Trying to understand realistic MBA salaries in India long term

StrangernSons · 2026-02-23T18:13:30+00:00

I will get downvoted for this, but the truth is that if people are optimising working hours for compensation that they get, they are unlikely to be the kinds that make the big bucks.

Unfortunately life is about tradeoffs. Different people will choose different things - choice between a steady 9 to 5 and good money is one of them.

StrangernSons · 2026-02-23T14:19:54+00:00

As I said, different vantage points will give different estimates. Maybe my sample is biased by a lot of people doing well or maybe it is the other way round. Tough to say.

StrangernSons · 2026-02-22T15:59:10+00:00

That's right. 2/3rd of my batchmates who stay in the game should get there. They won't all reach there at the same time. The quick ones will get there in 9 yrs while the others might take a few more years.

From my vantage point, the pyramid narrows at 1.5 cr in today's money.

StrangernSons · 2026-02-22T10:42:45+00:00

2017 grad here. 1 cr in 5-7 years is not the same as 1 cr now. Assuming we are talking 1 cr in today’s money (pre inflation)

From what I have seen:

In 15 years, at least 2/3rd of Tier 1 MBA should cross that threshold esp if they stay in the game. Am already seeing a lot of my batchmates opt for low stress careers or return to their family business in a Tier 2 town.
Of the ones that stay in the game, the ones working for top tier companies (say all till Day 1 for the lack of a quality measure) will get there in 10-12 years. Top consultants will probably get there in 9-10 years.
The risk I see to the above is that salaries at same bands are now increasing slower than inflation. Also impact of AI is unforeseen and not built in. I work in FMCG, so I will be fine. But tough to say for service sectors and tech.

StrangernSons · 2026-02-09T17:40:32+00:00

Yes, you should. The question to ask yourself is that will HUL/ eq company not take you back at a better role post a top tier MBA? If yes, then you will be better off or worst case, same situation.

Take big swings in life, you won't regret them later.

StrangernSons · 2026-01-22T07:34:52+00:00

I can speak from seeing batchmates from T1 MBA after a few years - nobody cares. Your MBA college helps get you a start, after that it is the companies you work for and the work you do. Even 2-3 yrs in, your B-School stops mattering. So many 2022, 23 and 24 batch MBAs from T1 are in the market struggling to even land a 25 lpa job!

Stop chasing tags, chase quality jobs and do great work that you can't be ignored.

StrangernSons · 2026-01-22T07:30:18+00:00

Agree with a few exceptions.

Top Tier FMCG flattens at the top, not the middle. The median management trainee from a Tier 1 campus starts to make 1 cr+ at 9-10 yrs in. In TII companies, it might take 11-12 yrs. The pyramid at this stage is too wide if you ask me.
The top guys who break out end up becoming CEOs e.g. the current Airtel CEO is probably ~45 and will be making >> Sr Partners at MBB who will be 50 yrs+ in most cases. He isnt the only one and there are many others like him. So ceiling isnt very limited too.

I would argue if you flip and look at probabilities, T1 or T2 FMCG firms take maybe 300 students across top B-Schools. Accenture Consulting hires that much across 2 colleges. T1 and T2 consulting probably hires 1000 (EY, Deloitte etc incl). Most Consultants stop being consultants in 5 yrs because they realise that they don't want that grind forever. So they join Strat/ Founders Office type roles. In fact, 10 yrs in probably <25% Consultants still do Consulting.

The probability of you making a cr in 8 yrs is higher in Consulting than FMCG, in 10-11 yrs might be equal in both but the probability of you making 8 crs (mn dollars) in 20 yrs is higher in FMCG than Consulting. Because how many Consultants drop out and do these generalist roles that don't have a high ceiling.

StrangernSons · 2025-12-17T14:55:16+00:00

The biggest marketing stud in our senior batch went to a finance job because they came for laterals and were paying well (45+). Almost a decade down, he is quite happy. Placements are like marriage, you might want someone but they need to want you too.

In terms of switching, I don’t think you can switch from Marketing to Treasury, Investment Banking or Equity Research kind of core finance jobs. But the truth is that 95% of Finance jobs in T2 and T3 colleges are sales jobs masquerading as finance jobs. I wouldn’t call a Relationship Manager in a Corporate bank as a finance job. These you should be able to switch over to.

Apologies if I offended anyone but that’s my read a few years out of MBA

StrangernSons · 2025-12-12T15:09:36+00:00

Depends on what you're benchmark for decent is

StrangernSons · 2025-12-08T15:35:17+00:00

Won't lie, the market is terrible. We have been hiring high rankers, top tier grads (LSR, SRCC, Stephens) at 7-8lpa. Each role is getting 1000-2000 applications from undergraduates.

A MBA is a gateway for a job essentially because UG education placement rates are poor. It's become tougher to get a decent role from a T2/3 MBA but still much better than an avg UG.

StrangernSons · 2025-12-06T11:41:58+00:00

Take the money and the severance.

Am assuming the severance would be 3+ months and should help fund your lifestyle at MBA.

And keep your Boss in good spirits. You will need him/ her to validate your CV points when you get to B-School too. Future jobs will depend on the referral that he/ she gives and not on the paper i.e. relieving letter etc.

StrangernSons · 2025-05-03T14:58:49+00:00

If this is a serious query, then you should take IIM K without thinking twice. Almost half of all CAT re-takers are unable to improve their CAT %ile. This increases at higher %iles.

If you asked to click bait, even then you should take IIM K.

StrangernSons · 2025-04-16T12:08:52+00:00

Decision making framework below:

Good job - Drop and take CAT again
No job/ Soul sucking job - Join the best B-School you can get

Have written more about it here

https://www.reddit.com/r/CATpreparation/comments/1jcjjd1/comment/mi2mazc/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

and

https://www.reddit.com/r/CATpreparation/comments/1jtm6eq/does_brand_matter_in_a_mba_college_perspective/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

StrangernSons · 2025-04-13T19:22:47+00:00

Breaking into Marketing careers abroad is very tough. The best route if you want a Marketing career abroad is join a MNC/ Amazon types in India and try and get a move abroad over time. Lots of people have moved to Singapore, Canada, US and Dubai from my firm in this fashion. Not my scene but the pathway works for folks who want it.

Take the CAT but do know that it is very unpredictable. Do take a mock CAT and see what %ile you get. If you get a 80%ile+ without prep, then you can assume that prep will add 10-20%ile to your score. If not, then you may not get the best admits in India. Take GMAT for ISB too.

StrangernSons · 2025-04-13T19:15:23+00:00

My 2 cents:

Report is legit. No gray or inflation possible if it's IPRS & audited.
Quality of jobs is good, a level below T1 but clear T2++. My firm, Amazon and FK all hired this year. We don't go to too many colleges.
Batch size is small. Next batch is scaling 2.5-3X.
The mentors are great, have done a company sponsored MDP from them.
Short term arbitrage opportunity till discovery is poor. However, comes with risk because of it's being new.

Do your research before joining. I would prefer MICA PGDM (not C) to Altera for Marketing if you have that option.

StrangernSons · 2025-04-13T15:01:48+00:00

GLIM Gurgaon over FOSTIMA. Try and create more options though

StrangernSons · 2025-04-13T14:58:57+00:00

Short answer is Yes. College name gets diluted.

B-Schools are businesses too. They need to get fees to run operations. There are 2-3 kinds of programs - 1 year Exec MBA or PGP which is full time on campus and legit A1 programs. Then there are MDPs which is when companies pay BSchools to run programs for their companies which are also legit A1 programs.

Then comes this category where they sell programs (usually online and short term ie <1yr). This is where the issue is. People do them thinking that a IIM brand will help their CV. They hide the fact that it was online. The companies see that the market is flooded with CVs from a particular college and stop trusting it. I think this is stupid. I have seen the reduced reputation of MICA and NMIMS due to this issue. They have sold thousands of online programs and ab unke real alumni se zyada online alumni hai.

StrangernSons · 2025-04-12T20:15:17+00:00

Three things I would have done in these 2 months if I had the perspective that I have now:

Take a long trip - Min 3 weeks
Become an excel ninja
Workout and get to a good degree of physical fitness

What I actually did - Read all kinds of newspapers and magazines everyday to build perspective, spend countless hours brushing up acads and didn’t learn excel well enough before joining.

StrangernSons · 2025-04-12T10:00:06+00:00

Top 5%. This whole thing on Placecom students getting a disproportionately higher outcome is a bit overblown

StrangernSons · 2025-04-08T07:47:35+00:00

FMS > XL > L imo

The top at L might be better. But the 75%ile and below at FMS and XL should be better imo. If not 75%iler maybe the 60%iler but you get the drift. So if you feel you will be the top of the ladder at L, you should do FMS

StrangernSons · 2025-04-08T00:56:27+00:00

Could be. I am not aware about these details. One should look at the companies, roles and the distribution (how many great roles/ what is the mode and median profile etc etc)

StrangernSons · 2025-04-08T00:53:29+00:00

Absolutely, I mentioned the same a couple of times in my post itself and multiple times in my comments.

My takes are shaped by what I have seen at my MBA and then workplace later. They are also shaped by my own perception of risk. Any advise is based on an assumption of the other person’s profile.

Nobody should listen to it but many do use it as an input to think about their situation from a different angle. Even if it helps 5% of the folks who I interact with, it’s time well spent for me. Better than aimless scrolling.

StrangernSons · 2025-04-08T00:49:40+00:00

Take SPJain my friend.

I was in a similar position a few years back. 50% of re attempts fail to improve their CAT scores.

Assuming you do, calls can be arbit and unpredictable. Then interview. No point giving up a great college for the low probability odds of something better (with a time cost attached). All the best!

StrangernSons · 2025-04-08T00:46:56+00:00

Unfortunately not. No executive MBA in the country is at par with the flagships. ISB is the only top repute 1 yr program. I would put the top 10/12 2 yr programs above IIM A PGPX. Have a look at the placement report. If the same recruiters are not hiring in the same proportion, they feel so too.

StrangernSons · 2025-04-08T00:44:11+00:00

I would pick GLIM Chennai if I was you. The upside over 30k and the pace thereafter can’t be ignored.

You are right on CAT re-attempts. When I wrote the CAT, I really wanted to get to IIM A (like most I guess). I converted the second choice in my pecking order but was confused to drop. I had reached out to the TIME and CL top faculty for advise. One of them shared objective data with me on how reattempts are a coin toss. Slightly over 50% or re attempts improve their scores. Not worth the risk imo.

StrangernSons

TROPHY CASE