15 Best European Business Schools For Landing A Well-Paid Job | Bloomberg

If you want an MBA degree to increase your salary, these European business schools will not disappoint. 

The best European MBA programs are gaining ground on their US peers. Shorter MBA programs, cheaper fees because of currency swings, and international student bodies, have contributed to increasing applications to European business schools.

Each year, Bloomberg releases a ranking of the best business schools in Europe based on a variety of metrics including compensation, learning and networking. 

We’ve broken the data down on the compensation metric to see which schools in Europe give you the most bang for your buck in 2021.

Best European business schools with the highest MBA salaries

1. SDA Bocconi

Climbing two places from the 2019-2020 ranking, SDA Bocconi got a perfect score on compensation.  

Almost 30% of graduates go into the technology sector, where they earn a median starting salary of $134,000. SDA Bocconi alumni also make impressive salaries in other industries, earning $132,000 in healthcare and $129,000 in consulting. 

SDA Bocconi is known for its intimate learning environment and highly international cohort, which helps students develop a global network and business perspective. 

2. IMD

The top-ranked European school in Bloomberg’s overall ranking, IMD is in second place for pay. 

The Swiss school, on the shores of Lake Geneva, scored 99.8 on compensation out of 100. In some industries, IMD MBA graduates make astronomical salaries. Take by way of example the financial sector, where IMD alumni bagged a median starting salary of $148,000. 

IMD has a tight knit community and small class sizes, which translate into a powerful alumni network. 

3. London Business School

Ranked fifth overall, London Business School was third for salary, scoring 93.1 on compensation out of 100. 

35% of grads go into consulting in companies like McKinsey or Deloitte, where they can expect to make a starting salary of $116,000. 30% of grads end up in the technology industry, where the median starting salary is an impressive $108,000, and 20% land a role in finance, where their starting salary stands at $121,000.

London Business School puts an emphasis on real-world experience, offering students the opportunity to partake in multiple internships and get involved in hands-on consulting projects. 

Choosing a European MBA

The uniting theme for all the top European schools for compensation is that they are all highly ranked in their own right in the main Bloomberg ranking. Pay is an important part of the methodology, and it’s an important part of getting an MBA. 

You would be well served picking any of the schools below, which come from a wide range of countries from Spain to Germany, and each have unique strengths, whether the diversity of the cohort, length of the program, or success in a particular sector. 

This article was first published in December 2017.

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