2015 Best Post-MBA Destination – By Purchasing Power

GMAC has released the 2015 Alumni Perspective Survey report that took into consideration survey results from 12,000 Business School Alumni for participants graduating from 1959 to 2014. Careers were categorized into Entry level, Mid-level, Senior level, Executive level, C-suite, Self-employed, and Retired.

Career Advancement for Alumni - 10 years, 20 Years, 30 Years and over 40 Years after graduation follows a similar trajectory with:

a) 11% of the class reaching C-Level position after 20 Years of Graduation

b) 43% of the class reaching Senior Level position within 10 Years

c) 21% of the class reaching Executive level position in 10 Years

d) Majority of the recent graduates (51%) entered mid-level position, over the past 7 years.

Best Post-MBA Region

90% of the alumni were satisfied with their increased earning potential, and 79% of them believe that their salary is competitive. Regions with the best earning potential arranged in increasing order include:

1) Central and South Asia ($30,000 to $50,000)

2) Latin America ($30,000 to $100,000)

3) Africa/Middle East ($70,000 to $190,000)

4) Europe ($60,000 to $125,000)

5) Asia-pacific ($70,000 to $140,000)

One anomaly is the salary increase trend in Africa/Middle East region. The C-Level Executive earned up to $190,000 compensation and mid-level professionals earned $70,000. Senior Level Managers earned $60,000 - $10,000 less than mid-level and the next higher designation – Executive level Managers earned $75,000 just $5,000 more than mid-level. Although the survey has not mentioned whether they have considered stock options that become part of promotion packages, if we compare the salary increase in other regions, there is a clear $10,000 to $50,000 increment with each promotion.

Region                Mid-Level       Senior Level    Executive Level

United States        $100,000        $130,000          $180,000

Asia-Pacific             $70,000        $105,000          $140,000

Europe                   $70,000        $90,000            $130,000

Africa/                    $70,000        $60,000            $75,000
Middle East

Latin America          $30,000        $60,000            $100,000

Central and             $30,000        $40,000            $50,000
South Asia    

The report does not have C-Level compensation for all other regions except the Middle East ($190,000) and the US ($300,000). Based on recent salary data of C-Level executives, it is safe to assume that the increments are 3 to 10x time higher than the mid-level professionals.

Power of a Management Degree

The interesting data that gives a much holistic view of the value of a Management degree is the Alumni Salary relative to GDP per capita of a household. If say in US, the average per capita income for a household is $54,678, an alumnus with a Management degree on average earns 2 times more at $110,000.

As expected, Alumni from developing economies found maximum value from a Management degree. The top 10 Countries were a Management degree offered a clear advantage over an average household are:

Country    Median Base Salary    GDP Per Capita    Alumni Salary/GDP Per Capita

Nigeria          $41,300                          $6,082                            6.8

India             $36,000                          $5,777                            6.2

China            $72,000                         $12,893                           5.6

Mexico           $78,840                         $17,925                           4.4
 
Thailand         $63,000                         $14,443                           4.4

UK                $134,300                        $37,744                           3.6

Ecuador           $39,000                       $11,352                            3.4

Portugal          $80,600                        $26,306                            3.1

Switzerland     $164,800                       $55,237                             3

Developed economies where Alumni improved their purchasing power with a Management degree deserves much more attention as economies where income inequalities are not as pronounced as developing economies, offers a better comparative scale for Graduate Degree programs.

Country    Median Base Salary    GDP Per Capita    Alumni Salary/GDP Per Capita

UK                      $134,300                  $37,744                             3.6
Portugal                $80,600                  $26,306                             3.1
Switzerland          $164,800                  $55,237                             3
Japan                  $104,000                  $37,683                             2.8
Australia              $113,950                  $46,632                             2.4
France                  $86,800                   $40,445                             2.2
Canada                 $92,500                   $44,519                             2.1
South Korea          $73,600                   $35,485                             2.1
Germany               $93,000                   $44,741                             2.1
United States       $110,000                   $54,678                             2
UAE                     $110,000                   $65,037                            1.7
Singapore             $127,000                  $81,346                            1.6

More about the Survey

The GMAC Alumni survey was conducted between October and November 2014 that included 71 universities and 230 Graduate Business Programs in 16 locations. The report highlighted Employment statistics and Alumni feedback on their career progression to date.