MBA Pay By Job Occupation: Here’s How Much You’re Worth

What do you do?

For those born before 1960, a job was an identity as much as a livelihood.  Where you worked and what you did expressed your worldview. Many times, it dictated your social circle, as much as your long-term prospects. These days, you won’t find the gray flannel company man taking the morning train into the city. That guy is now decked out in shorts, chatting with his Istanbul team on Zoom. And forget the corporate stamp of approval. That was replaced by the personal brand long ago.

What do you do? Here’s the better question: Why does it matter?

Simple: What you do determines what you make…at least initially.

Take consulting. In 2021, Virginia Darden MBA graduates earned $157,298 in average base alone. That number was $150,808 in finance. And earnings drop even more from there, as Darden bases came in at $126,793 in general management, $126,147 for marketing, and $117,500 with operations. In other words, aside from finance, there is a $30K-$40K pay disparity between consulting and other occupations in the first year of post-MBA work alone. Over three years, the gap widens even further. Add a 5% annual raise, and the three-year difference between consulting and marketing, for example, amounts to $98,204 – or $495,882 vs, $397,678.

That’s a lot of money to leave on the table.

PAY: AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD

MBA base pay also differs by business school. Let’s return to marketing, where Stanford GSB grads pulled in the highest bases at $149,723 in 2021. That overshadows nearby Berkeley Haas ($136,810), not to mention the world’s top marketing program in Northwestern Kellogg ($125,671). Using the same 3-year window and 5% annual base pay increase, Stanford marketers will earn nearly $76,000 more than their Kellogg peers to start out.

And that doesn’t count incentives like tuition reimbursements, 401K matches, profit sharing, performance bonuses, and stock options – variables that can add six figures to MBA pay in the early years.

Base pay may not provide a full compensation picture, but it offers great value to MBAs nonetheless. For one, it sets a baseline for what an MBA graduate may be worth in a particular industry. That can come in handy in negotiations for roles outside consulting, where MBAs enjoy more leeway in negotiating their pay packages. For career changers, it can pinpoint early ROI against tuition and living costs (not to mention forgoing two years pay). For those targeting a particular role, occupational pay can show how various schools compare side-by-side in base pay. Translation: Pay provides a crude gauge for reflecting programs enjoy the most credibility with employers in certain areas. This sentiment can encompass everything from perceived academic quality to career center prowess to alumni connections in certain roles and companies.

What are the average pay rates in consulting, finance, marketing, and more? What are the ceilings for these bases? How have these numbers changed over the past two years? Click on the links below to see high, average, and low pay by industry and school — and how it has changed over the past two years.

MARKETING

OPERATIONS

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

FINANCE

CONSULTING

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS / HUMAN RESOURCES

OTHER OCCUPATIONS

OVERALL MBA PAY BY SCHOOL

 

Editor’s Note:

Class of 2022 pay data will begin to trickle out during the fall. 

DON’T MISS: MBA PAY BY REGION: HERE’S HOW MUCH YOU’RE WORTH