Image Courtesy: bit.ly/1osRjxG What can a business degree/diploma do for you? Can an MBA degree from Wharton, Stanford or Harvard get you better opportunities than a degree from the University of Iowa, Ohio State or Texas A&M? Let’s find out.....
I am sure you are also wondering whether an MBA can actually help your career and, if so, then from where you should study. To be honest, most of us cannot get enrolled into the top most business schools. Hence many aspirants face a perplexing situation- whether to pursue an MBA from a 2nd or 3rd tier B-school.
MBA- The Money-Making Degree
According to a recent analysis by PayScale for Poets&Quants, salary data collected from MBAs via online pay comparison tools reveal that MBA degrees (even from second rate B-schools) offer a sturdy seven-figure income over a period of 20 years. PayScale utilised their database of business graduates at the top 50 American B-schools to compute an approximation of median pay and bonus during the 20 year period.
The study calculated only base salary, profit sharing and cash bonuses and in present day dollars over a span of 20 years from 1994 to 2014. It excludes cash value of retirement benefits, stock-based compensations and other non-cash perks, like health care. The estimates depict that despite of all the doubt about the value of MBA degree and other business-related postgraduate diploma since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, business education is still one of the most effective qualifications for building a promising career.
Top Schools Offer Top Dollars
The outcomes of the study tend to show what we would imagine- reputed and top ranked B-schools offer the highest salaries over a period of 20 years. The MBA programme at Harvard Business School is ranked top with an average earning of $3,233,000. Stanford MBA graduates are next in line with $3,011,000; while Wharton is ranked third with a median income of $2,989,000. In fact, MBA graduates from Harvard tend to earn almost twice as Texas A&M’s Mays Business School graduates, who earn around $1,781,820 in 20 years.
Robert Bruner, Dean of the Darden School of Business (University of Virginia), says, “It is not surprising that where you get your MBA has a strong association with your income potential. There is a winners-take-all, self-reinforcing cycle in higher education: certain schools attract excellent student talent, which in turn attracts intense recruiter activity and high-salary offers. The employment results make it easier for those schools to attract excellent student talent…and the cycle continues.”
Is MBA The Doorway To A Money-Spinning Career?
Yes! The lucrative career opportunities offered by degree and diploma in business studies are perhaps the main reason for its still growing popularity. Most students attend B-schools as it allows them access to high-paying jobs in investment banking, hedge funds, management consulting, venture capital and private equity. So it comes as no surprise that business education acts as a doorway to the best and most rewarding management careers worldwide.
Paul Danos, dean of Tuck School of Business (Dartmouth College), says “The return on investment for the best full-time programmes is very high and I predict that trend continuing for the foreseeable future. Often when people talk about the value of the MBA they fail to recognize that there are many different types of MBA programmes.”
He adds “While two-year full-time programs such as Tuck, Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, etc., require a significant investment in time and money, that investment pays off in both career options and compensation. The top programs are able to recruit the best qualified students, provide a truly excellent educational experience, and therefore attract top recruiters who recognize the value of that experience.”
Get The Best ROI
Danos believes that MBA offers the best return on investment. He concludes by saying “I know of no other educational experience that can match the total value proposition of a 2-year full time MBA. It is a transformative experience that enables an engineer to become a financier, a high school teacher to become a marketing executive, or an auditor to become a mergers and acquisition specialist for a top corporation. And the options available to graduates keep expanding globally and the monetary return remains strong.”
There you have it...a postgraduate diploma or degree in business, even from a second rate school, is still one of the best options for you to advance your career and boost your earning potentials in this ever expanding corporate world.
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