Revealed: In-Hand Salaries That IIM ABC, XLRI, FMS Students Expect In First Job After MBA

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The Recruitment Survey of 2020 revealed that of the respondents from the top ranked IIMs in India, 3 out of every 5 students expect a monthly in-hand salary in the range of Rs. 1.1 lakhs to Rs. 2.00 lakhs, while only 3% expect salaries above Rs. 2.5 lakhs a month. 1 out of 5 respondents to the survey also expect salaries equal to or below Rs. 1.1 lakhs a month.

Over 40% of the respondents from IIM Ahmedabad expect salaries in the Rs. 1.5 lakhs to Rs. 2.00 lakhs range, but not more than Rs. 2.5 lakhs. Surprisingly at IIM Bangalore, the expectations are much lower, with a large chunk of the batch (45%) expecting salaries in the range of Rs. 1.1 lakhs to Rs. 0.7 lakhs. At IIM Calcutta, 54% of the batch expects monthly in-hand salaries upwards of Rs. 1.5 lakhs, but only 4% expect salaries above Rs. 2.5 lakhs a month.

Amongst the top-5 business schools in India, there is some variation in terms of the in-hand salaries expected but the general consensus appears to be of an expected salary in the Rs. 1.10 lakhs to Rs. 2.00 lakhs range. Across these institutes, only a handful of students expect to receive in-hand remuneration in excess of Rs. 2.50 lakhs a month, or less than Rs. 0.9 lakhs a month.

The biggest variation arises in the case of IIM Bangalore, where a massive 45% of the batch expects no more than Rs. 1.10 lakhs in-hand per month. While this is significant sum, it is a relatively lower expectation as compared to students of other institutes in the same league. However, the majority of the batch still expects salaries upwards of Rs. 1.10 lakhs a month.

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Amongst the top ranked non-IIM business schools in India, the majority of respondents have chosen an in-hand salary in the INR 1.10 lakhs to INR 2.5 lakhs range as a realistic expectation, similar to the expectations of students at the IIMs. Majority of the respondents from these institutes have also declared in-hand salaries in excess of INR 2.5 lakhs to be an unrealistic expectation, as is also the case with respondents from the IIMs.

You may also be interested in reading: Revealed: The Top 5 Domains And Sectors IIM ABC Students Want To Work In

How We Made This Report - Methodology

In August 2020, we reached out to first and second year MBA students across India's top business schools to tell us about their thoughts on the b-school recruitment process. Amongst the many questions in the survey that was floated, one question asked MBA students to share their expected monthly in-hand salaries in their first jobs after an MBA. Respondents to the InsideIIM Recruitment Survey include a good mix of 1st and 2nd year MBA students.

Students responding to this survey belong to business schools like IIMs Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Indore, Kozhikode, as well as second and third generation IIMs. Respondents also belong to campuses such as FMS Delhi, XLRI Jamshedpur, SPJIMR Mumbai, ISB, MDI Gurgaon, SIBM Pune, IIFT, and NMIMS Mumbai amongst others. Other campuses include IMT Ghaziabad, SCMHRD, Welingkar, KJSIMSR, XIMB, IMI New Delhi, and the IITs.

Watch this space for the latest analyses and reports in the InsideIIM Recruitment Survey series. To participate in the latest survey, please fill out this form.