most will apply for roles where they had the best temporary rotational experience.

#1 Amazon Rotation Programs:

Let’s start with Amazon’s famous Finance Rotation Program.

Program Structure:

This program allows candidates to apply to 4 separate sub-tracks: Accounting, Business Unit Finance, Operations Finance, and Treasury. Amazon has designed these rotation programs to last two years with two 6-month rotations and one full-year rotation.

Amazon Rotation Tracks:

Accounting:

The accounting track provides analysts exposure to important accounting projects and deliverables like financial reporting, month-end accounting procedures, and accounting analytics.

Business Unit Finance:

The Business Unit Finance track allows analysts to work on traditional corporate finance tasks like financial forecasting and reporting. Rotational members in this track typically gain work exposure in Amazon’s main 4 business units: AWS, Consumer, Devices, or Operations.

• AWS (Amazon Web Services): Amazon’s cloud computing and business intelligence services. Some examples include compute storage, database services, machine learning, etc.
• Consumer: Sometimes referred to as “Amazon Classic”, this team supports Amazon’s traditional eCommerce and online retail businesses. 
• Devices: The devices team supports Amazon’s technology products. Some familiar examples include the Kindle, Alexa, Fire TV, Echo, Ring, and other household products.
• Operations: Great ideas can’t find success without great manufacturing and delivery processes. The operations unit helps with supplier selection, logistics, manufacturing, and other important operational essentials needed to deliver consumer products.

Operations Finance:

The operations finance track allows analysts to work closer to the hands-on operational side of the business. Analysts in this track spend their 1st year at a single-site local fulfillment center. Following this experience, analysts are then allowed to move into a more central supply chain role.

Treasury:

The Treasury track basically covers the Wall Street roles of Amazon. Analysts in this track work on complex finance projects like managing company cash and funding or trading foreign exchange and fixed-income products.

Compensation Estimate:

Candidates in Amazon’s finance rotation program are paid about $90,000 per year.

Recruitment Insight:

Amazon’s finance rotation program is pretty competitive and many participants are actually pulled from the pool of students who have completed a summer internship with the company. However, the company does fill some spots with outside applicants completely new to the company.

If you’d like more guidance on how to prepare for your interviews, check out this article: Amazon Financial Analyst Interview Guide.

#2 Apple Rotation Programs:

Now let’s cover Apple’s Finance Development Program.

Program Structure:

Apple’s finance rotation program lasts about 2 years and consists of 6-8 short 3-month rotations. So if you’re looking for more diverse experiences packed into 2 years, this could be an interesting program for you!

Rotation Experience:

Apple finance development program participants typically work on projects where they analyze financial performance to find insightful trends and potential risks or work on automating financial reporting with tools like Tableau and Excel.

Example Project Functions:

• Forecasting & Analysis
• Internal Audit
• Tax Analysis
• Financial Planning
• Treasury
• Accounting
• Mergers & Acquisitions

Compensation Estimate:

Compensation estimates suggest US participants are paid approximately $100,000.

Note: Graduates in London or other international finance development programs maybe be compensated with different pay scales.

Recruitment Insight:

Similar to Amazon’s rotation program, most candidates will be pulled from their dedicated finance development program internships, but they do take some outside candidates as well.

#3 Visa Rotation Programs:

Alright now let’s cover Visa’s business rotation programs.

Program Structure:

Visa has developed several different rotation programs for business students and young professionals.

• Visa Leadership Accelerator (VLA): 2-year accelerated rotation program for new college graduates focused on product development, strategic thinking, data analysis, and client consulting.
• People Team Development Program (PTDP): Three 8-month rotations (HR Operations, HR Transformation & Strategy, Non-HR Business Role)
• Associate Product Manager (APM): Four 6-month rotations focused on product management.
• Visa Champions Program (VCP): 2-year program helping former professional athletes break into a corporate career. Partnered with NFL, Olympics, Paralympics, etc.
• Client Services Development Program (CSDP): 2-year rotational program for new college graduates in client services.

Visa Leadership Accelerator Rotation Program

The Visa Leadership Accelerator is the most notable program, applicable to ambitious college business students. The program features four 6-month rotations with a wide variety of different business units.

Example Business Rotations:

• Finance
• Marketing
• Strategy
• Sustainability
• Crypto & Blockchain

Note: The Visa Leadership Accelerator program also typically allows graduates to participate in one international rotation. So if you didn’t get the chance to study abroad in university, this program could provide an interesting travel opportunity!

Compensation Estimate:

Participants in the US Visa Leadership Accelerator program are paid approximately $80,000 - $90,000 per year.

Recruitment Insight:

Unlike  Apple and Amazon, it doesn’t seem like the Visa rotation programs carry as much of an emphasis on prioritizing participants who have done a summer internship with the company.

#4 Boeing Rotation Program:

Alright now let’s cover Boeing’s new graduate rotation programs or what the company calls “Career Foundation Programs”.

Program Structure:

Boeing has several different rotation programs structured with four 6-month work rotations.

Finance Career Foundation Program:

• Example rotational opportunities include FP&A, corporate audit, pricing & estimation, contracts, etc.
• Participating locations cover Arizona, Alabama, California, Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Washington.

Human Resources Career Foundation Program:

• Example rotational opportunities include learning & development, talent acquisition, talent management, HR operations, etc.
• Participating locations cover Washington, South Carolina, and Missouri.

Information Technology Career Foundation Program:

• Example rotational opportunities include AI & machine learning, data science & analytics, cybersecurity, digital manufacturing, etc.
• Participating locations cover Missouri, South Carolina, and Washington.

Supply Chain Career Foundation Program:

• Example rotational opportunities include materials management, supply & demand planning, warehousing & logistics, supplier strategy, etc.
• Participating in most US-based sites and a few international locations.

Note: The Supply Chain Career Foundation Program is only being offered to current Boeing employees. 

Compensation Estimate:

Compensation for participants may vary by program and location, but the estimated base pay for the career foundation programs sits around $65,000 - $90,000 per year.

Recruitment Insight:

Overall, interns at Boeing are encouraged to apply to the graduate rotation program, but not all do, so there are usually opportunities for outsiders to secure available spots.

#5 Capital One Rotation Programs:

And last, but not least, we have Capital One’s Business Rotation Programs.

Program Structure:

Capital One has a large variety of different rotation programs for business students and young professionals.

Most of the programs seem to run on a similar 2-year structure with only 2 rotations, which means each of your rotations will be a full year long. Within each rotation program, candidates can impact different business segments which include cards, commercial banking, retail banking, and other products.

Available Rotation Programs:

• Analyst Development Program
• Capital One Developer Academy
• Commercial Rotation Program
• Cyber Security Development Program
• Design Development Program
• Finance Rotation Program
• Human Resources Rotation Program
• Management Rotation Program
• Product Development Program
• Technology Development Program
• Machine Learning Development Program

Those interested in a general analyst skill set should consider the analyst development program where participants work on things like marketing strategy, analytics, and product development.

The Capital One Developer Academy provides an interesting opportunity for non-computer science students from diverse backgrounds to participate in a 6-month intensive coding training program. Those who successfully complete the program are welcome to join the company’s full 2-year technology development program.

Compensation Estimate:

Capital One rotation program participants are paid very-well at approximately $80,000 - $100,000 per year.

Recruitment Insight:

Overall, the company has a very diverse set of business-oriented rotation programs and is seemingly pretty well-regarded by those who have completed a Capital One rotation program.

Honorable Mentions

There are several other large and small companies that offer graduate rotation programs for those who have just obtained their undergraduate degree.

If you’re looking to explore more options, consider checking out these alternative corporate new graduate rotation programs.

Other Corporations with Rotation Programs:

• Disney
• Dell
• Intel
• HSBC
• Johnson & Johnson
• Ford
• General Electric
• Lockheed Martin
• Marriott
• Target

Additional Resources

If you're preparing to compete for competitive college internships and full-time jobs, consider checking out our Excel for Business & Finance Course and our Power BI for Business Analytics Course to join our students who have landed roles at Goldman Sachs, Tesla, Amazon, and other top-tier companies!

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