Is an MBA a route to high finance? There has been a persistent myth that MBA graduates do rather well in investment banking and high reward financial careers, but the facts are that MBA careers in high finance vary as much as the markets themselves. Historically MBA employment within investment banking seems to mirror the performance of the world’s financial markets. As far back as the 1980s, more than 25% of MBA graduates ended up in banking, until the 1987 market crash. Subsequent to that crash, MBA graduates involved in banking reduced to barely 17%. Even so, whilst MBA graduate bankers may not be immune to the cold winds of recession markets, they do still seem to find a considerable niche in the finance world. This is good news as earnings for MBA bankers are some of the highest.
Deciding whether and how to take an mba program is – for many people – also a financial issue. MBA programs are not cheap, the fee is often substantial – but to this must be added the living costs, cost of materials, travel and for full time programs – the loss of income for the period of the program. For many people therefore this is one of their largest financial decisions.
Most Popular Employers Amongst US MBA Graduates. The recent MBA graduate and student survey published by “Fortune†May 2007 in the United States, shows that American MBA graduates seem to favour working for management consultancies, although Google takes first place.
