Students choose to attend business school for a variety of reasons, but one common thread is a desire to invest in themselves in order to advance and elevate their careers.
Investing in a graduate business degree provides tremendous value as it equips you with the in-demand skills, credibility, network support, and career opportunities necessary to have long-term success in an increasingly dynamic global economy, whether you’re motivated to level up on your current career path, make a significant career change, or launch your career from the best possible position.
To increase the job opportunities available to them (74%), increase their salary potential (72%), and develop their general business knowledge, skills, and abilities (71%) are the top three specific motivations business candidates cite. A majority of candidates also want to advance their career path (67%), develop their leadership skills (62%), gain professional credibility or credentials (58%), and allow them to change career paths (51%).
Graduates who graduate from business school with a degree – and, more importantly, valuable experiences – are more likely to experience high levels of job satisfaction. Most graduates feel that their present employment utilises the skills they learned in business school, is connected to their planned career path, provides opportunity for development, and is work they personally prefer.
There is no such thing as a type of business school student. Classrooms are more diversified than they have ever been, and schools provide a wide range of program options to help you achieve your unique goals and requirements.
Leading business schools attract bright students from a wide range of academic, professional, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Nearly 200 nations are represented among GMAT test takers, and only approximately a quarter of those who took the exam studied business as an undergraduate. Over the last ten years, the percentage of Hispanic students participating in US MBA programs has doubled, and the representation of Black and multiracial students is also on the rise.
Leading business schools encourage diversity and build their classes with it in mind, not just to improve the overall learning experience of their programs, but also to make the pipeline of global business leadership more reflective of the societies they serve.
All students, regardless of background, benefit from a classroom experience that exposes them to diverse perspectives, which stem from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences shared in class discussions. Through learning, working, and growing alongside a diverse cohort of classmates, MBA and business master’s students emerge from their programs more thoughtful, empathetic, and informed about the world around them, and will bring that experience to bear in the leadership positions they’ll occupy in the future.
Business schools can provide you with a program that is customized to your level of experience, regardless of where you are in your career. Pre-experience business master’s programs for students just starting their careers, full-time MBA programs for students with three to nine years of experience, and a mix of professional MBA programs that offer flexible schedules and delivery formats, typically targeted at experienced professionals, are among the program types offered by schools.
Most business school graduates experience an immediate professional benefit as well as long-term professional growth as a result of their education.
Master’s and MBA graduates in business have a wide range of skills and are highly sought after by top employers in a variety of industries. Every year, a large number of organisations compete for highly desirable leadership or leadership track positions among business school graduates.
According to MBA CSEA, within three months after graduation, 87 percent of full-time MBA graduates received job offers. Before they graduated, the majority of them had a job offer.
Most graduates’ employment acceptances are primarily based on activities provided by business schools. Overall, 68% of job acceptances by last year’s class came via school-facilitated activities, including converting an internship into a full-time job offer (26%), interviews secured through the school (15%), job postings on school career systems (9%), and activities supported by the school career center (6%).
According to GMAC’s annual survey of recruiting professionals, the majority of employers that recruited on business school campuses agreed that business school graduates have a faster road to upper-level jobs in their businesses, and that their executives have a graduate business degree.
Why are business school graduates held in such confidence? Recruiters mentioned strategic thinking, great communication skills, and a flexible skill set as the top reasons for hiring them. These abilities, which can be used to almost any business leadership role, are hallmarks of a generalist graduate business education, which have been demonstrated over decades and are constantly updated to keep up with the quickly changing business scene.
Overall, 9 out of 10 graduates believe their graduate business education improved their employability (87%), and 7 out of 10 believe it provided them with prospects for faster career advancement (68%). Within two years of graduation, 3 out of 4 graduates who joined business school from entry-level positions climbed at least one career level (75%).
Upskilling with a graduate business degree can be a powerful way to shift your career into a different industry, role, or even country.
For the most part, the days of landing a job with a firm and staying there for the rest of your career are long gone. According to some studies, the average person can now expect to have as many as seven “careers” during their working career. When you combine this with the fact that the business landscape is changing at an increasingly rapid pace, the reality is that you can’t plan for the future as much as you can prepare for it.
People are increasingly reevaluating their employment and keen to make a shift for the better, especially as we emerge from a global pandemic. In fact, over half of business school applicants (51%) claim that changing careers is one of their primary motives for earning a degree, and roughly the same number actually do so (50%).
The most common industries pivoted into by the 38% of alumni who changed industries after graduation were products and services (21 percent), technology (20 percent), and finance (15 percent). Among the 37 percent of alumni who changed job functions, the most common roles they took on were consulting (30%), marketing (18%), and general management (18%).
Another common motivation for business school applicants is to change careers and relocate to a new country, such as the United States, Canada, or Western Europe.
A graduate business degree can help students establish knowledge with a new country’s standards, obtain work experience through internships, and achieve a marketable degree that could qualify them for full-time employment abroad. Furthermore, the worldwide diversity of top business school classrooms equips students to lead in global enterprises. Indeed, 70% of graduates believe their graduate management education qualified them to work in culturally diverse companies.
The average business master’s or MBA graduate makes significantly more than they would have without their degree – and over the course of their careers, they earn significantly more.
Last year, the median starting wage given to MBA grads by businesses recruiting on business school campuses was US$115,000, significantly higher than what the same employers intended to pay for direct-from-industry employees ($95,000). According to MBA CSEA, the average starting salary for MBA graduates was US$124,000 last year, and the average salary and bonus package for Executive MBA grads was US$193,000, according to the Executive MBA Council.
The median salary for newly hired business master’s graduates (US$85,000 for Master of Business Analytics, US$85,000 for Master of Finance, and US$75,000 for Master of Management) was also higher than the median salary for newly graduated bachelor’s graduates (US$65,000).
Employees with a graduate business school background likely to earn more than others in their businesses, according to 70% of global employers. This is notably true in the consulting (81%) and healthcare (74%) industries, as well as in the products/services (72%) sector.
The average percentage gain in earnings across the full sample of graduates from the last ten years was 42 percent. Almost every graduate business student agrees that their education boosted their potential earnings (77%).
This is known as the business school wage premium, and the difference between what you make with a graduate business degree against what you would have made without one adds up to a significant amount over the course of your career. An MBA graduate may expect to earn US$3 million more than someone with merely a bachelor’s degree, according to the 2021 Corporate Recruiters Survey Report.
Do business school graduates believe their time, efforts, and money were well spent when everything is said and done?
MBA and business master’s degrees are a well-worn path to career growth and leadership roles across industries, organisation types, and countries, according to the facts and personal stories of graduates.
The value of their graduate business education is rated good, excellent, or outstanding by 94 percent of alumni. Furthermore, nearly 9 out of 10 people say their business school degree has produced a positive return on investment (87%).
The vast majority of alumni feel their graduate business education enhanced their life professionally (84%), personally (7 %), and financially (69%).
Investing in the business school experience can help you achieve whatever specific business career objective or motivation you have. The world’s top business schools will offer a program option that is a solid fit for your goals, preferences, and degree of experience, whether you’re just starting your career or knocking on the door of the highest levels of management.
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