What Can I Do with an MBA Degree?
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Recent articles continue to debate the value of MBA degrees, especially full-time, on-campus programs that demand two years of time and cost often between $100,000 and $200,000. Despite these concerns, demand remains strong at top US business schools, where applications for full-time MBAs rose in 2025, driven by a preference for in-person learning amid a rebounding job market.
Elite programs like Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School attract thousands of applicants annually. HBS saw nearly 10,000 for its latest class with a 9 to 12 percent acceptance rate, while Wharton enrolled about 870 from over 7,000 submissions, together capturing a large share of the most competitive candidates.
Applicants clearly see lasting value in these degrees for career growth, networks, and skills in leadership and strategy. These programs enrich lives by building versatile expertise that opens doors in dynamic fields like consulting, tech, and finance. Ultimately, an MBA equips graduates for high-impact roles that blend business acumen with real-world problem-solving.
Two main perspectives answer the question, “What can I do with an MBA degree?” The first explores the key motivations drawing professionals to these programs today. The second examines the strong job and career opportunities awaiting graduates.
Top Reasons People Want MBA Degrees
Many people still assume that the main reason to pursue an MBA is to earn a higher salary. Recent surveys of prospective business students show a more nuanced picture. Candidates in the United States and around the world increasingly say they are looking for new skills, stronger careers, and better-aligned employers, not just a bigger paycheck.
Below, BSchools considers two recent surveys that help to explain what applicants plan to do with their degree after graduation, and how they expect their MBA degrees to help them.
GMAC Prospective Students Survey 2025
To understand what drives today’s applicants, it helps to look at one of the most important sources of data: the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) Prospective Students Survey. For more than 15 years, this survey has tracked how people think about business school, including their goals, their program preferences, and what they want from their careers after graduation. The most recent reports highlight clear themes that can be summarized in three simple words: acquire, access, and advance.
Each year, GMAC surveys thousands of individuals who are thinking about applying to graduate business programs, including MBA programs in the United States and abroad. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) released its 2025 Prospective Students Survey in April, polling nearly 5,000 candidates from 147 countries, including heavy US representation.
The survey asks about what candidates hope to learn, how they plan to use their degrees, and what matters most when they compare schools and program formats. Schools rely on this information to understand what today’s applicants value and how those priorities are changing over time.
The latest survey shows that prospective students want much more than a credential. They want programs that will help them solve complex problems, work with new technologies, and lead diverse teams.
Acquire: New Skills and Knowledge
The first major reason people pursue an MBA is to acquire new skills and knowledge they cannot easily gain on the job. Surveyed candidates say they want a structured way to learn how businesses really work. Increasingly, they also look for training in data analytics and artificial intelligence, so they can make better decisions.
Access: Better Careers and Stronger Networks
The second major reason is access to better jobs, new industries, and professional networks. An MBA is seen as a bridge that can make moving into management, switching industries, or relocating to a different region more realistic.
One of the most important forms of access is the network that comes with business school. Candidates know that MBA programs connect them with classmates, alumni, faculty, and corporate partners who can help them find internships, full-time roles, and future business opportunities.
Advance: Leadership, Impact, and Personal Growth
The third key reason is the desire to advance (to move into leadership roles). GMAC’s data and related analyses show that a large share of candidates see graduate business education as a way to accelerate their careers, take on more responsibility, and gain the confidence to make important decisions. Many hope to become general managers, senior leaders, or entrepreneurs.
Importantly, advancement is not only about job titles. Prospective students also talk about personal growth and fulfillment. They want careers where they can use their skills to address real problems, work with people they respect, and feel that their efforts matter.
Where Salary Fits In
Salary and financial return on investment still matter, but they are no longer the sole or even the primary drivers for many applicants. A recent GMAC report summarizes that candidates do consider cost, scholarships, and long-term earning potential when they choose programs. However, they often rank learning outcomes and career services at a higher rank. This shift helps explain why MBA degrees remain attractive even as tuition has risen.
The GMAC Application Trends Survey 2025
Another helpful study agrees with these findings. The GMAC 2025 Application Trends Survey shows that people applying to MBA programs care more about improving their careers than just earning more money right away. This survey collects real information from business schools, including many in the United States, so it gives a clear picture of what applicants actually do.
How This Survey Gets Its Information
The Application Trends Survey works differently from surveys that just ask people what they think. Instead, it asks over 300 business schools around the world, including dozens of US programs, to share their actual numbers. Schools report how many applications they received, who applied, and how admissions changed compared to last year. For the 2024-25 school year, this covered more than 1,100 graduate business programs.
This approach makes the survey very reliable. Admissions offices send in their data during the summer, so the results reflect what really happened during the latest application season.
Career Growth Leads the Way
Both this survey and the earlier Prospective Students Survey point to the same main idea: Most MBA applicants want to grow their careers. The Application Trends Survey found that applications for all types of graduate business programs went up 7 percent worldwide. Full-time, in-person programs saw some of the biggest gains, with 8 percent more applications overall.
In the United States, full-time MBA programs bounced back after slower years during the pandemic. More than half of schools (59 percent) reported higher numbers of applicants for their two-year MBA programs. Women and first-generation college graduates made up much of this growth.
Schools now expect even tougher competition. About 84 percent of business schools predict a “fierce” fight for the best applicants this year, especially at programs that meet in person.
Why Leadership Matters More Than Salary
These trends show what US applicants value most. They choose programs with strong career help, good alumni networks, and a track record of placing graduates in leadership jobs. Taking a leadership or general management role remains the number one goal for people after they finish their MBA.
Salary increases appeal to everyone, of course. Top US MBA graduates often double their pay. But applicants do not list a higher salary as their top reason. They rank it lower than things like learning new skills, switching industries, or building connections that last a lifetime.
What Experts Say About These Trends
The survey numbers lead to a natural question: Why do so few people pick salary as their biggest reason? Experts who work with MBA applicants every day have clear answers.
Admissions consultant Stacy Blackman explains it this way: “People want a good return on their investment, but they care just as much about working for companies they respect. They look for roles where they share the same values as their employer.”
Business school analysts add that many applicants, especially those going to solid US programs outside the top 10, want practical business knowledge. This helps them find work they enjoy and lead more satisfying professional lives.
Connecting the Two Surveys
The Prospective Students Survey and Application Trends Survey work well together. One asks applicants directly about their goals. The other shows what schools see in real applications. Both confirm the same truth for US candidates: An MBA degree offers much more than a paycheck. It builds skills, opens career paths, and creates networks for long-term success.
This combination explains why MBA applications keep growing, even when tuition costs stay high. For professionals in America, the degree remains a smart way to reach bigger goals.
Job Prospects for MBA Graduates
There is a practical way to answer the question, “What can I do with an MBA degree?” Look at the jobs and salaries recent graduates actually get. Reports from US business schools show that MBAs lead to strong careers in a few key industries, often with big pay jumps.
As the motivation surveys explained, most students go to business school for skills, networks, and advancement. A higher salary comes along as a bonus. In fact, almost all US MBA graduates earn much more than before they started school.
Salary Increases After Graduation
Studies of 2025 MBA classes confirm that graduates often see their pay double, or more, right after finishing. Schools measure this “salary uplift” by comparing the class average salary before admission to the average after graduation. This number shows which programs do the best job of boosting earnings.
Take some top US examples from recent employment reports. At the Wharton School, the Class of 2025 had a median base salary of $185,000, up from $175,000 the year before. Placement rates stay excellent, too. Graduates have job offers soon after graduation, a trend holding steady across top programs. Even at strong mid-tier schools, the gains impress. These uplifts vary by school and industry.
The Top Industries for MBA Jobs
Most US MBA graduates find work in just five industries. These are management consulting, investment banking and finance, technology, marketing for consumer products, and healthcare. Companies in these fields prefer candidates with MBA degrees because they bring business strategy skills that others lack.
Management consulting accounted for 28.2 percent of Wharton placements with a $190,000 median base. These jobs offer variety, travel, and fast promotion. Financial services took 38.2 percent at a $175,000 median. Banks and private equity firms need MBAs for deal analysis and strategy. Technology made up 15.3 percent at a $164,250 median. Marketing for consumer goods and healthcare rounds out the group, growing as companies seek leaders for operations and growth.
Graduates love these fields because they combine excitement, strong networks, and real responsibility. Many see them as stepping stones to even bigger roles later.
Management Consulting: Variety and Challenge
Management consulting remains one of the most popular careers for US MBA graduates. Many see it as exciting and mentally challenging work. Recent reports show consulting attracts 25 to 35 percent of graduates from top schools, often with high pay and fast growth.
Consulting appeals because it offers variety. New hires work on different projects for various companies and industries. One week might involve strategy for a tech firm, the next operations for healthcare. This gives broad exposure to business problems, from cost-cutting to market entry.
Projects also mean time with top executives. Consultants solve big issues like growth plans or digital changes. They build networks with leaders and clients. Travel comes with many roles, adding adventure.
Consulting serves as a launchpad. Experience helps move to client companies or alumni networks. Skills in structured thinking and problem-solving transfer to strategy, PE, or C-suite jobs.
Experts note consulting fits MBAs perfectly. Clear Admit reports Chicago Booth (68 percent MBB placement), MIT Sloan (67 percent), and Kellogg (64 percent) lead in top firms. It applies MBA tools immediately, with steep learning, ideal for ambitious graduates.
Even as hiring dipped slightly in 2024, consulting remains the top choice. Non-MBB firms like Deloitte hire too. Roles build versatility without early specialization. In short, consulting’s mix of variety, networks, and advancement makes it valuable for MBAs aiming high.
Technology: Appeal and Better Balance
MBA graduates love technology jobs more every year. Tech companies now hire about 15 percent of graduates from top US schools like Wharton. Everyone knows why. Tech feels exciting. You use their apps every day. Famous companies like Amazon and Google hire MBAs for important roles.
But tech offers more than just cool brands. The hours work better than many other MBA jobs. Tech companies let people work from home sometimes. They have relaxed offices with fun spaces. This beats the long hours at banks or consulting firms. Consulting might mean 60 to 80 hours a week. Tech jobs usually need less time. People feel more in control of their schedule.
Tech pays well, too. At Wharton, tech jobs paid $164,250 median base salary for 2025 graduates. However, tech hiring goes up and down. Big layoffs happened before 2025. Now, smaller tech companies want MBAs to help with AI and business strategy.
Graduates pick tech because they love working on new ideas. They like the team culture better than strict office rules. Tech lets MBAs use their school skills right away. Even when big tech slows, the field stays popular. MBAs see tech as modern and growing fast.
Entrepreneurship: Freedom and Excitement
Would an MBA degree help someone start a business? Admissions consultant Stacy Blackman argues in favor of that contention for three reasons. First, citing a surge in centers, courses, and contests devoted exclusively to new venture organization and operation over the last ten years, Blackman believes that business schools can serve as some of the best de facto new business incubators.
Second, she believes that MBA programs can provide outstanding environments for team-building, and third, she asserts that business schools teach essential skills vital to operating and growing startup businesses. In her view, many entrepreneurs have failed because they lacked the tools and access to resources in their arsenal that MBA programs provide.
Recent London Business School MBA graduate Guerric de Ternay adds that the kind of market- and competition-focused strategic analysis taught in business schools makes for an indispensable advantage when starting a business. That kind of strategic thought process can be vital to formulating a new corporate mission, as well as solving problems under pressure with that mission in mind.
He also argues that business school alumni networks can provide those launching new ventures with invaluable resources, talent, and support post-graduation, and that those networks will provide entrepreneurs with the ability to maintain connections that enable mutual support relationships lasting years or decades.
Moreover, another analyst, Forbes commentator John Greathouse, believes that MBAs can be extraordinarily successful as entrepreneurs who organize startups aligned with some key characteristics. One such aspect involves consumer focus, especially at unicorns—startups like Uber, Airbnb, and Palantir valued above $1 billion.
Citing the statistic that 45 percent of unicorns were started by at least one MBA founder, Greathouse suggests that MBAs with nontechnical backgrounds may better understand customer-facing online commerce. He also points out that many unicorns exploit complex and efficient logistics and distribution systems as advantages because MBA programs trained their founders “to design, organize and manage such large-scale, complicated operations.”
Another of Greathouse’s characteristics involves large capital requirements. Even though unicorns often require enormous amounts of capital to win market share and achieve critical mass, he argues that securing staggering amounts of financing poses no problem at all for MBAs because they “have access to significant amounts of capital, primarily through their alumni and peer networks. Startups formed by Wharton, Harvard, and Stanford MBAs collectively raised $15.8 billion from 2010 to 2015.”
For more on what one can do with an MBA degree, see the following BSchools.org guides:
