For Newly Minted M.B.A.s, a Smaller Paycheck Awaits

Wall Street Journal ^ | 01/07/2013 | Ruth Simon

[SeekAndFind]

Like many students, Steve Vonderweidt hoped that a master's degree in business administration would open doors to a new job with a higher paycheck.

But now, about eight months after receiving his M.B.A. from the University of Louisville, Mr. Vonderweidt, 36 years old, hasn't been able to find a job in the private sector, and continues to work as an administrator at a social-service agency that helps Louisville residents obtain food stamps, health care and other assistance. He is saddled with about $75,000 in student-loan debt—much of it from graduate school.

"It was a really great program," says Mr. Vonderweidt. "But the job part has been atrocious."

Soaring tuition costs, a weak labor market and a glut of recent graduates such as Mr. Vonderweidt are upending the notion that professional degrees like M.B.A.s are a sure ticket to financial success.

The M.B.A.'s lot is partly reflected in starting pay. While available figures vary by schools and employers, recruiters' expected median salary for newly hired M.B.A.s was essentially flat between 2008 and 2011, not adjusting for inflation, according to a survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council.

For graduates with minimal experience—three years or less—median pay was $53,900 in 2012, down 4.6% from 2007-08, according to an analysis conducted for The Wall Street Journal by PayScale.com. Pay fell at 62% of the 186 schools examined.

Even for more seasoned grads the trend is similar, says Katie Bardaro, lead economist for PayScale.com. "In general, it seems that M.B.A. pay is either stagnant or falling," she says.

[Da Coyote]

Scientist/Engineer Rule 1: A company’s long-term probability of sustaining profit is inversely proportional to the number of MBAs on staff.

[driftdiver]

beancounters are necessary but should be kept few in number and locked away in a closet in the basement.

once they are given control of a company you know the end is near

[martin_fierro]

Obligatory MBA commercial

[TSgt]

Makes me feel better about giving up on pursuing my MBA.

I would rather invest that kind of coin in actually starting and running a business.

Besides, once you have a bachelors, experience trumps a masters...

[eyeamok]

Your average Taxi Cab driver in Los Angeles earns $50,000 per year and didn’t need to go to College for a Degree, in fact most cannot read or write, let alone speak plain english.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Your average Taxi Cab driver in Los Angeles earns $50,000 per year and didn’t need to go to College for a Degree

Will the $50,000 go up with time and inflation?

[pabianice]

Some “MBA.” Dunce couldn’t do a cost/benefit analysis on the $$$ loan vs. an annual pay raise of a few thousand dollars.

[silverleaf]

36 years old, a govt employee, and he borrowed $75K to get an MBA - from the “University of St Louis”

get in line behind the graduates of real business schools and graduates with real business experience, son

s-u-c-k-e-r

[silverleaf]

most taxi cab drivers know more about running a business than this guy does, too

these so-called MBA programs should be required to post facts showing where their degreee holders end up being employed and at what salaries

[eyeamok]

I believe so, Taxi Cabs can raise their rates twice a year as necessary and allowable under Law, they are heavily regulated as far as charges. I have 2 friends that used to be Contractors who now Drive a CAB 3 days a week and bring in about 50K, hell you could earn 30K delivering Pizza’s. So why somebody would go into debt to the tune of 75K, and spend 4 years on a Degree to get 75K per year, is just STUPID.

[Agamemnon]

Scientist/Engineer Rule 1: A company’s long-term probability of sustaining profit is inversely proportional to the number of MBAs on staff.

Speaking as a scientist with a no-Ivy League MBA, which I completed 20 years ago in the evening after work part-time, it definitely opened doors.

It often subtly telegraphed to potential employers and clients alike that they were speaking with someone who understood that we were all in the "business of science," and that one could put the business hat on in a way to make the creative science we were doing, profitable -- not just a hole in the investors' pockets.

Only four years after completing the MBA I opened my own consulting firm and have never looked back in the 17 years since.

If Romney had won, and the floodgates of the $-trillions of private investment that still sits on the sidelines was unleashed into the US economy, the demand for accomplished, diversified MBAs would be shooting through the roof.

We'd all be reading a very different article.

FReegards!