Ten years of MBA grads show the power of their degree

In the spring of 2010, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) conducted its semi-annual survey of graduate business school alumni—the Alumni Perspectives Survey. They produced show some very interesting results. A few of the key findings:

The overall value of a graduate management degree remains high among alumni. About two-thirds (64%) of respondents rated the value of their degree as outstanding or excellent. Classmates, a relevant curriculum and committed faculty were the primary driving forces of value.

The median salary reported by all respondents was $94,829, with a range of $82,000 for the class of 2009 and $135,000 for the class of 2000.

Their chart shows this data by class year—at first glance I thought it was showing that salaries are going down since 2000, but really it shows that MBA salaries consistently increase with more experience.

The vast majority of alumni (94%) reported they were employed at the time of the survey. Overall, 88 percent were working for an employer and 6 percent were self-employed.

The survey results are presented in an interactive file from GMAC. You can dig through all the graphs dynamically to look at findings by class year, gender, program type, age, and so on. What interesting information can you glean?