One of the main reasons for enrolling in an MBA program is the boost in salary and position after graduation. While it is a given that your pay would see a considerable rise at least initially, what is more important is that the value of the degree should remain high in the years to come.
This is where you should realise that not all business schools are equal. According to data compiled by PayScale, graduates of Ivy League institutions including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and MIT Sloan received higher median salary than others.
However, it is to be noted that the survey has not differentiated between full-time MBAs executive and online program. Leavey offers three MBA programs for working professionals.
HBS graduates with 10 or more years of experience were able to draw an annual median of $204,000. Stanford GSB comes second with $187,200, followed by Wharton ($184,300), MIT Sloan ($182,300) and Columbia Business School ($182,300).
Incidentally, these private, prestigious institutions have deep resources, extensive global connections and endowments. They are also costly with the annual tuitions ranging from Harvard’s $64,000 to Columbia’s $68,000 exclusive of other expenses like cost of living, and travel.
Of course, there have been exceptions to the rule. Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business graduates were able to net a median salary of $167,800 by mid-career or within ten years. One advantage the California-based school enjoys is its location proximity to the Silicon Valley that ensures high paying tech jobs.
However, it is to be noted that the survey has not differentiated between full-time MBAs executive and online program. Leavey offers three MBA programs for working professionals.
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Their Executive MBA is a 17-month program with classes held biweekly during weekends. The evening MBA is a 2-year program with convenient class timings for working professionals. They also have an online MBA to be completed in 2 years.
Since the students are not sacrificing their work or salary while doing the MBA, they have a pay advantage over those who had to give up their steady jobs and career paths. Leavey alumni’s early career pay (for those with 0 to 5 years of business experience) was $93,000. It can be seen that they almost doubled their pay by mid-career, recording the second-highest growth among the 25 highest-paying MBA programs.
Meanwhile, Emory University’s Goizueta Business School alumni were also earning more than many higher-ranked peers by mid-career. They received $166,700 by mid-career, an outcome better than Yale SOM.
Similarly, Jones Graduate School of Business graduates managed a mid-career pay of $159,600 ahead of UCLA Anderson School of Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and Duke Fuqua School of Business.
Similarly, SMU Cox School of Business graduates reported a $153,500 mid-career median nearly $2,500 better than University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Babson College MBA alumni made $148,000 by mid-career.
