US MBA Programmes With Surprisingly High Graduate Salaries

By Linda Mohamed Updated Jun 14, 2021

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Introduction
Am I guaranteed six-figures?
Employability matters

US MBA Programmes With Surprisingly High Graduate Salaries

The 10 industries paying MBA grads six-figure salaries

A high return on investment (ROI) is one of the main reasons professionals decide to go to business school to do an MBA. After all, who wouldn’t want to progress in their career and be rewarded with a higher salary?

If increasing your earnings is your main goal, you might already know of a few schools that will guarantee you six figures after graduation, such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Wharton School, Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School and Booth School of Business.

However, top ranked schools aren’t your only option when it comes to helping you boost your salary substantially.

Here are some lesser-known US MBA programmes where you can graduate from with a significant salary jump.

School	Mean salary after three months (US$)
Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business	159,839
Texas A&M University	157,827
Howard University	157,592
Mendoza College of Business	156,902
Penn State Smeal College of Business	154,852
Wisconsin School of Business	152,308
Isenberg School of Management	151,300
The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management	149,516
Hough Graduate School of Business	148,386
George Washington University School of Business	147,269
Max M. Fisher College of Business	146,580
W.P. Carey School of Business	146,518
Robert H. Smith School of Business	146,410
UCI Paul Merage School of Business	144,334
Naveen Jindal School of Management	144,320
Darla Moore School of Business	143,893

Am I guaranteed six-figures?

While median salaries reflect the average earnings of MBAs after graduation, it’s difficult to predict exactly how much each graduate will make post-business school.

This is because salaries depend on a variety of factors, including:

Industry: It’s no secret that some industries are more lucrative than others. For instance, an MBA working at a small sustainability start-up might make less than a classmate landing a top position at a global consulting firm – so, if a high salary is your top goal, make sure you pay close attention to which industries pay MBAs the most. Here’s the top 10.
Location: Location also plays a very important role in your salary. Depending on where you’ll live, your earnings will either rise or decrease to reflect local costs of living. Of course, working in bigger business hubs such as New York City and the Silicon Valley will lead to greater salaries.

Employability matters

A high salary doesn’t come without effort. In today’s job market – where more and more candidates possess interesting professional backgrounds – standing out to recruiters is becoming increasingly difficult, hence why it’s important that you focus on becoming as employable as possible.

But how can you increase your employability during your MBA?

Build a strong network: Getting to know the right people can take you to the right places at the right time. During your degree, make sure that you attend as many events as possible (both online and in-person) and that you take advantage of all networking opportunities that arise. These might be grabbing a coffee with alumni, attending a career fair, or even meeting your classmates outside of school. Having a strong network might lead to invaluable professional opportunities in the future.
Focus on transferable skills: Solid business knowledge is important, but so are transferable skills. Depending on which industry you’re interested in, make sure you take classes – including electives – that are tailored to your unique needs, but that can also be applied to other sectors within your focus area.

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Written by

Linda Mohamed

Linda was a Content Writer at TopMBA, creating content about students, courses, universities and businesses. She recently graduated in Journalism & Creative Writing with Politics and International Relations, and now enjoys writing for a student audience.