MBA Jobs Salary Trends Report 2015
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Transcript of MBA Jobs Salary Trends Report 2015
QS TopMBA.com Jobs & Salary TrendsReport
Mansoor Iqbal (BA University of Leicester, MA University College London)Benjamin Clayton (BA University of Cambridge)
2015/16
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Introduction and Methodology
Since 1990, the QS Intelligence Unit, in col-
laboration with TopMBA.com, has conducted
an annual survey of MBA employers world-
wide to determine trends in international
salaries and recruitment. QS is proud to
produce the longest-established, geograph-
ically-broadest and most-comprehensive
global review of MBA jobs and salary trends.
The survey is targeted at those with respon-
sibility for MBA recruiting in their respec-
tive companies. We ask them to tell us
about current and future levels of hiring
and remuneration, and use this to map out
global, regional and industry trends.
The 2015 QS Employer Survey is as exten-
sive as ever and presents an unrivalled
overview of the world MBA recruitment
market. For the purpose of this report,
responses were received from 3,952 com-
panies in 88 countries.
Mansoor Iqbal
(BA University of Leicester,
MA University College London)
Mansoor is the author of the report and the
editor of TopMBA.com. He is a higher and
business education specialist with a back-
ground in consumer journalism, and has
worked at QS since 2011. Mansoor studied
English literature at both BA and MA level.
Benjamin Clayton
(BA University of Cambridge)
Benjamin is an analyst with the QS Intelli-
gence Unit, where he focuses on business
schools, MBAs, and the development of the
English language as a method of instruc-
tion. He holds a BA in politics, sociology and
international relations.
Contributors
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Contents
Introduction and Methodology 20. Fast Facts 41. Global Trends in MBA Jobs and Salaries 61.1 Growth in MBA jobs by region 61.2 Top 20 countries for MBA demand 81.3 Compensation by region 91.4 Growth in MBA jobs by industry 111.5 Salaries by industry (US & Canada and Western Europe) 132. Long-Term Trends in MBA Jobs and Salaries 152.1 Index of long-term hiring trends 152.2 Long-term trends in MBA salary levels 162.3 Long-term trends in functional roles 17
3. US & Canada 183.1 MBA hiring trends 183.2 Which regions do employers from the US & Canada look to when hiring
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3.3 Salary trends 203.4 Top salaries by school 214. Western Europe 224.1 MBA hiring trends 224.2 Which regions do employers from Western Europe look to when hiring?
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4.3 Salary trends 244.4 Top salaries by school 255. Asia-Pacific 265.1 MBA hiring trends 265.2 Which regions do employers from Asia-Pacific look to when hiring?
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5.3 Salary trends 275.4 Top salaries by school 29
6. Eastern Europe 306.1 MBA hiring trends 306.2 Which regions do employers from Eastern Europe look to when hiring?
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6.3 Salary trends 317. Latin America 337.1 MBA hiring trends 337.2 Which regions do employers from Latin America look to when hiring?
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7.3 Salary trends 347.4 Top salaries by school 358. Middle East & Africa 368.1 MBA hiring trends 368.2 Which regions do employers from the Middle East & Africa look to when hiring?
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8.3 Salary trends 378.4 Top salaries by school 38
9. What Employers Look For 399.1 Desired skills vs. satisfaction 399.2 Preferred years of work experience among employers 2011-2015 419.3 Functional roles offered 4210. Who Responded to the QS Employer Survey? 4310.1 Regional breakdown of MBA employer respondents 4310.2 Employer response by size 2015 4310.3 Employer response by industry 2013-2015 4310.4 Sample of responding employers by region 2015 44
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1. Global Trends in MBA Jobs and Salaries
ð 14% growth in MBA jobs globally.
ð US and India remain world’s biggest
markets for MBA jobs.
ð Growth in nearly every industry
outstrips predictions.
ð Mixed results in terms of compensa-
tion levels, with some regions far-
ing better than others.
2. Long-Term Trends in MBA
Jobs and Salaries
ð Industry & non-professional services
sector growing rapidly.
ð Slow recovery towards pre-recession
peak for MBA salary levels in the US &
Canada and Western Europe.
3. US & Canada
ð Stellar year for the world’s
most mature market, with 26%
growth in opportunities.
ð Employers in the region becoming more
global in their hiring outlook.
4. Western Europe
ð A good year, with 9% growth in jobs
significantly exceeding expectations.
ð Growth driven by technology
and industry & non-profes-
sional services sectors.
5. Asia-Pacific
ð Rapid growth shows no signs of abating,
with an 18% rise in opportunities.
ð India and China the engine rooms
of growth, with the jobs mar-
ket in the latter showing signs of
increasing maturity.
0. Fast Facts
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6. Eastern Europe
ð A slower year for the region, with only
4% growth reported, though 2015/16
expected to be a much stronger year.
ð A bad year for Russia with reduced
salary offers compounding
reduced opportunities.
7. Latin America
ð Not a good year for Latin American
MBA employers, who report only 1%
growth; better expected in 2015/16.
ð Brazil has experienced a slow-
down, while Mexico and Peru have
seen healthy growth.
8. Middle East & Africa
ð Growth is slower than anticipated
at 8%, with a further slowdown
predicted next year.
ð Employers in the region are the
world’s most outward looking.
9. What Employers Look For
ð Soft skills are an area for concern,
with a clear disparity between
employers’ expectations and
satisfaction levels.
ð There is a long-term trend towards
hiring more-experienced candidates.
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1. Global Trends in MBA Jobs & Salaries
8%
9%
18%
26%4%
1%
1.1 Growth in MBA jobs by region
Region 2014/2015 (forecast) 2014/2015 (actual) 2015/2016 (forecast)
Asia-Pacific 8% 18% 13%
Eastern Europe 5% 4% 17%
Latin America 8% 1% 14%
Middle East & Africa 12% 8% 3%
US & Canada 9% 26% 14%
Western Europe 3% 9% 2%
Global 14% 11%
Growth in Western Europe – a region for
which tumult seems to have become the
norm – will also make for welcome reading.
For the first time in a good number of years,
the world’s two most mature MBA markets
seem to be in rude health – an indicator of
the resilience of the MBA degree.
Recent years, however, have shown us that
the MBA has become a truly global quali-
fication, best demonstrated by its aston-
ishing rise in Asia-Pacific. Indeed, during
times of slow growth in the US & Canada
and in Western Europe, it has been noth-
ing less than strident in the eastern power-
The most eye-catching figure in this year’s report is the 26% growth in MBA jobs in the US &
Canada – a stunning recovery in a region which has experienced sluggish progress in the years
following the Great Recession. As recently as 2012/13, the region’s growth figure was as low as 2%,
so this represents an amazing turnaround which, as we can see, far exceeds expectations.
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houses across the Asia-Pacific region – the engine
room of growth in MBA hiring in recent years.
The surprise this year is that while we expected
a leveling out as Asia-Pacific’s markets grow
ever more mature, the appetites of the region’s
employers for MBAs have shown no signs of dull-
ing, with yet another year of remarkable growth.
Unfortunately, growth has not exceeded expec-
tations universally. It has been a particularly hard
year for MBA employers in Latin America, while
Eastern Europe has fared little better. In both
regions, however, employers are optimistic that
this time next year, we will have more positive
findings to discuss.
While opportunities in the Middle East & Africa
have not quite grown to last year’s high expec-
tations, 8% is a considerable improvement on
2013/14’s growth of 2%. After a few years of
overoptimistic predictions, however, it does seem
like employers have cooled their expectations
for 2015/16 in the youngest of MBA markets. The
current level of hiring, it seems, is perhaps suffi-
cient for the region’s needs.
26% growth in MBA jobs in the US & Canada
– a stunning recovery in a region which has experienced sluggish progress in the years following the Great Recession.
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1.2 Top 20 countries for MBA demand1UNITED STATES
2INDIA
3BRAZIL
4UAE
5CANADA
6SINGAPORE
7SOUTH KOREA
8CHINA
9PERU
10MEXICO
11SAUDI ARABIA
12ITALY
13JAPAN
14RUSSIA
15EGYPT
16SPAIN
17GERMANY
18UK
19PAKISTAN
20KAZAKHSTAN
N
The US, as one might expect of the MBA’s birthplace and
the world’s largest economy, leads the way in the terms
of its sheer volume of MBA jobs. India’s presence in sec-
ond place is testament to the regard in which the degree
is held in the South Asian nation (Pakistan’s presence in
this list can be read along the same lines), while the other
three BRIC countries are also present. Naturally, the rapid
growth these nations have experienced calls for the busi-
ness expertise that MBAs can bring to the collective table.
Elsewhere, we see traditional big hitters in MBA hiring
assuming their positions in the table: the likes of Japan,
South Korea and Singapore in Asia-Pacific; the UK, Ger-
many, Spain and Italy in Europe, and Canada and Mexico
in the Americas. Oil-rich Middle Eastern nations, Saudi
Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also offer plentiful
opportunities for MBAs.
Egypt and Peru might be the more surprising inclusions
here. Egypt, however, has enjoyed a surge of MBA hiring
over the past year driven by the financial services sec-
tor, while Peru has been something of stronghold in MBA
hiring for the past few years after enjoying a period of
rapid economic growth.
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1.2 Top 20 countries for MBA demand
MBA salary and bonus levels by region (total compensation)
1.3 Compensation by region
MBA salary levels by region
MBA bonus levels by region
Region 2013 2014 2015% Change
(13-14)% Change
(14-15)
US & Canada $112,700 $128,600 $123,400 +14% -4%
Latin America $76,800 $71,400 $54,500 -7% -24%
Western Europe $109,000 $112,600 $111,100 +3% -1%
Eastern Europe $69,500 $72,700 $62,300 +5% -14%
Middle East & Africa $81,900 $70,300 $81,000 -14% +15%
Asia-Pacific $88,800 $86,000 $95,200 -3% +11%
Region 2013 2014 2015% Change
(13-14)% Change
(14-15)
US & Canada $90,000 $97,700 $97,300 +9% -0.40%
Latin America $58,900 $55,500 $46,200 -6% -17%
Western Europe $88,800 $90,600 $91,300 +2% +1%
Eastern Europe $61,700 $54,900 $53,000 -11% -3%
Middle East & Africa $65,300 $57,700 $68,700 -12% +19%
Asia-Pacific $68,300 $68,000 $69,200 -0.40% +2%
Region 2013 2014 2015% Change
(13-14)% Change
(14-15)
US & Canada $22,700 $30,900 $26,100 +36% -16%
Latin America $17,900 $15,900 $8,300 -11% -48%
Western Europe $20,200 $22,000 $19,800 +9% -10%
Eastern Europe $7,800 $17,800 $9,200 +128% -48%
Middle East & Africa $16,600 $12,600 $12,300 -24% -2%
Asia-Pacific $20,500 $18,000 $26,000 -12% +44%
Sadly, it cannot always be the case that
we see unbroken upward trajectories
across the board. So it is with the MBA
compensation levels reported this year,
which in most cases have declined a
little. In the US & Canada as well as in
Western Europe the declines have been
small, and also seem to be tied largely
to bonus levels. Indeed, in terms of
salary alone, we actually see a marginal
increase in Western Europe. In both
cases, the decline is also only a one-
year trend, and indeed, the packages
on offer are most certainly generous
(particularly, as you will read later, if
one attends a top school).
*all figures are in US dollars, US$
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Latin America and Eastern Europe have been hit a little harder. In both cases, salary lev-
els stand slightly below their figures in 2013. In the case of the latter, this can again be
explained largely by declining bonus levels – the region’s decline in salary levels is far less
pronounced. Indeed, it seems a huge increase in bonus levels in 2014 renders the figures
from that year as something of an outlier, so we need to take this with a pinch of salt. There is
no such qualification to be made in Latin America, which has traditionally been the region in
which salary levels on offer have been among the lowest in the world; 2014/15 has clearly
been a challenging year for the region’s employers.
Country of Employer Average Salary Average Bonus Total
1. New Zealand $145,000 $10,000 $155,000
2. Switzerland $131,100 $21,400 $152,500
3. Australia $124,800 $27,100 $151,900
4. United States $103,300 $22,400 $125,700
5. United Kingdom $98,500 $22,600 $121,100
6. Singapore $95,600 $46,700 $142,300
7. Spain $93,100 $15,400 $108,500
8. Canada $92,800 $26,800 $119,600
9. Ireland $89,400 $15,700 $105,100
10. Germany $79,700 $8,900 $88,600
Top 10 countries for MBA salary
The Asia-Pacific growth story continues unabated and the region’s potential is demonstrably far from exhausted.
Asia-Pacific has remained relatively consistent in terms of salary levels, though improved
bonuses in 2014/15 have seen total compensation packages improve. It is certainly positive
that despite the huge surge in the MBA hiring, employers are still eager to pay a premium for
MBA talent. The Asia-Pacific growth story continues unabated and the region’s potential is
demonstrably far from exhausted. Salaries in the Middle East & Africa have recovered after
a small dip last year – this is perhaps the region in which one can expect the greatest degree
of volatility, given the relatively small pool of employers.
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1.4 Growth in MBA jobs by industry
Share: MBA jobs by industry 2015
Media / Entertainment & Arts
Electronics / High Technology
Telecoms
Consulting / Professional Services
Financial Services / Banking
Pharma/Biotech & Healthcare
a.b.
c. d. e.
f.
g.
h.
m. l.
n.o.
p.
q.
r.
s.
k.
t.u.
v.
j.
i.
Aerospace / DefenseShare MBA jobs: 0.3%2014-15 forecast: 0%2014-15 growth: 8%2015-16 growth forecast: -3%
a.
Construction / Propertyb.
c.
Consumer Goodsd.
Educatione.
f.
Energyg.
h.
IT / Computer Servicesi.
Lawj.
Manfacturing / Engineeringk.
l.
Metals / Miningm.
n.
Public Sector/Govt./Nonprofito.
Recruitment / HR servicesp.
Retailq.
r.
Transportation/Distributions.
Travel/Leisure/Hospitalityt.
Utilitiesu.
Otherv.
Share MBA jobs: 4.1%2014-15 forecast: 10%2014-15 growth: 46%2015-16 growth forecast: 14%
Share MBA jobs: 8.6%2014-15 forecast: 8%2014-15 growth: 24%2015-16 growth forecast: 12%
Share MBA jobs: 1.6%2014-15 forecast: 5%2014-15 growth: 33%2015-16 growth forecast: 8%
Share MBA jobs: 6.3%2014-15 forecast: 8%2014-15 growth: 16%2015-16 growth forecast: 6%
Share MBA jobs: 2.7%2014-15 forecast: 5%2014-15 growth: 20%2015-16 growth forecast: 8%
Share MBA jobs: 18.1%2014-15 forecast: 5%2014-15 growth: 9%2015-16 growth forecast: 5%
Share MBA jobs: 11.3%2014-15 forecast: 12%2014-15 growth: 16%2015-16 growth forecast: 19%
Share MBA jobs: 0.4%2014-15 forecast: 21%2014-15 growth: 34%2015-16 growth forecast: 1%
Share MBA jobs: 7%2014-15 forecast: 13%2014-15 growth: 22%2015-16 growth forecast: 4%
Share MBA jobs: 0.4%2014-15 forecast: 2%2014-15 growth: 11%2015-16 growth forecast: 4%
Share MBA jobs: 2.3%2014-15 forecast: 1%2014-15 growth: 3%2015-16 growth forecast: 6%
Share MBA jobs: 4.5%2014-15 forecast: 0%2014-15 growth: 17%2015-16 growth forecast: 15%
Share MBA jobs: 5.9%2014-15 forecast: 8%2014-15 growth: 17%2015-16 growth forecast: 10%
Share MBA jobs: 1.7%2014-15 forecast: 8%2014-15 growth: 16%2015-16 growth forecast: -4%
Share MBA jobs: 3.5%2014-15 forecast: 9%2014-15 growth: 24%2015-16 growth forecast: 5%
Share MBA jobs: 2.6%2014-15 forecast: 4%2014-15 growth: 7%2015-16 growth forecast: 7%
Share MBA jobs: 3.4%2014-15 forecast: 11%2014-15 growth: 4%2015-16 growth forecast: 12%
Share MBA jobs: 0.5%2014-15 forecast: 1%2014-15 growth: 18%2015-16 growth forecast: 30%
Share MBA jobs: 1.4%2014-15 forecast: -3%2014-15 growth: 14%2015-16 growth forecast: 26%
Share MBA jobs: 6.3%2014-15 forecast: 1%2014-15 growth: -10%2015-16 growth forecast: 31%
Share MBA jobs: 7.4%2014-15 forecast: -2014-15 growth: 12%2015-16 growth forecast: 13%
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Growth, however, is not limited to smaller MBA
job sectors. As a consequence of some of the
astounding growth we see elsewhere, con-
sulting/professional services accounts for a
smaller percentage of the worldwide market’s
total than in previous years, yet this year’s
growth of 24% signals that the sector is in
confident shape. In the competitive and entre-
preneurial age in which we live, it seems there
is a great call for external business expertise.
We’ve also seen confident growth of 9% in the
financial services industry.
Breaking down MBA job growth by industry shows just how good a year it’s been for MBA hir-
ing. With only two exceptions, we see growth that has outstripped our predictions – often by
quite some distance. Many of the biggest figures come from smaller sectors – consumer goods
and construction/property, for example. This demonstrates the growing diversity of the degree,
with organizations in more and more sectors looking to leverage those with the business exper-
tise afforded by MBA study. QS’s annual research into prospective MBA students shows a con-
comitant rise in the diversity of the applicant pool to match this. One of the biggest surprises
among these rises comes from the pharmaceuticals/biotech & healthcare industry, which has
experienced a slowdown in recent years to the extent where we anticipated no growth this year.
Instead, we see a very healthy 17% increase, with a similar increase predicted for next year.
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Industry SectorAverage Salary
Average Bonus Total
Aerospace / Defense $94,000 $25,000 $119,000
Construction / Property $92,400 $28,200 $120,700
Consulting / Professional Services
$87,400 $19,500 $106,900
Consumer Goods $67,100 $22,400 $89,400
Education $83,300 $19,000 $102,300
Electronics / High Technology
$89,900 $18,900 $108,800
Energy $80,000 $20,000 $100,000
Financial Services / Banking
$99,000 $30,600 $129,500
IT / Computer Services $89,600 $32,300 $121,900
Law $165,000 $25,000 $190,000
Manufacturing / Engineering $94,400 $14,100 $108,500
Industry SectorAverage Salary
Average Bonus Total
Media / Entertainment & Arts
$66,000 $6,000 $72,100
Metals / Mining $86,100 $31,400 $117,500
Pharma / Biotech & Healthcare
$97,800 $22,000 $119,800
Public Sector / Govt. / Nonprofit
$95,700 $15,500 $111,200
Recruitment / HR Services $81,100 $23,700 $104,800
Retail $83,100 $50,000 $133,100
Telecoms $50,300 $8,400 $58,700
Transportation / Distribution $91,300 $12,100 $103,400
Travel / Leisure / Hospitality $87,000 $8,500 $95,400
Utilities $83,700 $11,000 $94,700
Other $92,600 $15,000 $107,700
1.5 Salaries by industry (US & Canada and Western Europe)
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For our consideration of MBA salaries by
industry, we limit ourselves to the mature
MBA markets of the US & Canada and
Western Europe. These figures should
make for happy reading, with total com-
pensation comfortably into six figures
across the vast majority of industries.
Smaller sectors when it comes to MBA
jobs, such as law, aerospace/defense,
metals/mining and retail tend to throw up
high figures as a result of both the niche,
specialized knowledge required as well
as the innate lucrativeness of the indus-
tries in question. In addition, there is the
smaller sample size to consider here –
simply put, these are sectors which very
few MBAs will be targeting.
In terms of the more mainstream MBA
professions, while pay packages have
never been anything short of generous in
the sector, it has been a stellar year for a
resurgent financial services industry, and
only the outliers are rivaling the pay pack-
ages it currently offers. Confidence and
returns are on the up.
Consulting has remained fairly level; as
evidenced by the strong growth in jobs
witnessed by the sector, it is a diversify-
ing space in which the big names (which
offer the highest salaries) are no longer
the only players in town. The presence
of smaller ‘boutique’ firms must be taken
into account when considering the over-
all average figure – though this year’s
number could hardly leave many with
cause for complaint.
The IT/computer services and the elec-
tronics/high tech sectors, between which
there is much overlap, also offer com-
pensation packages at which few would
baulk, with the former not too far behind
financial services and the latter a touch
ahead of consulting. The closeness of
these figures can be taken as further tes-
tament, should it be required, of the tech-
nology sector’s status as the third major
player in MBA hiring.
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2.1 Index of long-term hiring trends
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TechnologyFinanceConsultingIndustry
2. Long-Term Trends in MBA Jobs and Salaries
This graph maps out long-term trends in MBA hiring, looking at finance, consulting, technology and
industry, to see how they have compared over the past 25 years in terms of growth, relative to pre-
vious years. For these purposes we have grouped together aerospace/defense, electronics/high tech-
nology, IT/computer services and telecoms as ‘technology’ and everything else under ‘industry’.
One of the most eye-catching trends here
is the rise of the last category. In 2013 it
pulled into the lead, and we anticipate this
lead to grow further in the years to come,
while growth levels in other sectors ought
to remain relatively stable. This points, once
more, to the diversity of MBA skills (and
indeed, among those taking the degree).
With sustained competitive advantage
becoming ever more elusive across indus-
tries, the expertise of MBAs is demanded by
an increasingly diverse range of employers.
All four of our groupings have enjoyed
steady upward curves in recent years and
over the larger scale of this exercise, albeit
with slight hiccups here and there – for
example, the bursting of the dotcom bub-
ble had a negative effect just over a decade
ago though, more recently, the Great Reces-
sion did not cause as much damage outside
of the finance sector.
Average growth since 1990 has stood at
around 15%. We expect this to slow to a
more sustainable level in years to come.
With the impressive growth figures being
reported this year, however, it would also
be wrong to rule out a continuation of
this strident average.
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$60,000
$80,000
$100,000
20152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999
2.2 Long-term trends in MBA salary levels
To map out longer-term trends in
MBA salaries, we once again restricted
our focus to the US & Canada and Western
Europe, the two most mature markets for MBA hiring.
This year’s figure is up very slightly on 2014’s – though, perhaps
it would be more accurate to label this as stability rather than growth.
It not the highest figure we’ve ever reported – that came in 2008. It is, however,
an astounding 28% higher than the levels seen in 1999.
As you can see, there have been dips as
well as rises over the 17-year period we
are taking into consideration here. The
dotcom crash saw lower salaries offered
in 2002 and 2003 than in the preceding or
following years, and a steady upward tra-
jectory was interrupted in 2009 and 2010
for reasons we hardly need to spell out
here. We have seen a few fluctuations here
and there in the years thereafter, but it
seems that since 2013 we have returned to
a steady upward curve; this is now the first
time we’ve been able to look back at two
consecutive years of growth since 2008.
YearAverage MBA
Salary ($)
1999 $73,8002000 $78,1502001 $82,2502002 $73,9002003 $75,2002004 $83,2502005 $85,0002006 $89,5502007 $93,2502008 $95,2502009 $91,5002010 $89,6502011 $92,7002012 $91,4002013 $90,9302014 $94,1302015 $94,260
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2.3 Long-term trends in functional roles
Role 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Consultant 39% 37% 37% 34% 34%
E-Commerce 10% 8% 9% 10% 10%
Finance - Advisory 29% 26% 28% 22% 23%
Finance - Other 39% 33% 44% 36% 42%
General Management 43% 41% 44% 36% 37%
IT / Technology 26% 24% 21% 25% 20%
Marketing 44% 41% 36% 38% 38%
Operations / Manufacturing 23% 24% 24% 23% 23%
Other Roles 11% 10% 34% 30% 6%
Sales / Business Development 40% 42% 46% 44% 28%
Strategic Planning 42% 40% 19% 17% 44%
Supply Chain / Logistics 23% 25% 9% 7% 18%
While much of the discussion around MBA hiring trends revolves around industries, it is also
important to take functional roles into account; function being, of course, one of the three main
forms that an MBA-enabled career change can assume.
Over the five years in our sample, it has
been into finance roles – split between
advisory and other – which most compa-
nies hire MBAs, as one might expect. Con-
sultants and marketers are also consist-
ently in high demand.
It should be noted that companies may
choose multiple options for this part of our
survey, given that they may have diverse
requirements to be met by MBA talent. This
also means, however, that this is exercise
is somewhat open to volatility, given the
ever-shifting requirements of each com-
pany as well as the general mutability of
the business landscape.
We see this evidenced in the demand for
supply chain/logistics professionals, which
declined massively in 2013 and 2014, pre-
sumably after most companies had already
found who they were looking for at a point
in time when the spotlight really began to
shine on supply chain management. This
year, however, has seen a resurgence of
hiring into supply chain and logistics roles
– perhaps simply due to inevitable need to
renew talent after some years.
The years 2013 and 2014 also saw a decline
in companies looking for strategic planning
professionals, which this year leapt back to
its position as the number one functional
role offered to MBAs by employers, if we
separate the two finance functions. It may
be that after a couple of years of relative
stability we are returning to a more com-
plex, unpredictable business (and wider)
landscape. Who better to navigate such a
terrain than an MBA?
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2014/15 (Forecast)
2014/15 (Actual)
2015/16 (Forecast)
26%
10%
14%
3. US & Canada
3.1 MBA hiring trends
Consulting 26%
Finance 17%
Technology & Telecommunications 29%
Industry & Non-Professional Services 6%
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare 36%
The 26% growth in new MBA job opportunities
in the US & Canada is surely the headline story
of this year’s QS TopMBA.com Jobs & Salary
Trends Report, far in excess of the 10% growth
we anticipated. Recovery has been slow since the
banking crisis of nearly a decade ago, but with the
US economy proving increasingly muscular (after
weathering the storm rather well, however, things
look less positive for Canada’s economy at the
time of writing) it seems things are looking much
better for MBA employers.
Growth is spread over a range of industries. The
technology sector is the fastest growing of the
groupings we employ. US tech companies now
represent some of the world’s most ubiquitous
brands – both in the business world and the
household. Their appetite for global domination
continues, and with that comes an appetite for
MBA talent. We anticipate this to continue next
year, albeit at a slightly more sustainable rate. It’s
not just the US which has seen growth though; the
Canadian telecoms and consulting
industries in particular have been
strong drivers of growth in MBA jobs.
The US financial services sector
seems to be in confident shape, and
like Canada, the nation has enjoyed
a surge in consulting hiring which we
expect to continue into next year (in
both nations). The rapid increase in
hiring in the pharmaceuticals space
in both nations marks an impressive
recovery for this sleeping giant of an
industry in terms of MBA jobs.
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3.2 Which regions do employers from the US & Canada look to when hiring?
Geographical scope of hiring
100
50
0
We have seen a significant shift in terms
of the geographical extent of employers
in the US & Canada this year. A notably
larger proportion of employers are hiring
on a global scale this year as compared to
previous years, while the proportion of
those hiring on a national scale has fallen.
This does not mean that North American
employers are no longer looking to US or
Canadian talent. Indeed, no other region
reports as high a percentage of employers
looking to their own region for new hires.
These same employers, however, also seem
to be looking further afield – obviously with
a view to expanding globally. With growing
middle classes around the world - as well
as nations in which relative affluence is
the norm - hungry for technology, the
globalization of the supply chain, and
international financial markets remaining
volatile and complex, there is great demand
for internationally-savvy MBAs.
US & Canada
Latin America
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Middle East & Africa
Asia-Pacific
US & Canada 99% 22% 35% 24% 19% 32%
2014 2015
Global 19% Global 38%
Local 13% Local 20%
National 63% National 32%
Regional 5% Regional 10%
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These graduates may well come from within
the region, but employers can also see the
benefits in looking further afield. Western
Europe and Asia-Pacific are the most favored
regions – unsurprisingly given the former’s
established powerhouse status and the
latter’s rapid ascent to the same. Insight
into these markets, therefore, is crucial for
businesses with global aspirations. They
are also the regions (particularly Western
Europe) which boast the strongest business
schools outside of North America.
3.3 Salary trends
Salary trends in the US & Canada are
positive this year, with both nations seeing
an increase in compensation (these figures
pertain to employers based in the region as
opposed to the figures in section 1.3 which
also include those hiring in the region who
are not be based there). Stronger than
expected growth, as the US continues to
recover and strengthen, will have played
its part, with the financial services sector
looking tougher, though obviously still
susceptible to global unpredictability. The
vitality and global dominance of innovative
US MBA employers in the tech space on the
other hand looks like something in which
the nation can remain confident (as much as
one can be confident of anything in this age
of peaks and troughs). In Canada, despite
economic difficulties, it seems that MBA
hiring is in fairly robust shape; resultantly,
so are the salaries on offer.
US & Canada Average Salary Average BonusYear on Year
Trend
Canada $92,800 $26,800 Increase
United States $103,300 $22,400 Increase
By Region $99,300 $24,000
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3.4 Top salaries by school
School StateAverage Salary,
Class of 2014 (US$)
Stanford Graduate School of Business California $129,600
Harvard Business School Massachusetts $125,000
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Pennsylvania $123,400
University of California, Berkeley (Haas) California $121,800
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Massachusetts $121,300
University of Chicago (Booth) Illinois $120,000
Northwestern University (Kellogg) Illinois $119,200
Columbia Business School New York $118,700
Dartmouth College (Tuck) New Hampshire $117,900
University of Michigan (Ross) Michigan $115,300
Duke University (Fuqua) North Carolina $114,100
University of Virginia (Darden) Virginia $112,300
New York University (Stern) New York $112,100
Cornell University (Johnson) New York $110,900
University of California, Los Angeles (Anderson) California $110,300
US
Threshold: $110,000
Canada
Threshold: $80,000
School StateAverage Salary,
Class of 2014 (US$)
University of Calgary (Haskayne) Alberta $94,300
York University (Schulich) Ontario $87,000
University of Ottawa (Telfer) Ontario $83,500
Queen’s University (Smith) Ontario $81,500
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4. Western Europe
4.1 MBA hiring trends
Consulting 0.2%
Finance 3%
Technology & Telecommunications 15%
Industry & Non-Professional Services 34%
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare -1%
While it does not compare to the astounding
growth we see in North America, the figure
reported here by Western European employers is
extremely positive for a region in which growth
has been sluggish in recent times. Indeed, given
the seemingly ever-present economic turmoil
from which much of region has suffered over
the last seven years, this figure can be read as
extremely reassuring and another indicator of
the MBA’s resilience.
The region’s growth in consulting and finance
has been modest. That said, growth in the UK, as
ever, is driven chiefly by the City. In Switzerland
the financial services sector is also the engine
room of MBA hiring, though levels have remained
flat. Technology & telecommunications hiring, on
the other hand, has shown healthy growth across
Western Europe; in no small part due to the
presence of London and Berlin in the region, two
of the world’s most vibrant tech hubs. Germany in
particular has seen solid growth in the technology
sector (as well as in consulting).
It is, however, the industry and non-
professional services space in which
we’ve seen the strongest growth. It
seems a diverse range of employers
are actively seeking MBA talent to
help navigate these uncertain waters.
We see this evidenced, most notably,
in the huge growth in MBA hiring in
Italy’s manufacturing/engineering
sector, a sector which has also grown
significantly, albeit less spectacularly,
in France and Germany.
2014/15 (Forecast)
2014/15 (Actual)
2015/16 (Forecast)
9%
3% 2%
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4.2 Which regions do employers from Western Europe look to when hiring?
Geographical scope of hiring
100
50
0
US & Canada
Latin America
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Middle East & Africa
Asia-Pacific
Western Europe 32% 26% 85% 50% 25% 29%
2014 2015
Global 36% Global 35%
Local 10% Local 12%
National 34% National 33%
Regional 20% Regional 20%
Western European employers have
traditionally been outward looking. We
see little change this year, with just over a
third of employers employing on a global
scale, and 20% within the region as a
whole. The biggest surprise might be that
they are now being outdone in terms of
global-scale hiring by employers in the US
& Canada. The difference is small enough,
however, that it might be fairer to call this
further proof, were it needed, of the MBA’s
status as a global degree.
Though the figure is still significantly higher
than it is for any other regional hiring scope,
Western European employers are in fact the
least inclined towards targeting candidates
from within their own region. Half of this
year’s sample of responding employers
reported looking to their neighbors in
Eastern Europe also, with freedom of
movement across the two regions making
this one of the more feasible examples of
cross-regional hiring.
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The US & Canada ranks next, unsurprisingly
given the resonances and high level of trade
between the two, with Asia-Pacific coming
next. However, employers from this diverse
region report relatively high figures across
the geographical board.
4.3 Salary trends
We see a mixed story in terms of MBA salary
levels in Western Europe with declines in
Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy
and Portugal offset by increases in Ireland,
Norway, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
As mentioned previously in this report,
however, we cannot always expect to see a
constant upward trend in salary levels. Offers
made, it seems, are largely in the region
one would hope to find them, with five of
the world’s top 10 salary levels by country
to be found in Western Europe (Norway has
been excluded due to the smallness of its
sample size) including Germany, in spite of
its decrease this year.
The figures on offer in Italy and Portugal
are perhaps the exceptions, though the
positive trends in hiring in the former
Western Europe Average Salary Average BonusYear on Year
Trend
Belgium $78,300 $7,300 Decrease
Denmark $68,800 $5,600 Decrease
France $71,400 $26,400 Decrease
Germany $79,700 $8,900 Decrease
Ireland $89,400 $15,700 Increase
Italy $63,300 $12,000 Decrease
Netherlands $78,300 $16,800 -
Norway $157,300 $62,900 Increase
Portugal $50,000 $20,000 Decrease
Spain $93,100 $15,400 Increase
Switzerland $131,100 $21,400 Increase
United Kingdom $98,500 $22,600 Increase
By Region $85,900 $19,600
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4.4 Top salaries by school
School CountryAverage Salary, Class of 2014
University of St. Gallen Switzerland $130,000
Business School Lausanne Switzerland $122,000
IMD Switzerland $121,500
London Business School United Kingdom $118,900
Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University United Kingdom $115,000
Mannheim Business School Germany $114,500
INSEAD France $114,100
EDHEC Business School France $111,700
Cass Business School United Kingdom $109,400
University of Strathclyde Business School United Kingdom $107,000
IESE Business School, University of Navarra Spain $103,100
Threshold: $100,000
mean that we can at the very least hope
for an improvement there. The healthiness
of salary levels currently available in
Spain may also serve as an example of the
possibility of a more positive narrative in a
troubled Southern European nation.
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5. Asia-Pacific
5.1 MBA hiring trends
Consulting 35%
Finance 15%
Technology & Telecommunications 10%
Industry & Non-Professional Services 25%
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare -1%
It has been another good year for MBA jobs in
Asia-Pacific, the standout region in growth terms
in recent years. Growth in 2014/15 far outstrips
our expectations, driven by large increases in
MBA hiring in both India and China. We anticipate
another strong year in 2015/16.
Part of Asia-Pacific’s strength comes from the
breadth of opportunities in this huge and diverse
region. The tech sector has been the key driver
of growth in recent times, and this has been
another good year, particularly in China, India
and, to a slightly lesser extent, South Korea. The
finance sector has also enjoyed healthy growth,
and not just in the Tiger economies. Indeed,
hiring in Singapore has remained relatively level.
It is once again China and India that are driving
growth in this respect, and even the Pakistani
financial services sector (naturally, from a lower
level) has seen growth.
MBA hiring in industry and non-professional
services, following the global trend, is also on the
up. Australia joins the region’s two BRIC economies
in driving growth this time. The standout story,
however, is the massive rise in
hiring in consulting and professional
services – an indication of Asia-
Pacific’s growing maturity as an MBA
jobs market. While India, Australia,
Pakistan and South Korea have all
enjoyed increases, recruiters in China
can take most of the credit for this
incredible rise. Western MBAs looking
for opportunities in this space would
do well to look east.
Outside of the bigger markets,
employers in Vietnam and
Malaysia also report very
healthy levels of hiring.
2014/15 (Forecast)
2014/15 (Actual)
2015/16 (Forecast)
18%
8%
13%
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5.3 Salary trends
5.2 Which regions do employers from Asia-Pacific look to when hiring?
100
50
0
US & Canada
Latin America
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Middle East & Africa
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific 34% 18% 29% 22% 23% 91%
Speaking of the opportunities for those
looking east, it seems that employers in Asia-
Pacific are fairly keen to bring in expertise
from outside the region to offer a different
perspective, particularly those from key
trading partners in the US & Canada. Western
Europeans are also in high demand. Other
regions are being targeted to a lesser extent,
with only Latin American recruits registering
the interest of fewer than one in five
recruiters. It is Western recruits, however,
who are clearly the most in-demand.
The figure posted for in-region hiring is
towards the lower end of the scale, though
this is certainly not an indication that
employers are not looking for new recruits
within Asia-Pacific.
In terms of MBA salary levels, the trend
is largely upwards in Asia-Pacific, with
employers from New Zealand and Australia
proving particularly generous. China can
couple impressive growth with improved
salary levels, though we cannot say the
same for India, in which the volume of MBA
jobs and the popularity of the degree sees
salary levels which may be somewhat less
appealing for the expat. China is, in fact,
reporting higher salary levels than Hong Kong
this year (that our survey is self-selecting
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must be borne in mind when considering
findings such as this). Employers based in
Singapore, whose strength is based on its
strong financial services sector, however,
continue to pay out some of the world’s
best salaries. Salary levels are, as would
be expected, lower across the other ASEAN
nations, though these are, of course, younger
MBA markets – the levels of hiring we see in
Vietnam and Malaysia, in particular, are an
indication of growth among this grouping
which may well mean that a few years down
the line we’ll be looking at much improved
figures. Decreases in MBA salary levels in
Japan and South Korea are perhaps the only
negative finding to report here.
Asia-Pacific Average Salary Average BonusYear on Year
Trend
Australia $124,800 $28,400 Increase
China $70,200 $30,600 Increase
Hong Kong $76,700 $22,500 Increase
India $22,700 $3,700 Decrease
Indonesia $50,000 $15,000 -
Japan $46,900 $18,300 Decrease
Malaysia $38,900 $18,600 Increase
New Zealand $145,000 $10,000 Increase
Pakistan $39,000 $4,000 Increase
Philippines $38,300 $8,300 -
Singapore $101,500 $46,000 Increase
South Korea $60,000 $40,000 Decrease
Taiwan $41,200 $20,600 Increase
Thailand $28,000 $400 Increase
Vietnam $20,000 $4,000 -
By Region $68,300 $25,600
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5.4 Top salaries by school
Threshold: $50,000
Threshold: $50,000
School CountryAverage Salary, Class of 2014
INSEAD - Singapore Singapore $114,100
The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong $94,400
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong $85,600
Peking University China $72,100
China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) China $67,200
NUS Business School Singapore $62,400
Nanyang Business School, Singapore Singapore $53,000
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad India $53,900
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong $51,400
School CountryAverage Salary, Class of 2014
University of New South Wales Australia $139,900
The University of Adelaide Business School Australia $130,000
Melbourne Business School Australia $120,300
La Trobe Business School Australia $108,300
Monash University Australia $85,000
Asia
Australia
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6. Eastern Europe
6.1 MBA hiring trends
Consulting 4%
Finance 2%
Technology & Telecommunications 40%
Industry & Non-Professional Services 14%
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare -25%
As anticipated, it has been a slightly slower year
for MBA hiring in Eastern Europe, following last
year’s 10% increase. Employers in the region
have, however, indicated that they intend to
increase hiring levels over 2015/16, so we may
well be discussing a significantly larger figure next
year. Nevertheless, we must still take this with a
pinch of salt as growth does not always live up to
expectations; indeed, the 10% growth reported
last year was below expectations – though the
anticipated figure for that year of 34% was, shall
we say, on the more optimistic side.
The growth we have seen this year has been
driven by the technology sector, while growth
levels in industry & non-professional services are
also at a healthy level. Russian tech employers in
particular have enjoyed a good year – though MBA
employers in the country as a whole are hiring at
lower levels than in 2013/14. Again, we expect a
recovery next year.
MBA employers in Kazakhstan (we
include Central Asia in our Eastern
Europe grouping), on the other
hand, have reported increased
hiring, largely across industry & non-
professional services sectors. In this,
the education and construction/
property industries have had a
good year in particular.
2014/15 (Forecast)
2014/15 (Actual)
2015/16 (Forecast)
17%
4%5%
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6.3 Salary trends
6.2 Which regions do employers from Eastern Europe look to when hiring?
100
50
0
US & Canada
Latin America
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Middle East & Africa
Asia-Pacific
Eastern Europe 15% 9% 29% 96% 12% 8%
Eastern European MBA employers like
Eastern European talent, it seems. They
are certainly less interested in hiring
MBAs from outside their home region than
those based anywhere else in the world.
Naturally, Western Europe is the exception,
though it is notable that Eastern European
employers are significantly less interested
in hiring Western Europeans than vice versa.
Employers’ key focus at this point in time,
we can assume, is on doing business within
the region, for which hires from one’s own
home country or those nearby are perhaps
best suited, for reasons of language and
culture as well as business knowledge.
Russia, it appears, has not had a stellar year,
with a decrease in average salary levels
compounding the slowdown in MBA hiring.
Perhaps we will see a recovery next year, if
demand increases in line with expectations.
Russia’s salary levels, however, remain
the second-highest in the region, behind
Western European-adjacent Poland, in
which remuneration is at a very healthy
level (albeit based on a relatively small
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sample of employers). Kazakh employers
report higher salaries, consolidating a good
year for the Central Asian nation.
Salary levels in the region overall are the
lowest reported outside of Latin America.
However, we must factor in a relatively
lower cost of living into this equation, as
well as the more insular nature of Eastern
European employers.
Eastern Europe & Central Asia Average Salary Average BonusYear on Year
Trend
Estonia $29,000 $6,700 -
Greece $38,000 $5,600 Increase
Kazakhstan $50,000 $3,000 Increase
Lithuania $39,100 $5,600 Increase
Poland $89,400 $8,900 Increase
Romania $33,500 $3,400 Decrease
Russia $67,600 $13,200 Decrease
Ukraine $30,000 $3,000 Increase
By Region $54,000 $9,900
Russia, it appears, has not had a stellar year,
with a decrease in average salary levels
compounding the slowdown in MBA hiring.
Perhaps we will see a recovery next year, if
demand increases in line with expectations.
Russia’s salary levels, however, remain
the second-highest in the region, behind
Western European-adjacent Poland, in which
remuneration is at a very healthy level
(albeit based on a relatively small sample of
employers). Kazakh employers report higher
salaries, consolidating a good year for the
Central Asian nation.
Salary levels in the region overall are the
lowest reported outside of Latin America.
However, we must factor in a relatively
lower cost of living into this equation, as
well as the more insular nature of Eastern
European employers.
*salary data for schools in this region not provided.
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7. Latin America
7.1 MBA hiring trends
Consulting 33%
Finance 18%
Technology & Telecommunications -19%
Industry & Non-Professional Services 14%
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare 1%
It has not been a strong year for MBA hiring in
Latin America, which has grown by a mere 1% –
far short of the 7% anticipated (growth that would
have matched that which we saw in 2013/14).
Of course, as with any story, there are nuances.
MBA job opportunities in consulting and finance
have both increased in number, with rises spread
across the continent. In line with the global trend,
we also see a healthy rise in MBA hiring related to
industry & non-professional services. Technology,
on the other hand, has had a weaker year.
Brazil remains one of the world’s biggest MBA
jobs markets, with hiring largely centering on
industry & non-professional services. It has,
however, not enjoyed the best of years, with its
huge travel/leisure/hospitality industry seeming
to weaken in particular (now that the World Cup is
a thing of the past and its hosting of the Olympics
is fast approaching, perhaps the strongest growth
in this industry is behind us). Mexico, on the
other hand, has had a better year, with healthy
growth across the financial services,
consulting, and industry & non-
professional services sectors.
Peru, on the back of strong recent
economic growth, is also one of the
world’s biggest MBA jobs markets.
Again, hiring is largely within
the industry/non-professional
services sector, though 2014/15
saw increases to hiring in financial
services and consulting.
2014/15 (Forecast)
2014/15 (Actual)
2015/16 (Forecast)
14%
1%
7%
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7.3 Salary trends
7.2 Which regions do employers from Latin America look to when hiring?
100
50
0
US & Canada
Latin America
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Middle East & Africa
Asia-Pacific
Latin America 21% 98% 15% 12% 10% 10%
Latin America is one of the world’s more
insular regions when it comes to MBA hiring,
which we can ascribe to linguistic issues,
as well as those of business culture, in this
relatively young MBA market. Employers in
the region are most inclined to look north
to the US & Canada when searching for new
recruits, but beyond that the search seems
to be largely trained on recruits from within
Latin America. The percentage of employers
who look for talent within their own region
is second only to the US & Canada.
MBA salary levels are lower in Latin America
than they are anywhere else in the world,
though the significantly lower cost of living
as compared to Western Europe and the
US & Canada must be taken into account,
as well as the youth of the MBA jobs
market in this region.
As with hiring levels, MBA salaries in Brazil
have taken something of a hit this year – a
similar fate to fellow BRIC nation, Russia.
While Mexico and Peru have enjoyed better
years, salary levels in both have declined.
MBA employers in Argentina on the other
hand – the preferred base for international
financial services and consulting firms in the
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region – are offering improved packages,
as are those in the smaller markets of
Uruguay, Venezuela, Panama and Colombia.
Argentina’s neighbor, Chile, has seen a
reduction, though it can still boast among
the highest salaries in the region.
Latin America Average Salary Average BonusYear on Year
Trend
Argentina $52,200 $10,100 Increase
Brazil $35,700 $4,300 Decrease
Chile $52,800 $8,200 Decrease
Colombia $68,200 $21,800 Increase
Costa Rica $38,000 $3,000 -
Dominican Republic $22,500 $4,000 -
Ecuador $42,400 $4,200 Decrease
Mexico $44,000 $9,600 Decrease
Panama $37,400 $4,100 Increase
Paraguay $17,000 $500 -
Peru $46,200 $7,800 Decrease
Uruguay $72,000 - Increase
Venezuela $39,100 $4,800 Increase
By Region $44,600 $7,500
Threshold: $40,000
School CountryAverage Salary, Class of 2014
EGADE Business School - Tecnológico de Monterrey Mexico $50,000
CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School Peru $46,000
IPADE Business School, Universidad Panamericana Mexico $42,000
INCAE Business School Costa Rica $41,500
7.4 Top salaries by school
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8. Middle East & Africa
8.1 MBA hiring trends
Consulting 26%
Finance 2%
Technology & Telecommunications 0.1%
Industry & Non-Professional Services 29%
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare -8%
We have seen reasonable growth in the Middle
East & Africa, driven by consulting and industry
& non-professional services, though it has not
quite come at a rate to match our expectations.
This has been something of a regular theme in
the region in recent years; estimates for next year
are, however, conservative.
It is a young MBA market, though in the oil-rich
Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, and in
Egypt, which has enjoyed a huge surge in hiring
in the financial services, it also can lay claim to
three nations in which employers reported some
of the world’s highest hiring levels in 2014/15. In
the case of Egypt, further growth is expected in
a financial services sector which seems to have
weathered years of political turmoil quite well
and is clearly benefiting from relative stability.
MBA hiring levels in the Emeriti
financial services sector, on the other
hand, has gone down in what has
been a slower year for the country
as a whole. Saudi Arabia has fared
better, with hiring in consulting,
finance and law playing their parts
in an overall increase, in addition
to a smaller percentage rise in a
large retail sector.
2014/15 (Forecast)
2014/15 (Actual)
2015/16 (Forecast)
12%
3%
8%
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8.3 Salary trends
8.2 Which regions do employers from the Middle East & Africa look to when hiring?
100
50
0
US & Canada
Latin America
Western Europe
Eastern Europe
Middle East & Africa
Asia-Pacific
Middle East & Africa 36% 27% 39% 32% 88% 42%
In the Middle East & Africa, we find the
world’s most outward-looking employers –
business education is relatively young in the
region so this is driven by necessity as much
as anything. Even the region to which the
fewest employers look – Latin America – is
on the radar of over a quarter of employers
in the region. It is to the east, towards Asia-
Pacific, that employers in the region are
most keen to look. As well as geographical
proximity, high levels of trade and cultural
resonances, experience gleaned in emerging
economies a little further down the line
will be directly applicable to the region’s
employers. Western Europe edges a little
ahead of the US & Canada, while Eastern
Europe registers the interest of around a
third of employers.
The salary levels reported to us in this young
market vary greatly, from a mere $17,000 in
Palestinian territories to an astronomical
$205,200 in South Africa (from a relatively
small sample, it should be noted). The
big three, in terms of hiring growth, have
all reported decreases in salary levels,
giving something of a negative edge to the
positive story, though the levels on offer in
UAE are certainly credible. Africa’s biggest
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economy, Nigeria, has also seen a decline
in MBA salary levels. It is, of course, harder
to map out concrete trends in immature
markets, in which we cannot yet confidently
identify the norm. There are certainly clear
indications here, however, that employers in
the Middle East & Africa are willing to pay a
premium for MBA talent.
Middle East & Africa Average Salary Average BonusYear on Year
Trend
Egypt $30,000 $5,000 Decrease
Ghana $50,000 $6,000 -
Iraq $25,000 $4,000 Increase
Nigeria $35,000 $15,000 Decrease
Palestinian Territories $17,000 $1,500 -
Saudi Arabia $30,000 - Decrease
South Africa $205,200 $22,400 -
United Arab Emirates $66,300 $4,000 Decrease
By Region $71,000 $7,300
Threshold: $60,000
School CountryAverage Salary, Class of 2014
Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town South Africa $87,000
University of Stellenbosch Business School South Africa $64,500
8.4 Top salaries by school
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ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
E-BUSINESS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
FINANCE SKILLS
INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
IT/COMPUTER SKILLS
LEADERSHIP SKILLS
MARKETING
STRATEGIC THINKING
MULTILINGUAL
RELEVANT EXPERIENCE
COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS
RISK MANAGEMENT
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
IMPORTANCE
SATISFACTION
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
9. What Employers Look For
9.1 Desired skills vs. satisfaction
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Generally, we see that MBAs meet or are
close to meeting expectations across a
healthy spread of skills. In technical skills
such as finance, e-business and marketing,
we see a match between the ascribed impor-
tance and satisfaction. Employers are also
satisfied with the global outlook of MBAs,
with international awareness and language
skills both registering respectable scores.
One area in which we find that MBAs fall
short of employer expectations is those
which we would call soft skills – namely
leadership, communication and interper-
sonal skills. Could schools be doing more to
engender these? Or are employers’ expec-
tations over the extent to which such skills
can be taught unrealistic? Or might it be a
third option – that MBAs are more inclined
towards developing more quantifiable tech-
nical skills rather than harder-to-judge soft
skills? Whichever it is, there is clearly an
issue here which needs to be addressed,
particularly when it is a set of skills on which
employers place such a high premium.
There is also a concerning gap between
expectations and reality when it comes to
strategic thinking – something one would
hope MBAs would be in possession of. With
close to half of our respondent pool hiring
into strategic planning roles, it is worrying
that they feel that MBAs do not possess a
satisfactory level of strategic thought. With
competitive advantage a more and more
difficult thing to maintain, this is certainly
an area that schools and candidates alike
must seek to address. The same can be
said, though to a lesser extent, for entre-
preneurship. Again a difficult thing to teach,
but not something for which one would
want to see a low score.
To end on a positive note, however, it is
refreshing to see that MBAs score well in
terms of CSR. In an age when the effects of
not paying adequate attention to the wider
impact of a business’ activities are all too
clear, this is certainly heartening.
One area in which we find that MBAs fall short of employer expectations is those which we would call soft skills – namely leadership, communication and interpersonal skills.
There is a reason - or maybe we should say reasons – that employers hire MBAs, and that is the
diverse range of skills that they offer. As part of our survey, we ask employers to specify how
important each of a range of skills are to them, and how satisfied they are that their MBA hires
are in possession of them.
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6%
22%
39%
22%
11%
6%
28%
37%
20%
9%
5%
30%
40%
19%
5%
6%
28%
39%
20%
7%
7%
28%
37%
19%
8%
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
>8+ YEARS
>5-8 YEARS
>3-5 YEARS
>1-3 YEARS
0-1 YEARS
Mapping the trend over a few years shows a
steady increase in the years of experience
for which employers are looking. In 2011,
35% of employers sought employees with
three years’ experience or less; in 2015, this
figure has fallen to 28%. On the other hand,
those with at least five years under their
belts were targeted by 27% of employers
in 2011; the figure in 2015 stands at 33%.
Perhaps we can connect this desire
for more experience with some of the
perceived shortcomings in terms of MBA
skills we outline in the section above.
Things like strategic thinking and soft skills
may be better learned on the job; ergo,
employees with more years of experience
behind them are more likely to be found in
possession of them.
We might also note that the insecurity that
characterized the start of the decade may
well have led employers to look for hires
who were not tainted by the events of the
end of previous 5-10 years. Employees
with less experience, it might also be noted
– if a little cynically – may also be offered
lower salary and bonus packages. As we
reach relative (the word ‘relative’ must be
emphasized) stability midway through the
current decade, employers can now afford
to turn to more experienced candidates
on both counts.
9.2 Preferred years of work experience
among employers 2011-2015
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9.3 Functional roles offered
Role %
Consultant 34%
E-Commerce 10%
Finance - Advisory 23%
Finance - Other 42%
General Management 37%
IT / Technology 20%
Marketing 38%
Operations / Manufacturing 23%
Sales & Development 28%
Strategic Planning 44%
Supply Chain / Logistics 18%
Other 6%
We have discussed MBA job trends largely in
terms of industries throughout this report (in
line with the remit of this report). But, we also
ask employers into which functions they hire
MBAs, to get a better idea of the purposes for
which MBAs are being recruited.
Despite the diversity of industries into
which MBAs are being hired, we can see here
that what you might call ‘traditional’ roles
predominate. Financial roles register highly,
with 23% of firms hiring MBAs into advisory
roles and 42% in another financial capacity.
Around a third hire MBAs into consultancy
roles and slightly more into general
management and marketing. The role into
which the greatest proportion of MBAs are
being hired, however, is strategic planning (a
rise after a couple of years of reduced hiring
into this role, as you can see in the second
chapter of this report).
This is as you might expect; these are
exactly the functions for which MBAs are
being trained. Supply chain/logistics roles
(though this does mark an increase after
a couple of years of lower levels of hiring
into the function) and IT/technology roles
are slightly more niche, though around one
in five employers seek both, with slightly
more looking for operations/manufacturing
specialists. Hiring into e-commerce roles is
significantly lower, but this may be because
the fact that business takes place online is
simply a reality across job functions in 2015;
the need for specialists is reduced, therefore.
The main thing we can take from this is
that employers are looking to hire MBAs
over a fairly even spread of traditional job
roles, with no function showing any clear
signs of being in, or falling out of, fashion.
Opportunities exist for specialists across a
healthy range of job roles.
employers are looking to hire MBAs over a fairly even spread of traditional job roles
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2013 2014 2015
Between 50 and 250 staff 21% 16% 18%
Less than 50 staff 21% 18% 18%
Over 250 staff 58% 66% 64%
Middle East & Africa 8%
Asia-Pacific 32%
Latin America 23%
US & Canada 11%
Western Europe 21%
Eastern Europe 6%
Total Responses 3946
10. Who Responded to the QS Employer Survey?
10.1 Regional breakdown of MBA employer respondents
10.2 Employer response by size 2015
10.3 Employer response by industry 2013-2015
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
Consulting / P
rofessional Services
Financial Services / Banking
Manufacturing / E
ngineeringEducation
IT / Computer Services
Pharmaceuticals / Biotech & Health
care
Recruitment / H
R servicesEnergy
Electronics / H
igh Technology
Consumer Goods
Construction / P
ropertyTelecomsRetail
Metals / Mining
Transportation / D
istribution
Travel / Leisure / H
ospitality
Media / Enterta
inment & Arts
Aerospace / DefenseUtili
tiesLaw
Other
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Asia Europe US & Canada Latin America
Consulting Mu Sigma Inc PwC Accenture Nathan Associates
Partners in Performance
Deloitte Sage EY (Ernst & Young)
Edanz Group Ltd. KPMG Deloitte Simon-Kucher & Partners
Nexia TS Bain & Company Dillon Consulting Limited
Everis Group
Finance Citibank Capgemini JP Morgan Chase Bancolombia
Standard Chartered Bank
HSBC Bank of America Merrill Lynch
BBVA
Goldman Sachs Rothschild Group BlackRock Citibank
United Overseas Bank Barclays Scotiabank Compañía Internacional de Seguros
Industry & Non-Professional Services
Dow Chemical Ocado Rolls Royce Adidas
Louis Vuitton Shell Huffington Post Coca-Cola
Toshiba Pfizer BP America Minera Chinalco Perú
Johnson & Johnson Amazon Siemens Unilever
Technology Samsung Cisco Wolfram Research British Telecom
IBM Ericsson Elemica Atos
LG IBM Amazon Nextel
Acer Dell Home Depot Arrow Electronics
10.4 Sample of responding employers by region 2015
QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd
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