Insights from the 2017 Alumni Perspectives Survey detail how alumni value their degree financially, professionally, and financially.
The value graduate business school alumni derive from their degree does not merely exist in the abstract. It intersects with their lives in a variety of tangible ways, specifically along the dimensions of the personal, the professional, and the financial. Overall, 93 percent of alumni spanning all graduation years say earning their degree was personally rewarding, 91 percent say it was professionally rewarding, and 76 percent say it was financially rewarding.
Viewing alumni responses by graduation year over the last ten-year period shows that for most alumni who graduated since 2007, their personal and professional rewards are attained soon after graduation and remain high over time, whereas the financial rewards of a graduate business degree accrue gradually, especially for the most recent graduates. Among Class of 2016 survey respondents, 68 percent agree or strongly agree their degree was financially rewarding. Among Class of 2007 respondents, that figure is 81 percent.
In terms of the specific outcomes they achieved from earning their degrees, alumni respondents report that their graduate business education:
- Prepared them for leadership positions (86% agree/strongly agree);
- Prepared them for their chosen career (85%);
- Increased their earnings power (82%);
- Provided opportunities for quicker career advancement (75%)
- Developed their professional network (72%);
- Improved their job satisfaction (67%); and
- Prepared them for work/life balance (55%).
For more on graduate business school alumni, download the 2017 Alumni Perspective Survey Report at gmac.com/alumniperspectives.