MBA Salary Expectations: Sober Reckoning or Wishful Thinking?
This article is for subscribers only.
New research suggests that business school applicants have ratcheted back their post-MBA salary expectations, but in the U.S. and elsewhere they may still be wildly optimistic.
The research comes from QS Quacquarelli Symonds, the company behind QS.com, which publishes university and business school rankings. A QS survey of 4,122 applicants found that the average target salary dropped to $113,000, from $126,500 a year earlier. That dramatic decline syncs up nicely with the study’s other findings—fewer applicants plan to change industries, start businesses, or work for small companies—to paint a portrait of a newly risk-averse B-school generation.