What is the Salary Growth trends of an MBA over a 10-year period?

With the cost of a top MBA closing in on $250,000, many of our readers have requested us to suggest schools that have impressive salary growth but might not feature in the top list (M7 or Top 20). We did a study by using the Financial Times salary data for 2012 and 2022 – two of the most volatile years. The former was a year when the world was recovering from the 2008-09 recession, and the latter was the year when the world came out of the pandemic.

Financial Times uses a weighted salary or a 3-year salary data that covers 2009 to 2011 and 2019 to 2021. The salaries are converted to US Purchasing Power Parity dollars using data published by the International Monetary Fund. To ensure that the salary is not swayed by extreme values, the highest and lowest values collected are excluded from each school. In a way, the study is a sign of schools with the most resilient brands and effective career service teams.
 

Why applicants love US Business Schools – The Percentage Increase in Salary

84% of the 38 schools were US-based. Fisher demonstrated the highest percentage growth in salary, at 47%, 6 points higher than Mendoza, at 41%. Kellogg was among the top for an M7 school, ranking 18th by percentage increase in salary, followed by NYU Stern, Ross, and Haas.  

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By Increase in Weighted Salary

62% of the 73 schools that demonstrated an increase in the weighted salary over the decade were US-based. Although the top spot was claimed by SDA Bocconi with an increase of $72,113, the third spot by NUS with an increase of $62,252, and the 9th spot by CEIBS with an increase of $51,832 demonstrates the rise of the Asian schools.

Kellogg and Columbia are featured among the M7 schools. Chicago Booth was placed 15th by the increase in weighted salary, $46,461.

Regions that lost out over the decade: Fall in Demand for UK’s Business Schools

Over the past decade, 5 UK schools (Aston Business School, Birmingham Business School, Bradford University School of Management, Cranfield School of Management, and University of Edinburgh Business School) no longer feature on the FT’s rankings, and no new ones have been added in 2022. France and Germany have emerged to fill the gap left by the UK business schools, featuring 7 new schools in the FT ranking.

Emerging Regions from the decade: Rise of Asian Business Schools

The FT ranking of 2022 featured 23 new schools. Although the US lost 9 schools in the ranking since 2012, 7 US schools took its place.

China, India, and Singapore featured in the highest ranks of business schools listed by the percentage increase in salary and increase in weighted salary over the past decade.

Reference

FT MBA Ranking