Some people do MBA's for a career change into business but a great majority of today's MBA seekers are currently employed and pursuing an MBA for career growth in their current position or profession. In fact, many accredited universities have a minimum work experience requirement for admission. For example, my program required a minimum 3 years work experience with the median work experience being around 5 years for new applicants. Honestly I feel like people should avoid doing an MBA without any work experience. I also think that online MBA's are far from par to on campus MBA's because you lose a lot of the group/team aspect and human dynamics.

I believe salaries are ultimately determined by the average pay for the position applied for and the amount of experience the individual has in delivery.

To underscore Yaar's original point, compensation differs tremendously from industry to industry (as well as by function within the company).

Not sure if this is the thrust of your question, but I would not advise choosing an MBA program based on the starting compensation of fresh graduates. This can be misleading as it is largely a reflection of industries chosen. For example, I wouldn't be surprised if NYU and Columbia had higher starting salaries than Harvard, simply because more NYU and Columbia folks go into investment banking and asset management.

There are many other factors to consider when looking at B-schools, which I would urge you to weigh more heavily than starting salary.

So sophisty, whose this company you work for, and what would you recommend for a person with a 5 yr technical background in biopharma, and persuing and MBA? What would be the next step upon or near graduation?

I'm a Human Resources Manager and an MBA as well so I can answer the queston from both perspectives.

I have always been in Human Resources (since graduating from undergrad) so when I got my MBA last year (by going to school part-time) I was not only enhancing my career path and salary capacity but knowledge as well. You have to go for the higher degree if your heart and soul are totally into it, else you won't be happy and won't care to excel at work due to lack of motivation. My MBA is not from an Ivy League but simply from a private school that was accessible from work so I could get to it fairly easily after work and then back home.

I don't have any experience with online programs but I would probably not value them as highly. If you're actually getting off your butt, going to classes on campus, and participating live in discussions/presentations, etc., well in my book, that shows alot more motivation and initiative than simply logging onto a PC. I don't know, this is just my opinion.

I had received a 25% increase in pay after getting an MBA and am now mash'allah in a highly visible position working for a pharmaceutical company. There is plenty of growth, scope, and career pathing in this industry so, knock on wood, I must say my MBA came in pretty handy. I am fairly new at this current job (as HR Manager) and judging from the fact that I was 1 of 74 candidates considered for the position and was the one who ended up with an offer, I don't think that was too bad. Pharmaceutcal industry is ideal to be in from many perspectives I think...opportunities, growth-horizon, compensation, benefits, etc.

In my HR capacity, I hire all grads. BS/BA is fine but at my company, we're big on PharmD, PhD, and MBA degrees. The first thing I look for is a COMBINATION of experience and degree, not just one or the other. I like hiring well-rounded individuals who are motivated to succeed work-wise and education-wise. It is so important to have that balance.