The Big Payback: The Highest Paying Jobs for MBAs
Even in 2019, the search for the right MBA program is as unique as each student, and the reasons for applying are as varied as the programs themselves. Advancement in an existing career is an obvious motivation, as is breaking into a new industry or shifting one’s career focus.
One thing that all MBAs can likely agree with, however, is that earning potential is a leading incentive. This brings up questions about the most lucrative fields. Choosing the right concentration can be the first step toward achieving a position that will truly pay off. The following is a look at the current highest paying jobs for MBAs, as well as the majors that can open the necessary doors.
The Highest Paying Jobs for MBAs
Topping the list of the highest paid professions for MBAs in 2018 is strategic management. This specialization leads the way in terms of early to mid career salary, with salary averages beginning at around $125,000. Professionals with this degree and concentration earned $148,000 at the mid-point of their careers. Among the career functions for MBAs with a strategy focus are management consultant, senior strategy manager, senior product manager. Google, Amazon, PwC, and Intel are among the companies hiring for strategic management based positions.
Second on the list of highest paying MBA careers is technology management, which for many grows out of a background in IT or software development. According to Monster.com, tech management careers can start at around $113,000 per year, and advancement leads to a jump to upwards of $165,000. Roles such as senior project manager, vice president of IT, and IT director all emerge from a tech background. Companies such as Accenture, Deloitte, Cisco Systems, and HP all offer leading starting salaries in the IT management field.
Entrepreneurship also falls into the top three earning fields for MBAs. Starting salaries, according to data gathered from PayScale, hover around $100,000 per year, and reach up to around $135,000. Such roles as senior project manager and management consultant are options in the entrepreneurial field, as are various leadership roles in the growing fintech industry. Top hiring companies for entrepreneurship MBAs, according to PayScale, are Amazon, IBM, General Electric, and the Boeing Company.
A career in finance is the fourth of the highest paying categories for MBAs, with a starting salary hovering in the $100,000 range. Those with their sights upon chief financial officer, portfolio management, or financial management positions can hope to land jobs in this arena with high earning power. New York Life Insurance, Fidelity Investments, and Vanguard are currently seeking MBAs for various finance positions.
Along with strategy, tech management, entrepreneurship, and finance, marketing ranks among the most lucrative fields for MBAs. While some marketing jobs do not require an MBA, one can see a wider, more profitable range of options with a specialized study in marketing. Upper level marketing positions can start at around $80,000 per year, and can grow well above $120,000. Current listings for MBAs with a marketing focus include Dell, Microsoft, and, of course, Amazon.
Stanford GSB Employment Report Reveals Record Salaries & Employers
For the fourth year in a row, Stanford GSB MBA graduates earned record high salaries with the mean base salary reaching $145,559. According to the 2018 Employment Report, this broke last year’s record compensation. On top of that, this year Stanford GSB grads also received jobs from a record 421 organizations for both summer internships and full-time positions. This demonstrated the broad appeal and diversity of Stanford MBAs.
Tech and Private Equity Interest Jump
Other highlights from this year’s employment report included an increase in interest in the technology industry. In fact, in 2018 it was the most popular industry, garnering 33 percent of alumni—an 8 percent jump from last year. Other top industries included finance, which garnered 31 percent of graduates with private equity being the most sought after area with 13 percent of graduates.
Since three years ago, the percentage of women going into private equity and venture capital has doubled. As for tech, this year a record 40 percent of women chose to work in the tech industry. This shift has many explanations, not the least of which is the coursework taught at Stanford. For Ashley Brasier (MBA ’18), all it took was the class “Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital from the Perspective of Women” to change her course from consumer tech to VC.
“This class showed me that there are several different paths into VC, and empowered me to pursue VC opportunities,” Brasier says.
This year, the number of non-U.S. work-authorized students who accepted jobs in the U.S. stayed flat at 74 percent. More likely than not, this is a result of global trends that are causing extra challenges for students seeking to move locations. This was also reflected in the $12,000 median salary gap between U.S. work-authorized and non-U.S. work-authorized graduates. However, “when controlled for industry and job location, for example in emerging markets, the salary gap diminishes and in some cases disappears,” says Yossi Feinberg, the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Higher Salaries and Steady Job Offers
This year, MBA graduates received the highest salaries ever. The median and average base compensation ranged from $142,000 to $145,559 respectively—$2,000 and $1,000 over last year’s record. Signing bonuses also increased this year by $1,600 to a record $31,146, with an unchanged median at $25,000.
Salaries also increased when it came to cash performance bonuses. This year, 72 percent of the class said they expected a bonus over last year’s 66 percent with average expected bonuses of $64,527. As for stock compensation, 39 percent of the class—nearly two out of every five students—reported stock compensation of some kind.
“This year, 72 percent of the class said they expected a bonus over last year’s 66 percent with average expected bonuses of $64,527.”
And when it came to job offers, numbers remained unchanged. For the Class of 2018, 88 percent of the class accepted offers 90 days after graduates with 95 percent receiving offers. As for where students received these offers, a record 421 organizations hired Stanford graduates this year.
“Our leading employers span a wide variety of industries—consulting, finance, technology, consumer products, healthcare, and nonprofits—but what they have in common are work environments that offer the ability to make an impact, optimize on career development, and provide diverse challenges and responsibilities,” says Carly Janson, the Action Assistant Dean and Director of the Career Management Center.
“In turn, our graduates chose opportunities they felt passionate about, and opportunities to make the world a better place.”
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from its original source, Clear Admit.
Harvard Business School Grad Salaries Jump Again
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the latest top business school to publish its employment stats for its most recent graduates. What are the top takeaways? Try starting salaries exceeding $160,000.
This year’s median base pay, $140,000, is up $5,000 over last year. In addition, 65 percent of the class earned median sign-on bonuses of another $25,000. There were also other upticks, with 14 percent of students reporting median guaranteed first-year comp of $28,500, up from 13 percent and $25,000 the year before.
Within three months of graduating, 95 percent of the class reported receiving at least one job offer, and 89 percent had accepted an offer. These stats were both unchanged year over year. When there’s a gap between the percentage of students reporting offers those accepting offers—as with these latest HBS grads—it’s often considered to be the reflection of a strong job market. Under these circumstances, graduates from the very top schools can bide their time and hold out for the offer that really wows them.
Financial Services, Consulting, Tech Vie for HBS Grads
In terms of industry, three dominate when it comes to hiring the latest HBS grads. Financial services drew the largest slice of the class—29 percent—which is off from 31 percent last year but on par with the year before that.
Consulting took another quarter of the class, 25 percent, up from 23 percent last year. Technology, meanwhile, beckoned to roughly a fifth of the class—19 percent, up from 16 percent last year. Other industries saw small shifts year over year of one or two percentage points.
More Students Join Startups
HBS changed its definition of a startup this year in terms of how it tracks employment data. Startups now refer to organizations that are still private and, at most, 10-years old. By this measure, HBS grads who opted to join a startup straight out of school make up 9 percent of the class, as compared to 8 percent last year. The median starting salary for graduates going into tech is $130,000—the same as last year. Half of the startups where students landed are in the technology space, up from 45 percent a year earlier. Other top industries for startups include manufacturing (13 percent), financial services (12 percent) and consumer products (6 percent).
Another 70 students in the Class of 2018—8 percent—founded their own startups. That’s up from 64 last year. Of this year’s new ventures, 28 have a social impact focus, up from 16 last year.
HBS Class of 2019 Internships
HBS also released employment data for the summer internships pursued by students in the Class of 2019, revealing a median base salary of $7,800, down $200 year over year. More students, 89 percent, sought internships this past year, up from 87 percent the year before.
More students in this most recent class pursued internships with financial services firms, 32 percent as compared to 26 percent of the class before. Meanwhile, slightly fewer students pursued internships in technology and consulting. Tech firms drew 18 percent of the class for internships, down from 20 percent the year before. Consulting interns made up another 15 percent, down one percentage point from the year before.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
NYU Employment Report Reveals Employment, Salary Jump
The NYU Stern School of Business released its 2018 MBA Employment Report at the end of last month, revealing that more graduates in the Class of 2018 had accepted full-time job offers three months after graduation than anytime in the past five years. Not only that, many recent grads reported a large jump in salary and bonuses. There are just a few of the highlights from this year’s employment report, which also Amazon topping the this of MBA employers for the second year in a row.
NYU Employment Offers and Salaries Increase
This year, 93.7 percent of MBA graduates from Stern had accepted full-time job offers three months out from graduation. This was up from 91 percent last year, and higher than every year since 2013. As for compensation, average base salary jumped 6.5 percent year over year, to $129,059. Average signing bonus, meanwhile, increased 7.5 percent, to $35,637.
“We begin working hand-in-hand with our MBA students on the recruitment process before they even arrive on campus for their first semester,” says Beth Briggs, Stern Assistant Dean of Career Services. “Our early and continuous engagement, coupled with the quality of our students and a strong employment market in New York City, has led to great results across a variety of career paths. For Stern’s MBA class, the percentage of graduates who accepted job offers within three months of graduation is the highest in five years. Average salaries, average signing bonuses and the number of students reporting signing bonuses have also increased over last year.”
Consulting and Investment Banking Lead Stern Industries
When it comes to where Stern graduates work, the data remains consistent. Consulting and investment banking are the two most popular industries, luring 28.4 percent and 26.2 percent of the class, respectively. This represents a slight increase for both industries over last year. In 2017, consulting drew 26 percent and investing drew 23 percent. Technology and telecommunications stayed steady at 16.5 percent this year, on par with 2017. The only other notable changes in terms of industry appeal were a small dip in consumer packaged goods (falling to 5 percent, from 7 percent last year) and a slight increase in law (rising to 4 percent, from 2 percent).
“While the top three industries employing Stern students are consulting, investment banking, and tech, graduates are pursuing roles in a range of diverse areas including growing industries like fintech,” Briggs explains.
Amazon Hires Most Stern MBA Graduates
Amazon took the top spot for the second consecutive year as the most prolific hiring company of NYU Stern grads. Other top employers of graduates from the Class of 2018 included Credit Suisse, McKinsey & Company, J.P. Morgan, IBM, and Bain & Company. About 77.6 percent of grads accepted jobs in the Northeastern U.S., and 13.2 percent went West.
The majority of students (49.7 percent) received offers of employment from the companies where they completed their summer internships. Of those who chose not to accept a job where they interned, 20.1 percent received an offer from an on-campus scheduled interview. In addition, about 9.7 percent found their job through Stern job postings. The rest of the class found jobs through personal contacts (6.3 percent), external job boards (4.7 percent), or alumni (3.1 percent).
You can view the complete NYU Stern 2018 Employment Report here.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
The Five Most Valuable Online MBAs
Choosing an online MBA program isn’t easy. Not only do you need to look at rankings, but you also have to look at what the program offers and how affordable it is. After all, the goal of an online MBA is a great return on investment. So, how do you find the most valuable Online MBA programs?
We’ve searched through the U.S. News and World Report on the “Best Online MBA Programs” to find which ones can give you the best experience at the best cost.
The programs on this list rank in the top 25 “Best Online MBA Programs,” and cost under $1,400 per credit.
The Five Most Valuable Online MBA Programs
Indiana University
Tied for first as the best online MBA program in the country, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business is also affordable.
The Kelley Direct Online program offers the ultimate in flexibility. Students can take between two to four years to graduate and tailor their classwork to their goals. Online MBA students will cover such topics as business law and ethics, economics, marketing, finance, operations, information technology, and project management. They’ll also have the opportunity to study abroad in one of Kelley’s global hubs located in Botswana, Brazil, China, India, Myanmar, South Africa, and Cuba.
- Cost: $1,330 Per Credit (out-of-state)
- Ranking: #2
Arizona State University
Ranked as the 5th best online MBA program in the U.S., Arizona State University’s W.P Carey School of Business won’t break the bank either.
The Online MBA at ASU is designed to work with students no matter where they live. The program is incredibly flexible with just five weeks per class and 17 total classes. Interested students can expect to take classes covering a range of topics including strategic management and global thinking. Classes start in either January or August with students taking the same curriculum taught by the same faculty as the full-time and part-time programs.
- Cost: $1,216 Per Credit (out-of-state)
- Ranking: #5
University of Florida
Ranked at 6th overall, the University of Florida Hough Graduate School of Business also offers an affordable online MBA program.
The UF Online MBA offers the ideal balance of work, life, and school commitments. Students can graduate in just 24 months without visiting campus, with courses taught by the full-time MBA faculty. Students cover the same topics as their full-time brethren with courses on financial accounting, economics, and more. There is also an optional Global Immersion Experience opportunity.
- Cost: $1,255 Per Credit (out-of-state)
- Ranking: #6
Lehigh University
Ranked at 19th on the U.S. News and World Report list, the online MBA at the Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics is incredibly affordable.
The Online Flex MBA at Lehigh University is AACSB accredited and places high emphasis on maintaining excellence. Students can complete the program in as little as 16 months while taking classes on a variety of topics including managing financial and physical resources, corporate entrepreneurship, international business, and marketing. Students can also choose to pursue a concentration in one of six fields including: corporate entrepreneurship, finance, international business, marketing, project management, and supply chain management.
- Cost: $1,075 Per Credit (out-of-state)
- Ranking: #19
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware’s Lerner College offers the most affordable online MBA on our list while still ranking in the top 25.
Last but certainly not least, the Lerner Online MBA is designed to provide students with the decision-making skills and analytical tools to succeed. The program is entirely online with a customizable curriculum that can be completed in as little as 16 months. In addition, students can choose between five concentrations including business analytics, finance, healthcare, strategic leadership, and international business. Each course is seven weeks long and taught by a Ph.D.-qualified faculty member.
- Cost: $812 Per Credit (out-of-state)
- Ranking: #22
Runner’s Up
- University of Texas at Dallas: The Naveen Jindal School of Management’s Online MBA program is ranked #6 in the nation and costs $1,402 per credit (out-of-state).
- Hofstra University: The Zarb School of Business Online MBA ranks 36th on the list and costs just $1,596 per credit (out-of-state).
- Syracuse University: Ranked 42nd, the Syracuse University Online MBA costs just $1,500 per credit.
Finding the Best MBA Internship Destinations in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest MBA job market has been rapidly expanding for years. The region is packed full of corporate giants, technology startups, and many more lucrative companies MBAs know fully-well, such as Starbucks, Amazon, Boeing, and Microsoft. Continue reading…
