MBA Starting Salaries: Facts or Fantasies?

The Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.com reports a salary increase of about 23K post MBA in the US and 24K in Europe. Around the globe, though, the salary hop from BA to MBA is enough to keep undergraduate business majors in school a couple years longer and to send graduates back for a degree upgrade.

If you're going to invest in a graduate business degree, you should know that a number of factors will affect your MBA starting salary.

• Where You Get Your MBA Matters. The money you spend on a top MBA program will be repaid many times over. Top rated programs got that way because of the success of their graduates. Success breeds success. The letters in the name of your school are as important as the letters after your name. Don't leave prestige out of your salary calculations.
• The Business Sector that Hires You Should be Healthy. Recently, consulting services have seen a downturn, going the way of high-tech and manufacturing. By contrast, the gaming industry is going strong. Remember that no woman or man is an island. If you get a great MBA starting salary in a slumping sector, your subsequent advancement may be slower than you'd like.
• You Matter, Too. Your experience, your personality and your individuality. Assuming that other MBAs share your degree, your starting salary will reflect more than your academic achievements. Can you bring a second language to the table? Are you well-traveled? Musical? An artist? An athlete? Take advantage of extra-curricular activities, so you're selling the complete package when you take your MBA to market.

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