So you want great work life balance post MBA

. . .

Can't speak for most of those, but I would put the Consulting base more around $115-$120K.

Haven't posted in a while but knowing people who have gone to and from B-School from Disney, it really depends on what department you work for and on your experience when you entered school. I think Disney (Gen Mgmt) would be more like $80k - $120k (base + bonus).

I know this is also true for the company I work for, and I'd imagine wide salary ranges are fairly consistent for the majority of positions in "industry".

Also, can't agree more with the waxing and waning of work/life balance in corporate! I'm in strategy, and when there're big projects I'm traveling and working 70hrs/week. When there aren't... 45hrs!

Thanks for the clarification on Disney. Among my group of friends (most are post MBAs), our impression is that Disney is amazing and we'd love to work for them but because of the value of working in that industry, they tend to pay lower than most companies (also the case with professional sporting teams). For $120k, I'd definitely love to work for Disney!

GM offers I know of ranged from about 90K with maybe 5-10k worth of sign on and may a year end maybe not, some are 135/140k salary, small sign on and limited bonus, and some are 115k, 25k to sign and decent promised year end bonus. My 1st year was probably within 10% of what most consultants who aren't returning to a previous employer made. Most corporate jobs I would say fall in the 100-150k all in first year. I got a decent annual raise in the winter, and my next position is on the table and should give a healthy bump and probably triple my bonus potential next year. I wont expect that big of a change every year...but prove yourself in the first year and you might make a big jump.

The progress in a lot of corporate programs I looked at is similar to consulting, a little slower and a little lower early on but still solid. GMs in my company make in the 165-200k range. and bonuses are from 25% with the top guys getting up to100% based on your performance. District managers probably make 200-250 in salary and between stock and cash target is 50-150% of salary. Region VP, probably pull down 650k to a million. Group VP is 2.5-3.5million. Make COO or one of the other top few and make 6-10million. Mind you I work for a midcap, if you are at a fortune 50 company there may be another level or two beyond the 6 million dollar guy.

People do get forced out in all job fields but they aren't as bad as consulting companies which force people out routinely. You can plateau in the corporate world, and hang onto a very comfortable living...in consulting if you aren't moving up you are moving out. There is a reason lots of consultants leave within 3 years and join the corporate world. From discussions with friends, it seems that it is far less stressful than consulting and there is more job security.

One thing to consider, if you are passionate about a function or an industry you may want to join it straight away. There are great exit options for many consultants but you may spend years working on projects in an industry you aren't thrilled with and on projects in functional areas you don't want to be in. I know some people who are looking to leave consulting precisely because of that, they dont like the industry and work they are doing and its all that is going to be on their resumes...do that too long and its where your options will lie.

One key to success in the corporate world post MBA is not just putting in the hours and doing everything asked of you but also appearing that you feel entitled. The vast majority of GMs at my company are mid 50s, the hard chargers who will advance to VP are probably late 30s or early 40s. These guys put 15-25 years in the industry...for most this is the peak of their careers. There are certainly people who if you show any hint of arrogance or that you expect to be treated specially, they will not help you advance at all and many have connections higher up the ladder and some will make it known what they think of you and your attitude. I have heard stories of people who definitely act like they feel they should be the next CEO...while its great to have that self confidence, motivation, and ambition...its another to display that feeling to everyone else.
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I should caveat that $120k is really at the high end. You'd have to have prior experience in entertainment and would have to get on the right team (like corporate strategy). I imagine parks & resorts or consumer products pay less.

The people I knew on their corp strat team worked pretty crazy hours compared to their sales and marketing teams. So a tradeoff there.

Read the Four-hour Workweek?

Perhaps an administrator can restrict his/her ability to post links until the blatant plagiarism issue is resolved.

He can copy and paste in his blog and we have no control. Even if you ban someone for stealing material they can still see the site, so that wont even help. You just have to hope people do the right thing and have integrity.
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Yeah, I took a look at his blog and his posts are pulled verbatim from other reputable MBA and GMAT websites with no link back of reference. It leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. I'd actually like to ban him. He can do whatever he wants but I'd rather him not keep promoting his site here on GMATClub.

I guess we are giving too much of attention to Izvos.. lets get back to the main topic!

So how much do you realistically work in an average week? Or if it makes more sense, what is typical of the "busier" periods and the "less-busy" periods for you, and what's the proportion between the two?

This is a lack week for me so probably 45-50 hrs...Busy week probably 70-75. This year I am probably averaging 65 hrs or so. I could easily work less if I wasn't taking on as many good projects as i can get on. But you need to realize you are scrutinized much more when you first start in a post MBA program, so it really is in your best interest to make a strong first impression.
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Why would you have kids if never see them? Kids go to bed at 7 p.m. - working/traveling 60 hours a week, you'll get what - 10 hours a week with your kid. I did it before I decided it's a bunch of crap. Nanny is not just a financial decision, it's a decision that someone else is parenting your kids. The whole concept that you need to log in that amount of hours to be successful or add unique value is ridiculous. From my limited experience people find their way to leadership in different ways and for different reasons, and general advice is just dust in your eyes.

here's what I find much more interesting:

https://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/mariann ... s_1209.pdf

I recommend you read in full.

For those lazy, here's the crib sheet:



and ( I think underreported across the board)



and

Nice info Rhyme! From eyeballing it, it looks like those that stay in consulting don't typically stay in consulting (which is expected) - the earnings plateau doesn't seem consistent with making partner at the 6+ year range.

hello all, great thread and good info out here. currently I am writing my "why mba?" essay and desperately need some advice. I have pharmaceutical manufacturing firm work experience and long term goal is to open a health supplement firm. Post MBA I want to work in Business Development. I am confused whether to mention post MBA goal to join a pharma firm or to join strategic consultancy for a few years?

jobs post mba in pharma firm range from 5-10% of most top US B schools. and consultancy post mba jobs are easily over 20% for these B schools. I talked to some of my friends in consultancy and they mentioned that consultancy gives much broader exposure. what I think will be useful for me is experience in business/strategy development (specifically to get experience in developing business in new demographic areas and new domains of business, such as from youth health to old age health etc.). but which company to go for immediately post mba?
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Thank you all for your very insightful advices and for sharing your experiences. I am just beginning my MBA this fall and I am making some research on the career options available for internationals like me.
I am a little worried about life/work balance but I am decided to work whatever the time I would need to work (at least the first two years), if that work fullfills my life.
It would be very interesting to update some information in this thread as it is very useful for both me and my colleagues, who are just starting this journey.
On the MBAs events and corporate meetings, this theme (Work/life balance) is very popular and it represents a worry/ interest in almost all MBA candidates.
In future posts, I will include information and articles that I will gather during my research.

An interesting point about work/life balance post-MBA.

Many applicants get into a top program, thinking they're "set", but don't realize that some of the top paying jobs (consulting, banking, among others) are almost de facto 70+ hour weeks.

Using our site, TransparentMBA, we've acquired over 140,000 data points from real MBAs and our average hours worked is 59 hours per week. With an total compensation average of ~$200k (top 25 schools). You can check out the site (free for MBAs, alumni and prospective students) for more info by company, industry, function, location, etc.

Kevin