Especially given the price tag that accompanies obtaining an MBA from a leading business school, it would be foolhardy for prospective applicants not to give careful consideration to the degree’s return on investment (ROI). This, of course, will depend on the career you pursue after graduation and the salary you are able to command in that role.
Turns out you’re in luck. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which administers the GMAT entrance exam, has created a new tool designed to help prospective applicants estimate the salary they can expect to earn after completing their degree. Prospective students enter their intended industry and job function, and the tool then parses data compiled by GMAC’s surveys of thousands of MBA alumni to return a tailored salary estimate.
Of course, GMAC notes, the advantages of an MBA extend well beyond greater earning potential. “As a graduate you’ll enjoy a competitive edge in the job market, meet and interact with an impressive cohort of fellow professionals, create lasting connections with your classmates, and enjoy new and challenging opportunities,” reads a GMAC press release announcing the new tool. Still, understanding how the degree can impact your earning power is critical in terms of deciding when and whether you can afford to make the investment in business school.
GMAC’s annual survey of corporate recruiters, conducted from February through March 2015, revealed encouraging results in terms of the starting salaries 2015 MBA grads were expected to fetch. Recruiters at the 748 employers surveyed reported plans to offer recent MBA grads a median starting salary of $100,000—compared with a median of $55,000 for bachelor’s grads. Of course, median means just that—the middle number in a given sequence of numbers. And in the case of post-MBA salaries, that sequence of numbers might range anywhere from $25,000 a year with a non-profit or in an emerging economy to $250,000 or more for select MBA grads going into senior roles in private equity or venture capital, for example.
Enter GMAC’s new post-MBA salary estimator. This interactive tool was designed to tap GMAC’s extensive data—drawn from more than 6,600 alumni—to help prospective MBA students estimate the salary they can reasonably expect to draw based on multiple factors unique to their own situation, including target industry and job level.
Simply indicate the industry and job level you hope to enter upon graduation, and the GMAC tool will provide the median salary for graduates matching your selections. This information promises to be much more relevant than the median salaries for all MBA grads. In addition, if you provide an email address, the tool will also serve up supporting information drawn from GMAC’s surveys of alumni, including 25th and 75th salary percentiles, levels and sources of career success, degree value, knowledge usage and personal career impact.
While it’s no crystal ball—as actual post-graduation salaries will obviously depend on multiple factors unique to each individual—the new GMAC salary estimator can be a useful tool as you evaluate the impact obtaining an MBA can have on your future or as you weigh different potential career transitions.
