The highest-paying jobs, for MBAs as for any other degree holders, go to those who chose their major subjects wisely.
MBA majors and, by extension, the professional fields they opt for after graduation, have a greater impact on salary and company than even the reputation or brand of the business management school where they earned their degrees.
(Also read Jobs you can get with a business administration degree)
In its 2016-2017 College Salary Report, PayScale conducted a survey on the relationship between MBA majors/fields and salaries. The survey was based on over 27,000 MBA employee responses, but MBAs with higher educational qualifications such as PhD were not included.
The salaries took into account base annual salary, bonuses, profit-sharing, commissions, and other cash earnings, but not stock compensation, retirement benefits, or health care.
Highest-paying jobs for MBA graduates: Statistics
Here are some interesting numbers on MBA majors and salaries that the survey revealed.
Strategy
MBAs with a specialization in Strategy earned the most (ranked by mid-career salary) among those holding a degree in business management, according to PayScale. The median early career pay (0-5 years) was $96,000 (figures rounded to the nearest thousand) and mid-career pay (10 or more years) $149,000. The gender distribution in PayScale’s sample was 71 percent men and 29 percent women.
Top jobs and salaries: Management consultant ($78,000-$166,000), senior product manager ($71,000-$174,000), senior strategy manager ($76,000-$209,000), strategy consultant ($130,000), chief operating officer ($135,000), senior marketing manager ($133,000), business consultant ($90,000)
Salaries/experience: Less than one year – $75,000; 1-4 years – $77,000; 5-9 years – $99,000; 10-19 years – $130,000; > 20 years – $160,000
Salaries/men-women: Men – $72,000-$148,000; women – $52,000-$135,000
Salaries/school: Kellogg – $168,000; NYU Stern – $164,000
Top employers/salaries: PricewaterhouseCoopers – $136,000-$185,000; Booz, Allen, and Hamilton – $123,000; Google – $120,000; Amazon – $107,000-$152,000; Intel – $76,000-$124,000
Top cities: New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle
General and strategic management
MBAs with specialization in General and Strategic Management were second on the list of business majors/fields with the highest-paying jobs. Their median early career and mid-career pay were $85,000 and $146,000, respectively. The gender distribution in the sample was 67 percent male and 33 percent female.
Top jobs/salaries: Chief executive officer ($90,000-$350,000), management consultant ($73,000-$175,000), senior vice president (operations) ($235,000), senior marketing manager ($133,000), senior business analyst ($67,000), vice president / general manager ($165,000), product management director ($145,000)
Experience/salaries: < 1 year – $50,000; 1-4 years – $84,000; 5-9 years – $104,000; 10-19 years – $114,000; > 20 years – $159,000
Salaries/men-women: Men – $66,000-$157,000; women – $51,000-$120,000
School/salaries: HBS – $178,000; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – $100,000
Employers/salaries: Visa – $145,000; Amazon – $130,000; Slalom Consulting – $121,000; Booz, Allen, and Hamilton – $101,000
Top cities: Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Seattle
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship was the third best MBA specialization for high salaries. The median early career and mid-career salaries were $70,000 and $130,000, respectively. The gender distribution was 75 percent male and 25 percent female.
Top jobs/salaries: Senior product manager ($98,000-$159,000), marketing director ($42,000-$235,000), product manager (software) ($65,000-$134,000), business development director ($127,000), business development manager ($82,000), chief financial officer ($117,000), director of operations ($92,000)
Experience/salaries: < 1 year – $52,000; 1-4 years – $64,000; 5-9 years – $89,000; 10-19 years – $117,000; > 20 years – $130,000
Salaries/men-women: Men – $55,000-$134,000; women – $41,000-$107,000
School/salaries: Benedictine University – $73,000
Employers/salaries: Aluminum Company of America – $160,000; Amazon – $129,000; Control4 – $117,000; MassMutual Financial Group – $102,000; PNC Financial Services Group – $79,000
Top cities: San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago
Corporate finance
Corporate finance majors earned a median early career pay of $78,000 and mid-career pay of $138,000. The gender distribution was 75 percent male and 25 percent female.
Top jobs/salaries: Financial analyst ($49,000-$103,000), finance manager ($71,000-$133,000), senior financial analyst ($69,000-$108,000), chief financial officer ($89,000-$222,000), financial controller ($93,000), vice president (finance) ($160,000), finance director ($142,000)
Experience/salaries: < 1 year – $55,000; 1-4 years – $71,000; 5-9 years – $87,000; 10-19 years – $117,000; > 20 years – $152,000
Salaries/men-women: Men – $59,000-$132,000; women – $54,000 – $124,000
School/salaries: NA
Employers/salaries: Leidos – $86,000; JP Morgan Chase – $85,000; Ropes & Gray – $72,000; Applied Systems – $63,000-$69,000; Long Island University – $49,000
Top cities: New York, Boston, Houston, Chicago, Dallas
Finance and economics
Business management graduates with a focus on Finance and Economics took home an early career median pay of $67,000 and a mid-career median pay of $137,000. The gender distribution was 79 percent male and 21 percent female.
Top jobs/salaries: Financial analyst ($51,000-$364,000), portfolio manager ($110,000), finance manager ($116,000), director of operations ($120,000), president ($190,000), senior business analyst ($93,000), project manager (IT) ($112,000)
Experience/salaries: 1-4 years – $60,000; 5-9 years – $90,000; 10-19 years – $101,000; > 20 years – $133,000
Salaries/men-women: Men – $53,000-$133,000; women – $63,000-$133,000
School/salaries: NA
Top employers/salaries: Citibank – $170,000; Morgan Stanley – $128,000; Atkore International – $95,000
Top US cities: Houston, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Chicago
Top MBA positions and salaries
| Position | Salary | MBA major |
|---|---|---|
| Senior strategy manager | $76,000-$209,000 | Strategy |
| Chief operating officer | $135,000 | Strategy |
| Chief executive officer | $90,000-$350,000 | Gen. & Strategic Management |
| Senior VP (operations) | $235,000 | Gen. & Strategic Management |
| Senior product manager | $98,000-$159,000 | Entrepreneurship |
| Marketing director | $42,000-$235,000 | Entrepreneurship |
| Chief financial officer | $89,000-$222,000 | Corporate Finance |
| VP (finance) | $160,000 | Corporate Finance |
| Financial analyst | $51,000-$364,000 | Finance & Economics |
| President | $190,000 | Finance & Economics |
| Chief financial officer | $82,000-$240,000 | Finance |
| VP (finance) | $99,000-$220,000 | Finance |
| VP (marketing) | $100,000-$186,000 | Business & Marketing |
| Senior product manager | $84,000-$151,000 | Business & Marketing |
| Senior marketing manager | $101,000-$150,000 | Marketing & Management |
| Chief information officer | $90,000-$212,000 | Information Technology |
| VP (IT) | $116,000-$207,000 | Information Technology |
Source: payscale.com
Other top majors and jobs/salaries
Other MBA specializations for top jobs and salaries include Finance (median early and mid-career pay were $69,000 and $130,000), Business and Marketing ($62,000-$126,000), Marketing and Management ($64,000-$126,000), Information Technology ($72,000-$123,000), and Marketing ($62,000-$123,000).
In Finance, the top jobs and salaries were senior financial analyst ($64,000-$102,000), financial analyst ($47,000-$86,000), chief financial officer ($82,000-$240,000), finance manager ($66,000-$124,000), finance director ($75,000-$164,000), finance controller ($61,000-$143,000), and vice president (finance) ($99,000-$220,000). Employees with less than one year’s experience earned $53,000, with five to nine years $84,000, and with over 20 years $131,000. Among the top employers were Bank of America Corp. ($61,000-$118,000), the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation ($51,000-$154,000), and Citibank ($51,000-$152,000).
In Business and Marketing, the top jobs and salaries were marketing manager ($48,000-$114,000), marketing director ($66,000-$158,000), vice president (marketing) ($100,000-$186,000), product marketing manager ($60,000-$130,000), senior marketing manager ($73,000-$147,000), marketing specialist ($39,000-$70,000), and senior product manager ($84,000-$151,000). Employees with less than one year’s experience took home $49,000, with five to nine years $81,000, and with over 20 years $127,000. Among the top employers were 3M Company ($107,000-$138,000), Dell ($100,000-$125,000), and Amazon ($75,000-$129,000).
In Marketing and Management, the top jobs and salaries were marketing director ($51,000-$139,000), marketing manager ($39,000-$118,000), vice president (marketing) ($87,000-$227,000), product marketing manager ($42,000-$139,000), senior marketing manager ($101,000-$150,000), senior product manager ($105,000), and marketing coordinator ($50,000). Employees with less than a year’s experience received $46,000, with five to nine years $80,000, and with over 20 years $134,000. Among the top employers were Accenture ($158,000), Ernst & Young ($142,000), and Cognizant ($105,000).
In IT, the top jobs and salaries were IT director ($81,000-$163,000), IT manager ($73,000-$138,000), chief information officer ($90,000-$212,000), vice president (IT) ($116,000-$207,000), senior business analyst ($74,000-$151,000), IT consultant ($56,000-$106,000), and senior project manager (IT) ($81,000-$158,000). Employees with less than a year’s experience earned $45,000, with five to nine years $84,000, and with over 20 years $121,000. Among the top employers were Verizon Communications ($101,000), IBM ($92,000-$139,000), and Cognizant ($86,000-$139,000).
PayScale data for MBAs with marketing specialization and business and marketing specialization are the same except in the mid-career salaries (for the full list of MBA majors and salaries, see the PayScale College Salary Report link below).
India salaries
In India, the top MBA jobs include investment banker with fresher salaries between Rs. 9 lakh and Rs. 12 lakh per annum for graduates from the premier b-schools such as the IIMs. Professionals with five or six years’ experience may earn Rs. 20 lakh-Rs. 1 crore per annum, depending on the company and region, reports 100careers.com. Top employers include JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, CitiBank, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC.
Management graduates can also obtain employment in corporate strategy, business development, sales and marketing, finance, and HR. The general hierarchy tends to be from analyst, consultant, senior consultant, and manager or project lead, to partner, vice president and director. Freshers can earn Rs. 7 lakh to Rs. 9 lakh per year and professionals with five or six years’ experience Rs. 15 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh. Top employers include Accenture, McKinsey, BCG, Deloitte, and Capgemini.
Other jobs include project manager (Rs. 4-5 lakh for a fresher and Rs. 19-20 lakh per year for an experienced professional); business development manager (Rs. 5.5 lakh-Rs. 16 lakh); marketing manager (Rs. 6 lakh-Rs. 19 lakh); SAP consultant/manager (Rs. 3 lakh-Rs. 12 lakh); business analyst (Rs. 5 lakh-Rs. 11 lakh); HR manager (Rs. 3 lakh-Rs. 16 lakh).
What are the individual top salaries, which are exceptions to the rule? A Class of 2016 graduate from the Harvard Business School landed a half-million base pay, and a Stanford GSB graduate secured an assurance of a year-end bonus of a like amount. Outside the US, the highest paid MBA at INSEAD accepted $204,000 for a position in management consulting, presumably in the African region, and another graduate from the same school took upon a vice president position in a private equity firm in Western Europe for $200,000.
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