The Executive MBA has risen as a popular and a visibly lucrative cousin of MBA. It has become a sure-shot, albeit expensive, tool towards career advancement. With a few years of managerial experience under your belt, an EMBA provides a perfect opportunity to grow functionally, without the expense of leaving your current job and position (Read Executive MBA vs MBA for Executives – The big Indian confusion). In fact, a lot of EMBA candidates are sponsored by their current companies, with the expectation of expertise and functional returns to the organizations upon their graduation.
In this article, we will take a sneak peek at the salary outcome of gaining an EMBA degree. How they average at the various top schools across the various continents, and what kind of student satisfaction levels, does this degree render.
1,100 business programs, across the globe, surveyed among nearly 15,000 alumni shared their experience in the GMAC Alumni Perspective Report of 2017.
According to the report, the value proposition of an EMBA degree was rated an “outstanding” merit by 38% alumni. 45%, and 13%, alumni rated it at “excellent” and “good”, respectively. The rest 4% gave it a less than enthusiastic “fair” or “poor” rating.
A comparison with a full-time MBA degree is shown below. The inset shares the alumni perspectives on how rewarding the degree was to them. Among the surveyed, most alumni considered an EMBA to be personally rewarding (96%) while an equally impressive credit was given to the extent of professional and financial rewards. Read Is an Executive MBA(EMBA) worth it?
According to the 2017 EMBA Council Student Exit Benchmarking Survey, among over 2,300 students from 77 EMBA Programs, graduates claimed a 14.1% increase in compensation, including pay and bonuses.
Since a large number of students, in EMBA programs, are sponsored by their corporations (~55% among the surveyed), a measure of success also comes from the career advancement upon graduation, within the organization. 41% reported a promotion while 52% reported increased responsibilities.
The image, below, shows a survey of Weekend EMBA alumni who graduated between 1985-2016, from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. It represents the typical career progression from a position of Analysts, or Managers, before entering the program (two-thirds or 65%) to an advanced position, today, as a Director, Vice President or C-Suite Executive (two thirds or 64%).
We have compiled a list of a few representative top EMBA programs. Most have been featured on the Economist and Financial Times’ Executive MBA Rankings, in recent years. We have noted the tuition fees, given the usual high cost of education, and compared the pre and post EMBA (obtained from the above sources) salaries against the price tag.
A rough estimate of the payback period (based on an approximate 10% cut from the annual salary) reflects the time it would take to achieve a full ROI on the degree.
Here are the numbers and the respective geographical breakdowns.
Business School | Tuition (Approx.) |
Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.) | Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.) |
Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yale SOM | $180,000 | $192,000 | $266,000 | 38.5% / 6.8 years |
UC Berkeley Haas | $190,000 | $163,200 | $236,000 | 44.6% / 8 years |
MIT Sloan | $169,000 | $207,000 | $308,300 | 49% / 5.5 years |
University of Chicago Booth | $189,000 | $170,000 | $233,000 | 37% / 8 years |
Northwestern Kellogg | $201,100 | $172,300 | $223,000 | 29.4% / 9 years |
Arizona State W. P. Carey School of Business | $86,200 | $133,430 | $170,000 | 27.4% / 5 years |
University of Michigan Ross School of Business | $168,000 | $193,430 | $211,420 | 9.3% / 8 years |
University of Maryland-Robert H. Smith School of Business | $125,000 | $137,000 | $152,300 | 11.2% / 8 years |
University of Pennsylvania – Wharton | $205,200 | $150,300 | $239,000 | 59% / 8.6 years |
UCLA Anderson | $163,000 | $137,200 | $197,600 | 44% / 8.2 years |
Duke University – Fuqua School of Business | $148,000 | $171,000 | $239,200 | 40% / 6.2 years |
NYU – Stern | $195,000 | $165,000 | $249,000 | 51% / 8 years |
Columbia Business School | $202,000 | $174,400 | $208,000 | 19.2% / 9.7 years |
Cornell University – Johnson | $182,700 | $149,500 | $200,500 | 34% / 9 years |
Business School | Tuition (Approx.) |
Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.) | Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.) |
Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration |
---|---|---|---|---|
Northwestern Kellogg/York Schulich | $95,700 | $114,000 | $140,000 | 22.5% / 6.8 years |
Western University Ivey | $84,200 | $114,000 | $162,000 | 42% / 5.2 years |
University of Toronto Rotman | $87,100 | $109,000 | $138,300 | 27% / 6.3 years |
Queen’s University Smith | $101,000 | $100,400 | $142,500 | 42% / 7 years |
Cornell University/Queen’s University | $137,800 | $120,800 | $182,400 | 51% / 7.6 years |
Business School | Country | Tuition (Approx.) |
Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.) | Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.) |
Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UCLA/NUS Business | US/Singapore | $118,000 | $166,000 | $215,000 | 29.5% / 5.5 years |
Kellogg/HKUST Business School | US/Hong Kong/China | $175,500 | $295,300 | $478,400 | 62% / 3.7 years |
EMBA Global Asia Columbia/HKU/LBS | US/China/UK | $182,160 | $180,000 | $319,000 | 78% / 5.7 years |
INSEAD | Singapore | $135,000 | $190,500 | $282,000 | 48% / 4.8 years |
ISB Executive MBA (PGPMAX and PGPpro) | India | PGPMAX $54,500 PGPpro $44,500 |
Not available | Not available | 17% / 8-9 years |
Melbourne Business School | Australia | $77,000 | $110,000 | $162,000 | 49% / 5 years |
Shanghai Jiao Tong University – Antai | China | $86,000 | $176,100 | $364,600 | 107% / 3 years |
CUHK Business School | China | $74,000 | $167,500 | $253,000 | 51% / 3 years |
National University of Singapore Business School | Singapore | $73,400 | $165,200 | $262,600 | 59% / 3 years |
Nanyang Business School | Singapore | $74,100 | $189,800 | $256,200 | 35% / 3 years |
CEIBS | China | $96,000 | $215,000 | $331,000 | 54% / 3 years |
Fudan School of Management/ Washington Olin | China/US | $97,000 | $228,000 | $360,250 | 58% / 3 years |
Also read Why study in Australia
Business School | Country | Tuition (Approx.) |
Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.) | Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.) |
Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
IMD | Switzerland | $105,700 | $120,000 | $272,500 | 127% / 4 years |
Kellogg/WHU Beisheim | US/Germany | $99,000 | $111,000 | $158,800 | 43% / 6.2 years |
University of Oxford Said Business School | UK | $93,400 | $134,000 | $201,500 | 50% / 4.6 years |
University of Navarra IESE | Spain | $82,700 | $172,500 | $241,200 | 40% / 3.4 years |
ESMT Berlin | Germany | $58,000 | $101,600 | $137,550 | 35% / 4.2 years |
ESSEC/Mannheim | France/ Germany |
$60,340 | $84,500 | $115,000 | 36% / 5.2 years |
IE University – IE Business School | Spain | $65,200 | $142,800 | $172,300 | 25% / 3.8 years |
EDHEC Business School | France | $47,600 | $88,000 | $122,400 | 39% / 4 years |
Imperial College Business School | UK | $66,200 | $91,400 | $144,400 | 58% / 4.6 years |
University of Warwick | UK | $50,500 | $83,100 | $159,500 | 92% / 3 years |
HEC Paris/LSE/NYU Stern | France/UK/US | $178,000 | $216,000 | $328,300 | 52% / 5.4 years |
University of Cambridge Judge | UK | $85,000 | $122,000 | $217,100 | 78% / 4 years |
London Business School | UK | $109,000 | $143,500 | $222,500 | 55% / 5 years |
University of St. Gallen | Switzerland | $76,500 | $124,000 | $182,200 | 47% / 4.2 years |
Rotterdam School of Management | Netherlands | $60,000 | $83,600 | $134,540 | 61% / 4.5 years |
Antwerp Management School | Belgium/Russia | $44,100 | $118,800 | $160,300 | 35% / 3 years |
Business School | Country | Tuition (Approx.) |
Salary Pre-EMBA (Approx.) | Salary Post-EMBA (at Graduation) (Approx.) |
Pay Increase/ Estimated Payback duration |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gordon Institute of Business Science at UP | South Africa | Not available | $140,000 | $207,000 | 48% |
Lagos Business School – Pan Atlantic University | Nigeria | $3,000 | $40,000 | $70,700 | 65% / Less than a year |
The lists, above, are not a reflection of rankings. Rather they represent some of the well-known Executive MBA programs in the region specified.
The salaries, obtained from the Economist and Financial Times, are also representative averages taken over a period of three years. The range of occupations, industries, and pursuits, are clearly not visible in here since EMBA programs usually cater to experienced professionals who are already employed.
For more information, we would like to redirect you to the following articles for a deeper clarity on the subject.
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8 Comments
Hi Sameer,
This is Ramesh. I’m 40+ years and have over 17 of IT experience. I work as a Senior Project Manager with IBM. I’m interested in joining a fulltime 12 months EMBA in any of the good business schools, who provide placements to after the program. I want to move to a leadership role and looking MBA as a ladder. Am I thinking the right way…?
I’m in a confused state whether to do an MBA at this age ? Can you suggest me a good business school ( India or Abroad ) where people like me (40+) join the program and also get placed. I would really look at the placement…
thanks & Regards,
Ramesh.
Hello Sameer!
Your article was quite resourceful. My undergrad score is 70.5% , Shi Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management ( top college in city), affilated by Punjab University.
The topper of Punjab University has scored 80%. SACCM being the top tier college of Punjab University. My rank in college is 20 out of class of 85.Will this reasoning suffice?
Moreover, I changed my stream after 12th from science to BBA. So that’s why I wasn’t able to score much in my first two semesters. But got distinction in 4th and 6th semester.
Will top tier B-school accept my reasoning?
Hi I am graduate in design (Fashion & Textiles Design) from India and have almost 8 years of working experience and want to pursue a EMBA program from Canada ( Rotman School of Management or any Best university recommended)
I want to know about the admission procedure and detail about it.
Hello, I am currently in my first year of my B.tech from IIT Bombay. What should do to prepare myself for admission in HBS in next 4 years
Hi Sir,
Although it has been clear that it is almost impossible to get into a top school like Harvard without professional work experience, but will the scenario change if we happen to have a start-up before graduating? Considering its in the tech field.
@Ramesh: Here’s are a couple of stories of MBA students who were over 35 and 40:
https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2018/08/16/life-jobs-after-mba-canada-international-student/
https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2017/05/08/mba-after-40-from-isb/
But be aware that the risks will go up at that age.
@Harshdeep: You can explain the low grades in the optional essay, if you want. A better idea would be to focus on building your profile and work experience, so focus shifts from acads to your accomplishments.
@Sachchidanand: Rotman’s website has all the details. Do check it out.
@Aditya: Read this on getting into Harvard: https://www.mbacrystalball.com/blog/2016/01/18/how-to-get-into-harvard-business-school/
@Ishika: More than just having a startup, the adcoms will look at what you’ve been able to do with it.
Hi Sameer,
I graduated my B.tech in 2015 and currently working in BPO sector for the past 2 years.
So, I want to know whether MBA is a better option to do in Europe in order to grow my career or are there any alternate options ???
If MBA is an option, will we get a job in Europe ??
My self Rajat. I have scored 62% in 12th & 74% in 10th. After that I have completed my B.tech from one of the private college of UPTU in Electrical Engineering with 70% of Marks.After Engg. I started working with Aditya Birla Group for 4 years & from last one years with Reliance Industries.I have been Promoted once in Aditya birla.
Is it right decision to try for EMBA with this average profile .I have total work Experience of almost 5 yrs in Core Electrical Domain.
Regards,