Who

The Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®) conducts the MBA Alumni Perspectives Survey as a follow-up to the Global MBA® Graduate Survey. The most recent survey, conducted in September 2007, includes responses from 2,856 people.

What

The study’s focus is on gauging how alumni feel about their jobs and employers, their level of career attainment, and the value they place on the MBA degree.

Why

The study was undertaken to—

• assess the performance of graduate management education;
• monitor the educational needs of alumni;
• measure job placement, satisfaction, and turnover;
• understand first and current job characteristics; and
• track changes in responsibility, promotion, and salary.

The Results

Major findings from the September 2007 survey include:

• Financial outcomes drive overall satisfaction with the graduate business degree.
• About six months after graduation, alumni recoup 47 percent of the investment made in education and about half of the alumni recoup full investment within seven years.
• A majority of alumni feel that pursuing a graduate business degree—as well as choice of school, program, and area of academic concentration—was the right decision.
• Earnings on the job increase as the amount of time since graduation increases. On average, the most recent business school graduate currently earns US$92,360 annually. Alumni who graduated in 2000 earn 78-percent more than that—US$164,628 per year, on average.
• There is only a slight match between the career goal-orientation of alumni regarding current job.
• However, there is greater consistency between goal-orientation and current job for alumni who have been out of school longer. The match between career goal-orientation and current job strengthens over the years, as alumni gain both greater job experience and time to evaluate career and goals.
• Organizational culture has a significant role in the level of satisfaction alumni have with their employer. An alumnus’ satisfaction with his or her employer is driven by a well-defined organizational framework, open interpersonal relationships, and team-based rewards.