Not all MBA degrees propel the holder on a swift flight from B-School to top office, yielding a fat pay cheque along the way. It is true that better job prospects and big money lure many to MBA. But where are the salaries being offered on campuses? They are offered in only the best B-Schools in India or abroad. Ask any employer, and they will tell you about the sea of MBA graduates in the job market who expect a salary not many companies can offer.

Only the financial companies can afford those kinds of salaries. There are only a few opportunities in that class and there are more than enough people aspiring for those jobs. Most of the plum placements from the main schools happen in this sector.

Almost all the MBAs constantly think that they are worth bigger salaries but mostly the skill sets that they possess do not command such packages. The result is that the surveys show a lot of underemployment and the candidates are perpetually dissatisfied.

Here one should understand, especially in MBA education that the degree does not command any salary, only the skill sets that one possesses do. A comparison of the salaries of batchmates of an MBA programme after the placement season will bring to light this stark reality. The gap between them is seen to widen over the years as well.

The average salary figures given out by the B-Schools year after year often downplay this aspect as it is in their interest to do so. The low salary placements do not come to the public domain as the figures quoted are always the highest and the average salaries. This is especially true with the B-grade business schools. They usually report only two things: the number of jobs offered on campus and the highest salary offered. Maybe the average salary also gets a mention.

All these are fancy figures and candidates should not take these as the outcome that every MBA graduate can expect. For each of those plum offers there are scores of other offers not worth mentioning.
What earns you the big bucks that are the envy of others? An interest in financial sector with excellent analytical skills and a commitment towards hard work is the key to these lofty offers.

Another given thing, of course, is the B-School from which one has graduated. Only a handful of B-Schools in India get international placements and may be only a dozen of them are able to garner the most covetable placements.

As an aspirant, it is very important for one to assess the skill sets that he/ she possesses. The urge for big salaries should be backed up by excellent preparation. None of the local B-Schools will offer you the exciting salaries that you see in the newspapers. So, to get to your aim of mega salaries, the ground work should start right from the preparation to get into one of the top B-Schools. Remember only one in 50 gets into these B-Schools. Even if you get there, you need to prepare yourself to be the best among the best there. Keep in mind that only one in fifty from these B-Schools get those plum offers. That makes it that only one in 2,500 MBA graduates get those kinds of plum offers.

The one thing that you can take for granted, though on admission to these top B-Schools, is that you will get a better than decent salary on placement. This is the case only with the best B-Schools of the country. Almost everywhere other than the best B-Schools, it is a case of the limelight garnered by a few and the majority being left in the lurch. Therefore, it might be in the best interest of a candidate to have a thorough check on the placements that the B-School offers, before joining there.

The closer and more concrete one can get on the real picture, the better it is for his/her career.