There is no shortage of predictions about the grim future of business education. Disruptive technology, escalating costs, staffing issues, and market competition are high on the list of challenges faced by business schools, big and small. But ask alumni about the value of their business degree and you get an overwhelming endorsement. Indeed a new survey shows that business school alumni earn more, rise fast, and expand their opportunities.
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) surveyed more than 12,000 graduate business school alumni from more than 230 graduate business programs at 71 universities in 16 locations across the globe. The results of their 2015 Alumni Perspectives Survey Report offer a global snapshot of employment and career progression for alumni representing the classes of 1959 through 2014. Ninety percent of business school alumni say graduate management education boosted their earning power, with many climbing to the executive ranks, and reporting high levels of job satisfaction. Graduates gave overall high marks to the value of their education in driving their professional success, as well as positive reviews to their business school’s alumni association, with a majority saying their engagement with these associations has contributed to their success.
“Graduate management degree-holders consistently tell GMAC their education is a solid investment and a spur to personal, professional and financial achievement, even in up-and-down economies,” said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC. “A graduate management education isn’t just a degree, it’s a career catalyst.”
Business school graduates give overall high marks to the value of their education in driving their... [+]
With many business schools reporting the strongest MBA job market for years, and an employer survey that shows nine out of ten employers intending to hire b-school graduates in 2015, this comes as more welcome news for the industry. The GMAC survey shows that an MBA or other graduate management degree, such as a Master in Management, Accounting or Finance, is a strong educational investment in today’s highly competitive career marketplace. In fact, in the survey, 95 percent of alumni rated their graduate management education as a good to outstanding value, and 93 percent would recommend their graduate business program to others.
Among the findings of the report:
Business school alumni career trajectories show consistency in reaching higher levels of their organizations regardless of graduation year. The majority of alumni held mid-level positions one year after earning their degree. Five years after graduation, the majority of business school alumni are in senior-level positions or higher, and at 10 years, one in four alumni are in executive-level positions and 5 percent are in the “c-suite” (e.g., CEO, CFO, COO). Graduates who have made it to the c-suite are most likely of all alumni to say they use the knowledge, skills and abilities learned in graduate business school on the job.
Ninety percent of alumni credit graduate management education with increasing their earning power. In both developed and developing economies, graduate management alumni exercise enhanced purchasing power. For the first time, GMAC offers a comparison of earnings for graduate management alumni relative to others. A global analysis of alumni salaries by work location in relation to GDP and purchasing-power-parity per capita (GDP PPP) uncovers that business school alumni have purchasing power 1.6 to 6.8 times that of the average resident of the country where they work.
B-school alumni rise fast in the workplace and have high levels of job satisfaction. The majority of graduate business school alumni, working across all occupational levels from entry-level positions to c-suite, credit their graduate management education for preparing them for leadership positions, as well as for accelerating the pace of their career advancement. In addition, they report high levels of job satisfaction. Four in five alumni, or 84 percent, say their graduate management education offered opportunities for quicker career advancement.
The report measured entrepreneurial behavior in the workplace — defined through the traits of innovativeness, proactiveness and social risk taking — factors associated with alumni career success. Analysis shows c-suite and self-employed alumni describe themselves with these attributes to a greater extent than alumni at all other job levels.
Fifty-nine percent of alumni belong to their business school’s alumni association and tend to rate their level of career success higher than those who are not members. The additional services alumni seek from their alma mater include courses and seminars, access to career services and more networking events.
It's enough to make Cassandra think again about getting her MBA.
