Mid-career professionals interested in earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree must consider numerous factors in judging the degree’s merits. Cost and program design are key components in determining a degree program’s potential return on investment. For instance, prospective students who need the financial stability of maintaining income while completing studies may benefit from the convenient design of flexible options like the online MBA General program from Northwest Missouri State University.
Another essential consideration is the market demand for the degree. Current estimates paint a bright career outlook for MBA graduates. According to the 2024 Corporate Recruiters Survey from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), over nine in 10 top employers globally plan to recruit MBAs in 2024.
A 2022 GMAC report on the pre- and post-graduation perspectives of over 3,600 graduate management education candidates also highlights many positive outcomes. Survey respondents decided to meet the economic challenges of a changing world by enrolling in graduate management education programs to redirect the course of their careers. Judging by these and other data sources, MBA alumni and employers believe an MBA investment often reaps substantial rewards for professionals and their organizations.
Strong Hiring Prospects
The trend toward improving corporate performance and productivity is fueling the demand for business school graduates who have the well-rounded training and leadership capabilities that organizations need. Not only are most companies planning to hire business school graduates, but many of these employers also plan to increase the number of recent MBA graduates they will hire going forward, expanding the number of positions for job seekers.
Survey results from GMAC showed excellent hiring projections and career prospects for MBA graduates. More than one third of employers plan to hire more MBA graduates in 2024 than they did in 2023. All employers surveyed express some degree of confidence (the vast majority being “confident” or “highly confident”) in graduate management education’s “ability to prepare students to be successful in their organizations.”
Plus, a strong majority of employers surveyed agreed with the following statements:
- Business school graduates tend to outperform other employees in my company.
- Business school graduates tend to have the fast track to upper-level positions in my company.
- Employees with a graduate business school education tend to earn more than others.
Satisfaction With Education and Professional Benefits
Many advanced degree programs outside of business produce qualified and successful professionals. Yet not all result in the broad levels of satisfaction that MBA graduates tend to find. According to GMAC’s research, over 90% of graduate management education alumni rated their education experience favorably, more than 85% believed their investment in education had a positive return and 87% agreed that their degree increased their employability.
Furthermore, 76% or more of alumni stated that their graduate management degree increased their earning power, prepared them for leadership positions and developed their professional network. Roughly 70% of respondents reported that, in general, their education also helped them achieve both personal and financial goals.
Attractive Earning Potential
Graduates of MBA programs tend to command high salaries in numerous industries such as: consulting, financial services, technology, healthcare, media/entertainment, energy, retail, real estate, consumer packaged goods, transportation, logistics services and manufacturing.
Numerous sources show strong compensation trends for MBA graduates and the types of managerial and executive positions they typically occupy or advance to:
- GMAC reports a 2024 median yearly starting salary of $120,000 for new MBA grads in the U.S., compared to a median of $95,000 in 2014.
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that marketing managers made a median salary of $157,620 in 2023.
- Sales managers made a median annual salary of $135,160 in 2023, according to BLS.
- ZipRecruiter reports the median annual salary for chief financial officers to be $261,533 as of July 2024.
In comparison to these figures, the employers surveyed by GMAC projected offering new hires with only bachelor’s degrees a median salary of $69,320 in 2024. Clearly, an MBA can offer a significant pay bump. Whether a professional prioritizes employment prospects, salary potential or job satisfaction, earning an MBA may be one of the most rewarding decisions they can make.
Learn more about Northwest’s online MBA General program.
