Loyola Business Blog

Best Paying MBA Specialties

When considering an MBA, the concentration or specialization you choose may have significant impact on your long-term earning potential. While there are a lot of variables, including where you work and live, “the decision can cost $50-60K a year,” according to a September 2015 article by Jeff Schmitt in Poets & Quants. Why such drastic differences in MBA salaries? Employers are willing to pay for an MBA specialization that guarantees a new hire has the tools to dive right into a new position. The highly-regarded part time MBA program at Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business offers six specializations in its MBA courses to choose from.

So which specializations offer the highest pay? An article on Monster.com by Jen Hubley Luckwaldt, of PayScale.com, ranks seven common high-paying MBA specializations based on graduates’ median mid-career earnings. Finance tops the list with a mid-career MBA finance salary that averages $121K. As in all MBA salaries, there is a range in MBA finance salary potential. Mid-career MBA finance salaries for a chief financial officer and a finance director, $168K and $151K respectively, are higher than the $86K median of a senior financial analyst. Learn more about the competitive Finance MBA offered at the Sellinger School of Business.

The complete list of high paying MBA specialties includes international business, marketing, information systems, and management. Each of these specialties ranks highly for mid-career earning potential and offers excellent job prospects in those fields. 

Also on the list are accounting salaries, with a mid-career median of $84K. There is a wide range in accounting salaries too, with a mid-career median for a chief financial officer of $125K, and $61K for a senior accountant. Learn more about the competitive Master of Accounting program (MAcc) offered at the Sellinger School of Business.