The Highest Paid MBA Starting Salaries in London
The draws of London may be too numerous to list: from a booming global economy to robust historic and cultural attractions, the city has a little something for everyone.
It’s likely no surprise that the city would take the sixth spot in The Atlantic‘s list of the “World’s Best Cities for Business, Life and Innovation.” While a number of factors were taken into consideration for creating the list, London’s ranking was likely boosted by its top spot in financial/business employment, and its 2nd overall spot in attracting job-creating foreign investment.
Such attributes make London an ideal spot for those pursuing or graduating with MBA degrees. As a center for global business, the opportunities for someone with the skills of an MBA are seemingly endless. However, the same vibrancy that attracts visitors across the world to London can make it an incredibly expensive city to live in from day-to-day, and those considering a move will need to consider both the cost of the city as well as earning potential.
Thankfully, London is home to some of the top MBA programs in the world, boosting the hireability and earning potential of graduates.
The Highest Paid London MBA Salaries
Saïd Business School – University of Oxford
Students at the Saïd Business School at the world-renowned University of Oxford take their education to countries around the world and into a wide variety of industries. Even considering the uncertainty brought to businesses in UK with the ‘Brexit’ referendum, the salaries of Oxford MBA graduates continue to rise from from the previous class to 2016 graduates. The average class salary for recent MBA grads at Saïd was £69,132, or $93,404 US—an increase of almost $13,000 from the previous year. These salaries varied slightly with industry, with salary averages for fields like finance and consulting reaching $96,273 and $98,458, respectively.
London Business School
With a staggering 96 percent of MBA graduates from London Business School accepting an offer within just three months of graduation, LBS graduates don’t need to wait long to start their dream job, with hopefully a salary to match. For MBA graduates of LBS, the average salary could range between £32,000 and £151,000, with the mean coming at an impressive £77,600. Salaries varied slightly between industries and also by region, with LBS graduates staying in the UK making slightly less than those venturing to North America.
READ MORE: “London Business School Launches More Flexible MBA”
Judge Business School—University of Cambridge
Graduates from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School will quickly realize the benefits of having such a well-regarded degree: about 92 percent of students from the graduating class received job offers within three months of earning their degree. The Cambridge MBA data also reveals the degree’s success in aiding those as they transition to a new career—98 percent of the 2015 graduating class switched either country, function, or industry sector just two years after graduating. The typical salary of Judge graduates increased greatly for the MBA class of 2015—likely a result of fluctuations in the pound after the Brexit decision—at a current average of £99,000, or, $133,792 USD.
Cass Business School—City University London
The Cass Business School at the City University London ranks among the top three schools for career development in the UK, a ranking reflected in the data of MBA graduates from the University. About 87 percent of MBA graduates reported a 53 percent increase in their salary. The average salary for MBA graduates at Cass is $99,000, with an even greater increase for those with an Executive MBA degree, at $130,000.
London Business School Welcomes New Dean Ortalo-Magné
The London Business School newest dean has arrived, heading to London from Wisconsin.
Dean François Ortalo-Magné will be the school’s ninth dean. He previously served as dean at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2011 to 2017, according to a press release. Now, he’ll be embarking on a tenure with the London Business School.
“In a challenging world, LBS has the opportunity to show the way,” he said. “I am excited for the journey.”
While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ortalo-Magné built the university’s faculty, raised money, and improved the school’s brand. Inclusion and diversity were some of his key pillars as dean. Though Ortalo-Magné was previously based in the United States, his career actually began in London, attending the London School of Economics and Political Science in the mid-90s. He taught at the London Business School for six months as a visiting research scholar as well.
The previous dean, Sir Andrew Likierman, leaves his eight-year position, but he’ll continue teaching at the London Business School as a professor of management practice in accounting. Ortalo-Magné is excited to follow in his foot steps.
“I feel particularly grateful for the opportunity to succeed Sir Andrew, who has created such great momentum in the school,” Ortalo-Magné said. “I am energized by how engaged everyone is: our alumni, students, staff, and faculty members. They are all ambitious for the school, and this makes it an inspiring place to be.”
However, the new dean isn’t the only one excited about this change. So is the school’s Governing Body Chairman Apurv Bagri.
“François is ideally placed to take us forward and build on the great work carried out by Sir Andrew,” Bagri said. “The school goes from strength to strength, and I’m confident that François will continue to enhance its reputation for academic excellence and the delivery of world-class degree and executive education programs.”
A Recommendation Revolution Is Underway in MBA Admissions: What You Need to Know
I’m busy, you’re busy, your boss is most definitely busy. Indeed, publications ranging from Men’s Health to the Atlantic, the Washington Post to Forbes are all reporting that “busyness“ has become the new status symbol for our times. Which is part of what makes asking someone to write you a letter of recommendation for business school so daunting. Now, try telling that person that you actually need five different letters for five different schools. Oy vey.
As uncomfortable a spot as it puts applicants in—it’s no better for recommenders. Even your most vociferous supporter is going to wonder what in the world she’s gotten herself into when she realizes that helping you in your pursuit of acceptance to business school means taking time away from work or play or family or whatever else to labor over leadership assessment grids, each a little different from the one before, and write 10 slightly different answers to 10 slightly different questions. Here’s hoping that your top-choice school doesn’t happen to be the last one she gets around to…
Good news. The graduate management education industry recognizes the strain that letters of recommendation put on applicants and recommenders alike and has been wrestling with ways to make the process easier for everyone involved. To this end, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) established a committee made up of admissions representatives from dozens of leading business schools to brainstorm about ways to lessen the burden while still collecting the third-party assessments of candidates that are so critical to the MBA application process.
GMAC Pilots Common MBA Letter of Recommendation
As an outgrowth of that committee’s work, GMAC last year piloted a common MBA letter of recommendation (LOR) that schools can choose to incorporate into their applications to reduce the burden placed on applicants and recommenders alike.
“The Common Letter of Recommendation (LOR) effort is intended to save you and recommenders valuable time by providing a single set of recommendation questions for each participating school,” reads the GMAC website. “This allows your recommenders to use the same answers for multiple letter submissions, alleviating the workload of having to answer different questions for each school multiple times. You benefit because it makes the ask for several different letters to be written on your behalf much easier.”
Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, NYU Stern School of Business, and Michigan’s Ross School of Business were among the first schools to pilot the Common LOR last year. In addition to a single set of open-ended essay questions, the pilot Common LOR also included a leadership assessment grid inviting recommenders to rate applicants on 16 “competencies and character traits” grouped into four main categories of achievement, influence, personal qualities and academic ability.
“At Johnson, we saw the Common LoR as a clear opportunity to improve the admissions process for candidates and their recommenders in a way that would also add value to our own assessment of applicants,” Judi Byers, Johnson executive director of admissions & financial aid, told Clear Admit. “A thorough and consistent review is important to us and the grid provides a straightforward base of insights that can be assessed and compared reliably while the accompanying letter adds meaningful detail and context,” she added.
Soojin Kwon, managing director of full-time MBA admissions and program at Ross, sees applicants and recommenders as the main beneficiaries of the Common LOR and is pleased that more schools are coming on board. “As more schools adopt it, applicants won’t have to feel like they’re burdening their recommender with completing multiple rec letters with different questions and ratings grids,” she told Clear Admit. “This year, more than a dozen of the top 20 schools are using it.”
Ross was also among the schools to first pilot the Common LOR last year, and Kwon served as part of the GMAC committee that helped craft it.
Common Questions Easy to Agree on, Common Leadership Grid Not
“What we found in using the Common LOR this year past year was that the questions gave us helpful insights into applicants, particularly on the important area of constructive feedback. The questions, however, were fairly similar to what we and other schools were using before, so it was easy for the AdCom to use it,” she notes.
Those questions are as follow:
- Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization. (50 words)
- How does the performance of the applicant compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? (E.g. what are the applicant’s principal strengths?) (500 words)
- Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (500 words)
- Is there anything else we should know? (Optional)
“The rating grid was quite different from what we’d used in the past,” Kwon continued. “It was also the most difficult part for the GMAC advisory group to develop and get agreement upon. The group worked this past year to revise and simplify the grid so that AdComs could get more meaningful insights from it.”
This year, the 16 competencies and character traits from the original grid have been distilled to 12, with specific questions about analytical thinking and information seeking omitted. Johnson and Ross have both incorporated the revised leadership grid into the LOR distributed to applicants as part of their applications, as have most other schools that have this year decided to incorporate both the grid and open-ended essay question portions of the form. UT’s McCombs School of Business and Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, notably, still seem to feature the earlier version of the leadership grid in their application, the one that calls on recommenders to assesses applicants on 16 competencies and traits.
London Business School Professors Earn Thinkers50 Nominations
Two professors with the London Business School have gained some global recognition.
Professors Andrew Scott and Lynda Gratton have been shortlisted for a 2017 Thinkers50 Distinguished Achievement Award. Thinkers50 is responsible for “the world’s most prestigious ranking of management officials,” according to its website. More than 4,000 people were nominated.
Scott and Gratton are in the “Breakthrough Idea Award” category, which recognizes work that can radically alter the way people do business. The professors were nominated for their 2016 book, The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity, which breaks down how individuals should take advantage of humanity’s increased lifespan. “The 100-Year Life” draws on Scott and Gratton’s expertise in psychology—and economics. Finances, time, and relationships are among the book’s topics.
“Our research explores the reality of a multi-stage life with a variety of careers to include breaks and transitions, demonstrating how to make a gift from a long life,” Scott said in a press release.
Scott focuses on macroeconomics and has taught at Harvard and Oxford University. Gratton, on the other hand, specializes in organizational behavior, which she’s covered for more than 20 years. She was also named the best teacher at the school in 2015.
“Being shortlisted for this award is very exciting,” Gratton said. “A 100-year life means taking responsibility for the shape of one’s own life, rather than leaving it to the institutions of work and state that have governed many people’s situations for several generations.”
Check out the rest of the Thinkers50 shortlist, which also includes Aaron Hurst, CEO of Imperative and author of the 2016 book The Purpose Economy, former Apple executive and fellow author Nilofer Merchant, among others.
Winners for the Thinkers50 award will be announced at its gala November 13 in London.
Admissions Tip: Deadlines
Anyone who’s familiar with the MBA application process knows that August moves forward at an accelerated pace, and come September, entire weeks seem to disappear. To help this year’s Round One applicants avoid the classic time crunch, today’s blog post offers some basic advice on how to approach the Round One MBA deadlines at a reasonable pace.
Let’s start by taking a quick look at a handful of the earliest deadlines for the top MBA programs:
September 6: Harvard Business School
September 8: Cambridge / Judge
September 12: Duke / Fuqua
September 13: Yale SOM
September 15: London Business School
September 19: Stanford GSB, Penn / Wharton, Notre Dame / Mendoza (Early Deadline)
September 20: Northwestern / Kellogg, INSEAD
September 21: Chicago / Booth, Berkeley / Haas
September 25: MIT Sloan
September 29: Oxford / Saïd
For a full list of deadlines, check out Clear Admit’s post here.
Though some schools have yet to announce their deadlines (such as UMD Smith and UCI Merage, one can still get a sense of the lineup of R1 deadlines. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when creating your personal timeline.
Plan to be busy in August.
Yes, it can be tempting to work on one’s tan instead of one’s essays. However, many MBA applicants squander the month of August only to wake up in September and realize that they cannot make their target deadlines. If you are not bogged down by professional obligations in August, this makes for a great opportunity to devote time to working on your MBA applications in the evenings. The last weeks of summer can easily be split between résumé drafting, essay writing, recommendation coaching, GMAT prep, school research, and more.
Think carefully about the timing of the R1 MBA deadlines.
Looking at the deadlines above, it becomes clear that some deadlines may be easier to make than others. A candidate applying to Haas and London Business School could have a leisurely October when compared to someone targeting Haas, London Business School and NYU Stern (Oct. 15, 2017 Round 1 Deadline). Assuming about three weeks of research and writing for each school’s application, take a look at the deadlines and count backwards to determine a start date for each. It is entirely possible to meet back-to-back deadlines, such as Tepper and Darden, but doing so requires a well-planned schedule and consistent progress.
Consider taking some time off from work.
We realize that many MBA applicants work 70 hours per week and haven’t had a day off in months. For such applicants, a day or two out of the office can really do wonders for focus and organization. Applying to business school is a serious undertaking, and in the long term you won’t regret having given yourself enough time to prepare strong applications. Many successful candidates take a week off in early September to make the final push. It’s not a glamorous way to spend your vacation time, but an offer to attend a leading MBA program can make the sacrifice well worth it.
Get your recommenders on board early.
While some of the schools have not yet made their online applications and recommendation forms available, it’s a good idea to engage your recommenders early and inform them about the process and your timeline. Sit down with each recommender, perhaps over lunch or coffee. Present them with an outline of the deadlines and the process. It’s then a wise idea to meet again once the forms are available, and by that time many applicants are in a position to share their background materials (a résumé, career goals essays, etc.) to help their recommenders understand—and support—their message.
Happy planning!
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
DeGroote School of Business Dean Leonard Waverman Re-Appointed
Since January 2013, Leonard Waverman has been the Dean of the McMaster’s DeGroote School of Business. Due to his accomplished service, the Board of Governors re-appointed Waverman as Dean starting July 1. Continue reading…
