US News & World Report: MBAs Leading to Highest Salaries

The following article is adapted from an article in US News & World Report 

Job applicants with MBAs on their resumes stand out to employers so much so that students don't necessarily need to attend the most prestigious schools to reap significant professional benefits.

There are some business schools where students have better odds of finding very high paid employment upon graduation. Experts say it's important to investigate the quality of career services at programs of interest before applicants make a final choice.

• Among the 114 ranked full-time MBA programs that reported these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the overall average salary and bonus paid to 2017 graduates was $105,146.
• At the 10 MBA programs where grads received the most generous compensation, which were all among the top 15 in the 2019 U.S. News Best Business Schools rankings, the average salary and bonus was $161,566.

• The average salary and bonus at the 10 MBA programs where compensation is lowest, the majority of which are ranked in the bottom-fourth of the full-time programs and do not have published ranks. That average amounted to only $58,390.

U.S. News data show that grads of b-schools with sterling academic reputations are, in some cases, paid a salary and bonus that is nearly three times higher than that of grads at lower-ranked schools.

• MBA compensation varies not only on the basis of where a graduate earned his or her degree, but also on the chosen industry.
• On average, MBA grads who enter the consulting industry command the highest salaries, and those who work in the transportation industry are paid the least. 
• The data show that a recent MBA grad who works as a consultant typically receives a salary that is almost $60,000 higher than his or her counterpart who works in transportation.

The schools where graduate pay is highest aren't necessarily the ones where grads get hired the fastest.

• The Stanford University Graduate School of Business had a higher average salary and bonus – $173,989 – among its 2017 graduates than any other ranked MBA program. However, 58 other business schools had higher employment rates of its graduates within three months of graduation than Stanford, which had a rate of 88 percent.
• The University of Chicago's Booth School of Business is one 10 MBA programs where recent grads are paid the largest salary and bonus – $159,911 – while also having one of the highest three-month employment rates - 95 percent - among all ranked full-time MBA programs.
• Five of the nine programs with the highest three-month employment rates are at public schools.

Among the 127 ranked full-time MBA programs that reported these statistics to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average employment rate among 2017 graduates three months after graduation was 84 percent. But three-month employment rates varied widely among ranked business schools, ranging from a high of 100 percent to a low of 3 percent.