Finance Sector Still Hard to Beat for MBA Salaries

By QS Contributor Updated Sep 02, 2019

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Introduction
Kellogg School of Management posts finance salary high of US$375,000

Finance Sector Still Hard to Beat for MBA Salaries: MBA News main image

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The finance sector still holds a strong draw for US business school graduates according to recent ‘class of 2013’ employment reports – not least, in terms of the MBA salaries on offer.

An unnamed top earner landed a not-to-be-sniffed-at US$375,000 investment management job with a private equity firm in Boston after completing an MBA at Kellogg School of Management.

The figure was larger than the highest MBA salaries posted by other leading US schools such as Wharton ($350,000), Columbia ($310,000), Chicago Booth ($250,000), and Harvard ($177,500.)

However, it is median figures for MBA salaries of over US$100,000 offered by the finance sector that are perhaps the most enlightening. At a time when the number of MBAs heading into finance seems to be waning, in favor of careers in technology or entrepreneurial ventures for instance, average salaries show that the finance sector can still offer a strong and rapid return on your investment in a top-ranking MBA program.

Kellogg School of Management posts finance salary high of US$375,000

A median figure of US$110,000 for MBA salaries in the finance sector reported by the Kellogg School of Management indicates the potential return on a full-time program with an estimated cost of US$80,000.

Even so, only 19% of Kellogg grads ventured into the finance sector this year. Consultancy, on the other hand, accounted for 38% of the class with McKinsey & Co. taking on 46 students to set them out as the school’s biggest recruiter.

The finance sector was more popular among famously finance-orientated Chicago Booth and proximal to Wall St Columbia MBAs – attracting 35% and 37.9% of the class of 2013 respectively. Yet, at both schools McKinsey & Co. was also comfortably the largest recruiter, hiring 41 Chicago Booth MBAs and 50 from Columbia.

The consultancy sector also offers excellent potential for return on investment. Kellogg School of Management, Chicago Booth and Columbia all report median MBA salaries around the US$130,000 mark for the class of 2013.