On average, business school graduates earn up to $142,000, which is 12% higher than four years ago.
Everybody knows that an MBA at one of the top business schools costs a fortune. For instance, if you plan to study at Stanford School of Business, you’ll need to procure more than $145,000 for tuition. The main reason why people take up an MBA program is that they want larger salaries, FT reports. Of course, other things like communication skills, business ethics and development are important but nothing comes close to earning more than before.
How MBA Salaries Grew
After 2008, when the financial crisis happened, the salaries of MBA alumni suffered, as in the six ensuing years, their average salary in three years after graduation grew just by the meager 4% and went up to $127,000. However, the cost of a full-time MBA went up by 44% and equaled $104,000.
In 2017, the average MBA graduate salary was $142,000, 12% more than in 2014. This year’s early data implies that this increase is persisting. For most business schools (about 75%) the alumni’s salaries continued increasing.
Last year, average alumni salaries grew by $7,000, which is the largest increase in the last 12 or 13 years. The average salaries increased in other industries as well.
The industrial and healthcare sectors saw the largest increase – up to 10%, now comprising $143,000. However, this year their salaries were lowered.
The Growth Trend Continues
According to these trends, this year the average MBA graduate salary will comprise $150,000.
If compared to pre-MBA salaries, the salary of MBA graduates in three years after graduating is at least twice as much than it was before finishing business school. The highest salary increase record was set by a graduate of Chicago Booth’s MBA program, whose salary grew by 252%. The record was set during the dotcom bubble.
In 2015, the salary increase for MBA graduates wend down from the average 100% to 93%, due to average pre-MBA salaries increasing faster than those of MBA degree holders. For instance, Stanford alumni saw the lowest salary increase by around 80%.
Last year (2017), the overall average MBA graduate salary increase went back up at more than 100%. More than a half of all business schools taking part in the rankings reported salary increases comprising more than a double of what a graduate earned before schools. This year, more than 65% of business school alumni had a more than 100% salary increase.
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