“Should I stay or should I go?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double.” – The Clash
That paradox weighs on most professionals considering an MBA. And it isn’t an easy call.
If you enroll full-time, you sacrifice two years of salary (and amass a six figure loan). Plus, you pull yourself off your career track, with only the hope to making it up on the backside.
It’s a big risk, no doubt. But it’s not as dicey as staying put. Just ask any middle manager without an MBA. Eventually, your trajectory plateaus. You’re pigeonholed into a role, marginalized even. You may be acclaimed for your loyalty … but your ultimate reward will be training your boss.
So think about this number: 75%. That’s the salary increase you can expect with an MBA if you enroll with 3-6 years of experience. To put it another way, you can more than double your existing salary within three years of graduation. And paying back those sizeable loans? For a top 15 school, it takes four years or less on average. Talk about a great return!
This month, the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School released an infographic outlining the ROI of an MBA degree. Using data from sources like GMAC, Poets&Quants, Forbes, and Top MBA, Kenan-Flagler broke down salaries, income growth, tuitions, and debt paybacks for MBA programs as a whole—and the top 15 programs in general.
So if you’re still on the fence about staying or going, check out this infographic below.
By BEATtheGMAT
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