COMP NEWS – While the number of MBA applications around the U.S. keep declining, the salaries of MBA grads are actually rising by as much as 10% year-to-year.
Reports suggest that MBA applications are declining, but salaries for graduates appear to be surging. Employment outcome reports from top-ranked business schools show that 2022 MBA graduates landed starting salaries that were a between 10% to 21% from the prior year.
New York University (Stern) announced Tuesday that median base salaries for its 2022 MBA graduates jumped $15,000 to a whopping $170,000—the highest-ever amount reported at the business school. That’s slightly less than the $175,000 record-breaking median base salaries announced by the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business in September. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt University MBA salaries also hit an all-time high at $135,000 for a median base salary and $30,000 in signing bonuses. Fortune ranks these full-time MBA programs as follows: Stern is No. 7, UVA is No. 14, and Vanderbilt is No. 21.
At NYU Stern, median signing bonuses came in at $35,000, meaning NYU Stern grads, on average, left the program making more than $200,000. Average total compensation was $196,143, up nearly 8% from 2021.
The salary outcomes follow a summertime trend when top-tier consulting firms revealed salary increases for the upcoming year. In 2022, starting base salaries for new MBA grads at McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Co. was $175,000. Going into 2023, however, Bain and McKinsey will offer $192,000 base salaries and BCG will offer $190,000.
MBA salaries have been rising in part due to the competition for talent in a competitive market.
Beyond school-specific advantages, MBA salaries have also been going up due to sheer competition for top talent in a tight labor market.
“There was a lot of deal flow on the finance side, so the banks were scrambling for people, and the consulting firms were, as well,” Emily Anderson, senior director of Vanderbilt’s University’s Owen Graduate School of Management’s Career Management Center, previously told Fortune. “They were competing for talent—and our students benefited from a really competitive employment environment.” At Vanderbilt, average base salaries were up 12% year-over-year.
As indicated, the top three consulting firms are also continuing to increase salaries for recent MBA grads. This is largely due to the fight for top talent and major corporations.
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