Business Career Median Salary and Signing Bonus for MBA Students in the Class of 2008

We collected median salary and bonus by business area for graduates from the top MBA programs in the last year where data have been reported - 2008.

Given the tough job market today these salaries may be above what is obtainable - particularly in the finance field.

The highest compensation came in finance and strategy positions. Venture capital is well paid but very tough to break into. Investment banking and consulting jobs are also well paid and somewhat easier to break into.

Bear in mind that some of these higher paying areas may have either very long work hours or pressurized working conditions. Thus, on a per hour basis these professions aren't necessarily the highest paid.

To state the obvious, you need money to survive and thrive but it is not everything. If you can find a profession that is truly engaging for you then taking top dollar for your services may be somewhat less important.

Compare to Salaries for College Graduates

view a list of top business recruiters of MBAs and college graduates

Glassdoor.com - a good source for salary data.

MBA Salaries by School - Data from select schools.

Methodology: We looked at salary data from a number of MBA programs and did not include information from all programs. The main reason is that we required that both median salary and some type of average signing bonus be provided for professions in a granular way. Many schools provided salaries without signing bonuses or averaged salaries which can often overstate remuneration versus median data.