Average salaries for holders of a masters in business administration (MBA) degree vary widely according to the type of job held and the individual employer. Graduates of more prestigious business schools also earn higher starting salaries, according to PayScale and the Graduate Management Admissions Council.
Salary Variations
As of December 2010, according to PayScale, annual salaries for MBA holders vary widely according to specific job titles and by individual employers. Those working in human resources received the lowest annual pay, between $50,766 and $77,609, while those in marketing earned average salaries ranging from $82,174 to $140,155.
Average Starting Salaries
Workers who are entering the job markets immediately after completing their MBA have earnings that are typically well above the national average for their job titles. Starting salaries for new MBAs averaged $80,292 in 2006, according to the Graduate Management Admissions Council. That year, half of all recent graduates of MBA programs earned between $70,000 and $90,000.
Experienced Workers
The earnings of MBA holders increase steadily as they accrue more experience in the business world and in their fields. MBA holders who have been employed for five to nine years earn an average annual salary of $72,776, while those with 10 to 19 years in their profession may expect average salaries of $97,445, as of December 2010, according to PayScale. MBA holders with 20 or more years of experience earn average salaries of $109,364. These salaries are for all industry segments, and may vary greatly between industries.
Top 10 Schools
Students who graduate with an MBA from a well-respected school can expect to have much higher earnings than their peers. Graduates from the schools rated by Business Week and Bloomberg as the top 10 in the nation all earned more than $100,000 annually immediately upon entering the workforce. Stanford graduates topped the average earnings index, with its students receiving job offers that paid average salaries of $120,000 annually as of 2010.
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