MBA salary and bonus vary greatly among MBA graduates, with alumni of highly ranked B-schools in the 2022 U.S. News Best Business Schools rankings earning notably more than their peers who graduated from lower-ranked schools.
Among the 10 ranked B-schools where the average salary and bonus were highest, the overall average compensation was $172,265. By contrast, at the 10 ranked B-schools where the average salary and bonus were lowest. The overall average compensation was $52,338.
U.S News data shows that pay among MBA grads depends on which sector they enter. Those who work in the consulting sector are paid an average base salary of nearly $152,500. While those who work at a nonprofit typically makes approximately $85,100, or about $67,400 less.
NBA salary and bonus The Cost of an MBA
Annual tuition for traditional full-time MBA students exceeded $64,000 at the top 15 ranked MBA programs in the 2022 Best Business Schools rankings, and at most of them it surpassed $70,000.
Tuition prices are typically lower at public schools than private schools, especially for in-state students. Among the 11 highest-ranked public B-schools, the average in-state tuition for full-time MBA students was $46,068 per year, according to U.S. News data. However, advertised MBA costs can be misleading, since many students receive either merit scholarships or need-based financial aid.
Both partial and full-ride MBA scholarships exist, but many are extraordinarily competitive. Some MBA scholarships are reserved for specific populations within the applicant pool. Such as scholarships designated for women, ethnic minorities, active-duty military personnel and military veterans. But there are also scholarships open to any applicant, no matter his or her family background or profession.
What Skills an MBA Teaches
Business school professors say MBA programs help students develop the skills required to excel as business executives. Such as the ability to quickly and accurately analyze large amounts of information and the ability to develop smart solutions to business problems. MBA programs also teach students how to inspire and motivate people and command respect. A skill which is vital for those who want to tackle ambitious business projects that require teamwork, MBA faculty say.
“An MBA degree is designed to teach everything needed to run your own business,” Michael Provitera, an associate professor of organizational behavior at Barry University in Florida who has an MBA and a DBA, wrote in an email. “However, the program caters to managers that want to become leaders and students aspiring to climb the corporate ladder.”
Phyllis Zimbler Miller, who received her MBA in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, says she has greatly benefited from the lessons she learned in MBA courses decades ago. “And every day of my life since then I have used my graduate business education, which provides an effective mindset and framework for looking at situations and acting on these situations that is not provided in most undergraduate education,” Zimbler Miller, a screenwriter and book author, wrote in an email.
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