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Monday 28 March 2016 3:48 pm

These are the most highly-paid MBA graduates

By: Helen Cahill

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Graduates from Cambridge University’s Judge Business School are the most highly paid in finance and technology, according to data from salary benchmarking site Emolument.

A fifth of Cambridge’s MBA graduates enter the technology industry where they earn on average £95,000. This rises to £110,00 for graduates in finance.

London Business School (LBS) graduates in the finance industry earn £10,000 less than their peers from Cambridge, but they get the best bonuses – £40,000 compared to the average £34,000 bonus given to Cambridge graduates.

Best MBAs for finance

Finance has the most lucrative jobs for MBA graduates. Salaries and bonuses in this sector exceed those in technology or consulting by £30,000 on average.

Top-paying jobs in professional services go to LBS graduates, with MBA holders earning an average £85,000. INSEAD alumni in this sector earn £82,000 on average, but are awarded £11,000 bonuses. This means that, in total, they earn £3,000 more than LBS graduates.

Glamorous jobs in tech start-ups and high-paying finance jobs make it difficult for consulting to attract MBA graduates, according to Emolument. INSEAD send 36 per cent of their graduates into finance, but only 16 per cent end up in consulting.

Imperial College’s Business School sends the most graduates into consulting – 23 per cent – but they do not earn as much as people trained at INSEAD or LBS. Emolument say this may be because MBA holders from Imperial College are valued for their technical knowledge, but are not landing the jobs that are the most politically challenging, which also pay the highest salaries.

Alice Leguay, chief operating officer of Emolument, said: “Being part of a well-regarded alumni network is as important as outstanding teaching in order to open as many doors as possible upon graduation and allow alumni to switch from banking to technology, or accounting to entrepreneurship.

“With the advent of continuous education, we will be watching closely to see if MBA degrees remain a good investment.”

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