The MBA is looked upon as a degree that has the potential to influence your career trajectory by opening doors to higher-level positions and enhance your long-term financial stability through substantial earning potential.
In fact, this was revealed in a GMAC research involving candidates across the globe who shared their perspectives on the leading motivations in pursuing graduate business education. The survey involved 3,600 candidates from 113 countries worldwide . These candidates attended 728 graduate business schools across 66 countries.
Among the top factors, 74% aimed to enhance their job prospects, while 72% sought to increase their earning potential. Additionally, 71% were interested in gaining general business knowledge, skills, and abilities, and 67% wanted to accelerate their career paths.
These candidates were surveyed before and after they completed their business studies. A majority of them (84%) reported that their graduate management study helped improve their professional situation while around 70% stated that it helped achieve personal and financial goals.
Despite economic fluctuations over the last few years, candidates have been seeing a consistent and substantial rise in salaries after completing an MBA. This was reflected in the latest Financial Times (FT) business school rankings 2024.
Out of 132 business schools worldwide that participated in the ranking process, 100 made it to the FT global MBA rankings.
FT surveys business school alumni three years after their MBA completion. The salary percentage increase is calculated by taking into account the pre-MBA and post-MBA salaries.
Each school is also assigned a career service rank, which reflects how effectively the school has supported MBA graduates in their career decision-making, networking, internship and recruitment process. This rank is based on how alumni rated their schools in these areas.
The table below lists the top business schools in the order of the highest salary percentage increase.
Top 50 business schools with highest salary increase
| Business School Name | School location | Salary %increase | Careers service rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indian School of Business (ISB) | India | 229% | 19 |
| 2 | Fudan University School of Management | China | 194% | 3 |
| 3 | Shanghai University of Finance and Economics: College of Business | China | 190% | 15 |
| 4 | Georgia Terry | US | 186% | 14 |
| 5 | XLRI — Xavier School of Management | India | 178% | 39 |
| 6 | National University of Singapore Business School (NUS) | Singapore | 170% | 66 |
| 7 | Rochester Simon | US | 170% | 31 |
| 8 | IIMB-EPGP | India | 169% | 47 |
| 9 | Michigan State University – Broad | US | 167% | 74 |
| 10 | CEIBS | China | 163% | 48 |
| 11 | Georgetown McDonough | US | 155% | 42 |
| 12 | Babson Olin | US | 154% | 96 |
| 13 | Esade Business School | Spain | 151% | 53 |
| 14 | Cornell Johnson | US | 150% | 7 |
| 15 | IIM Lucknow – IPMX | India | 149% | 25 |
| 16 | Rutgers | US | 147% | 79 |
| 17 | Nanyang Business School, NTU | Singapore | 144% | 68 |
| 18 | Peking Guanghua | China | 143% | 4 |
| 19 | Virginia Darden | US | 142% | 10 |
| 20 | Carnegie Mellon Tepper | US | 142% | 21 |
| 21 | University of Southern California – Marshall | US | 141% | 46 |
| 22 | IIMA – PGPX | India | 141% | 37 |
| 23 | Washington Olin | US | 141% | 77 |
| 24 | New York University Stern | US | 140% | 11 |
| 25 | IESE | Spain | 139% | 8 |
| 26 | Washington Foster | US | 139% | 28 |
| 27 | HKUST | Hong Kong | 138% | 81 |
| 28 | IIMC – MBA Ex | India | 137% | 35 |
| 29 | Notre Dame: Mendoza | US | 136% | 45 |
| 30 | SDA Bocconi | Italy | 135% | 17 |
| 31 | Yale | US | 135% | 55 |
| 32 | University of California at Irvine Merage | US | 135% | 58 |
| 33 | Dartmouth Tuck | US | 133% | 9 |
| 34 | Duke Fuqua | US | 133% | 16 |
| 35 | George Washington University | US | 132% | 73 |
| 36 | Northeastern D’Amore-McKim | US | 131% | 50 |
| 37 | MIT Sloan | US | 130% | 43 |
| 38 | HEC Paris | France | 130% | 72 |
| 39 | Georgia Tech Scheller | US | 130% | 1 |
| 40 | Brigham Young University Marriott | US | 130% | 40 |
| 41 | Emory Goizueta | US | 129% | 38 |
| 42 | HKU | Hong Kong | 128% | 54 |
| 43 | Columbia | US | 127% | 20 |
| 44 | North Carolina Kenan-Flagler | US | 127% | 34 |
| 45 | Chicago Booth | US | 126% | 13 |
| 46 | UT Dallas Jindal | US | 126% | 62 |
| 47 | Northwestern Kellogg | US | 125% | 12 |
| 48 | Wisconsin | US | 123% | 27 |
| 49 | Boston Questrom | US | 123% | 99 |
| 50 | CUHK | Hong Kong | 122% | 60 |
Around 72 schools among the top 100 reported a 100% or more increase in salaries (double salaries). ISB ranked at no. 1 position by achieving a remarkable 229% salary increase, with graduates earning more than three times their pre-MBA salaries.
A strong alumni connect and a wider net of recruiters are among the factors that worked for ISB. In response to the broader economic slowdown, ISB brought in newer recruiting companies.
Ramabhadran Thirumalai, deputy dean, Academic Programmes, ISB quoted “To compensate for any limitations, our career advancement team has actively brought in new companies to fill gaps left by regular recruiters. This strategy aims to address the reduction in hiring by some companies,”
Read more: Why are MBA salaries so high?
You might wonder why some of the topmost schools have not made it to this list. Students attending prestigious business schools like Harvard, Stanford or Wharton and many other elite programs typically have significantly higher pre-MBA salaries compared to others.
Consequently, although these graduates receive high starting salaries post-MBA, the percentage increases in salary may be relatively smaller, which is why these business schools do not figure among the top for salary increase.
Let’s look at how some of these elite schools fared in this area. Harvard Business School saw a 112% increase in post-MBA salaries while at Wharton, it was 121%, at Stanford, it was 117%, at Columbia, it was 127%, at INSEAD, it was 110%, at LBS, it was 108%.
Also read: Salary increase after MBA: Here’s how much you can get across industries
A 2021 GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey found that the median salary of MBA grads ($115,000) was 77% higher than those with a bachelor’s degree ($65,000) and 53% more compared to those hired directly from industry ($75,000).
GMAC estimated that over their lifetime, MBA graduates can be expected to earn $3 million more than someone with only a bachelor’s degree.
The salary post-MBA can be influenced by various factors including geography, industry, job role, pre-MBA work experience, business school reputation among others.
For example, MBA alumni working in Washington or New York typically receive higher pay packages compared to those in Houston.
The earnings could be significantly higher for graduates from the top business schools. Likewise, consulting and finance folks usually bag higher salaries compared to other industries.
MBA Crystal Ball has experienced admission consultants to help you get into these programs. Reach out if you’d like to partner with us for your MBA applications: info@mbacrystalball.com
You might be interested in:
– Beginner’s Guide: Full-time vs Part-Time vs Executive MBA
– Consulting salaries for freshers: Entry level salary in USA, UK, India, Germany, Australia
– Investment banking salary in USA, UK, Canada, India: How much do investment bankers make?
– Highest MBA salaries at the top US B-Schools.
– Top countries with highest MBA salaries.
– How much can you earn with an MBA?
References: 1, 2, 3, 4 | Image: Alexander Grey (Unsplash)
