Elite business-school graduates are increasingly heading to work in technology over finance as the lingering aftereffects of the financialcrisis -- along with Wall Street's long hours and scaled-back pay -- sends newly minted M.B.A.s elsewhere.

At Harvard Business School, 18% of job-seeking students landed tech-sector spots this year, up from 12% in 2012. A similar shift is under way at the business schools at Yale University and Cornell University, where the share of graduates going into tech more than doubled over the past two years.

Meanwhile, just 27% of Harvard Business School graduates took jobs in finance this year, down from 35% last year. That figure dropped to 16% from 27% at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

And at Stanford Graduate School of Business, historically a haven for digitally minded graduates, tech companies overtookfinancial services for the first time this year, with 32% of the class accepting tech jobs and just 26% heading into finance. Two years ago, those figures were 13% and 36%, respectively.

Seduced by the culture and mission at places such as Google Inc. and LinkedIn Corp., business-school graduates are even accepting somewhat lower pay for what they perceive as more meaningful work -- once unthinkable among a group known for chasing profits. Median base salaries for tech jobs among Stanford graduates last year totaled roughly $120,000, with an additional $38,000 in signing bonuses and other guaranteed compensation. Finance jobs, meanwhile, commanded starting salaries of $150,000, with another $135,000 in guaranteed compensation and signing bonuses. Many graduates who take jobs at upstart tech firms also receive compensation in the form of equity stakes or stock options.

Students are asking, 'Where's the place that I can drive innovation? Where's the place that I can have the most impact?' says Derrick Bolton, assistant dean and director of M.B.A. admissions, and interim director of the careermanagement center at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Jack Oakes, assistant dean for career development at University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, where a record 13% of the 2013 class accepted jobs in the tech industry, says that students have seen their own lives changed by tech innovations, and are increasingly eager to work in a fast-paced sector.

More than 220 students attended an Amazon.com Inc. briefing this fall at Darden, the highest attendance figure for any single company briefing in the school's history, according to Mr. Oakes. Companies such as Amazon and Microsoft Corp. have been recruiting on Darden's campus for years, but they are now hiring in larger numbers, he says.

Tech companies, which once may have dismissed business-school graduates as smooth talkers with PowerPoint skills, are warming to M.B.A.s who may be able to help lead their fast-growing operations as they mature. At the same time, Wall Street has offered fewer opportunities for ambitious young graduates.

Overall, Amazon hired nearly 40% more M.B.A.s from the class of 2013 than it did the prior year, says Janelle Donaldson, who heads M.B.A. recruiting for the online retailer. The company started hiring M.B.A.s more than a decade ago and now hires 'hundreds' of business school graduates every year as seniorfinancial analysts and product managers, among other positions, Ms. Donaldson says.