BW on MBA compensation and Forbes on hiring

If you have not done so, I strongly suggest reading BusinessWeek's "MBA Pay: A Crystal Ball" because it provides a very useful perspective on compensation and another alternative way to rank programs. BusinessWeek commissioned a study of MBA pay over a period of 20 years for "45 top-ranked full-time MBA programs—BusinessWeek's 30 Best B-Schools of 2008 plus 15 additional second-tier schools." What the study shows is that BusinessWeek ranking is for some schools is a very good indicator of their 20 year performance, while for others it is not. Play with the interactive table and you can see the 20 year rankings compared to the BusinessWeek rankings. As the article makes clear, the study they did does have limits and past performance is no clear indicator of future performance, but still for those deciding where to apply or those who need to decide where to attend, it is quite useful.

Moving from long-term to more immediate considerations, Forbes' "It's A Good Time To Go To A B-Level B-School" reports that job expectations and placement for those graduating from second tier schools is in some sense better than at higher ranked programs. The article actually provides no real comparison data and seems to be a case of a writer gloating about the diminished opportunities for those who graduate from top schools:
Not that M.B.A. holders from the name-brand schools are going without work. With their first-choice jobs gone, they're finding there are plenty of smaller employers eager to hire them. They're just not starting careers as rich or as glamorous as they once expected. They're going to places they wouldn't have taken a second look at in the past.

What a difference a recession makes.

It certainly stands to reason that those graduating from top schools right now would be experiencing diminished expectations, but to assume that those at lower ranked schools are actually in a better position is a rather large assumption. Where is the data?
Anyway, both articles are worth looking at.

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス


Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

ビジネススクール MBA留学