Career Options and Jobs After MBA

Earning your Master of Business Administration (MBA) is worth celebrating. An MBA qualifies you for a career in business as well as several other fields. This two-year programme is usually completed after a bachelor's degree. In this guide, we explore a number of MBA specialisations, some of the common careers they may help you qualify for, and average salary data for those positions in India. 

*All salary data is sourced from Glassdoor India as of September 2023.

Jobs after an MBA Finance

Before entering an MBA finance programme, you’ll need strong foundations in maths and accounting. While studying for your MBA in finance, you’ll learn about the functions of finance, managerial economics, capital structures, budgeting, risk analysis, cash management, and more. You will also complete a final MBA project, a study, report, analysis, or faux portfolio. 

According to the Reserve Bank of India, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) is growing to 8.5 per cent a year [1]. This growth could add many jobs in the global financial sector over the next decade. You might be qualified for three potential positions with an MBA in finance: financial analyst, finance manager, and bank manager. 

Financial analyst

Average salary: ₹6,10,000

Salary range: ₹4,00,000 to ₹10,00,000

Companies that hire financial analysts in India: eClerx, XL Dynamics, Accenture, and TresVista.

Financial analysts make recommendations to companies about how they can improve their processes based on financial data.

Finance manager

Average salary: ₹15,67,105

Salary range: ₹8,00,000to ₹22,00,000

Companies that hire financial managers in India: Citi, Capgemini, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Wipro, and Amala Food Industries

Finance managers oversee the financial departments of companies to direct budgeting, reporting, and helping the company become more profitable. 

Bank manager

Average salary: ₹27,97,164

Salary range: ₹12,00,000 to ₹48,00,000

Companies that hire bank managers in India: State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Syndicate Bank, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank. 

A bank manager oversees the daily operations of a bank, such as managing employees, monitoring sales targets, and compiling reports.

Jobs after MBA Marketing

If you’re interested in an MBA emphasising marketing, you’ll need a bachelor's degree in any field, although business or communications would be helpful. While earning your degree, you’ll learn about management, advertising, consumer behaviour, e-commerce, logistics and supply chain, and customer relations management, among other things. 

Many industries require marketing management, from retail stores to hospitals to manufacturing. That creates many potential opportunities for a graduate with an MBA emphasising marketing. Three potential jobs to consider are customer relationship management, media planning, and marketing management. 

Customer relationship management

Average salary: ₹7,55,784

Salary range: ₹4,20,000 to ₹12,00,000

Companies that hire customer relationship managers in India: Bandhan Bank, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, GoMechanic, and ICICI Bank.

A customer relationship manager is responsible for managing a positive relationship between a company and its customers, such as solving problems for customers and reaching out to potential new customers. 

Media planner

Average salary: ₹6,39,783

Salary range: ₹4,00,000to ₹9,00,000

Companies that hire media planners in India: Madison Communications, GroupM, MediaMint, Mindshare, and IPG Mediabrands.

A media planner works with a marketing department to decide where and how to best place ads, such as TV, print, and digital marketing.

Marketing manager

Average salary: ₹11,40,000

Salary range: ₹7,00,000to ₹20,00,000

Companies that hire marketing managers in India: BYJU'S, Amazon, Tata Consultancy Services, IBM, and Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing

A marketing manager oversees the marketing campaigns, including creating strategies and deciding how best to reach customers. 

Jobs after MBA Healthcare Management

It takes two years to earn your Master of Business Administration in healthcare management. You’ll learn about managing different departments within a healthcare setting, such as human resources, finances, and marketing. MBAs in healthcare management also cover systems for measuring quality and managing a revenue cycle. 

India’s healthcare industry is growing rapidly. According to Statista, revenue in the healthcare field is expected to grow more than 10 per cent annually. At that growth rate, the Indian healthcare industry is on track to reach USD 766.40 million by 2027 [2]. This leaves room for growth in all healthcare sectors, including healthcare management. Two jobs you may be qualified for with an MBA in healthcare administration are hospital administrator and claims manager. 

Hospital administrator

Average salary: ₹9,07,704

Salary range: ₹5,28,000to ₹24,00,000

Companies hiring hospital administrators in India: Apollo Hospitals, Indian Army, Manipal Hospitals, Medanta the Medicity, and Yashoda Hospital.

A hospital administrator oversees the day-to-day operations of a hospital, including medical, clerical, technical, and other staff, in addition to being the liaison between the hospital and other parties such as the board of directors. 

Claims manager

Average salary: ₹8,04,924

Salary range: ₹5,00,000 to ₹10,00,000

Companies hiring claims managers in India: Care Health Insurance, Genpact, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, Tata AIG General Insurance, and Marsh McLennan

A claims manager is a point of contact for a customer and an insurance company, overseeing the claim process. 

Jobs after MBA Retail Management

Earning your MBA in retail management helps you prepare for a career managing retail companies, including customer support, labour relations, budgeting, and other departments. You’ll learn about buying and stocking merchandise, advertising, corporate strategy, how to operate a store, and more. 

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that the retail sector in India will be worth nearly $2 trillion by 2032, more than doubling since 2020 [3]. India is also the fourth-largest retail market in the world [4]. This growth should bring many opportunities for applicants who’ve earned an MBA in retail management. Some potential jobs you might be qualified for with this MBA are retail manager, merchandiser, and marketing executive. 

Retail manager

Average salary: ₹7,96,530

Salary range: ₹5,00,000 to ₹13,00,000

Companies that hire retail managers in India: CarDekho, Decathlon, Hidesign, Vodafone, and Royal Enfield.

A retail manager is responsible for a retail store, from managing store employees to minimising loss due to theft and preparing reports. 

Merchandiser

Average salary: ₹7,75,536

Salary range: ₹5,52,000 to ₹12,00,000

Companies that hire merchandisers in India: Shahi Exports, Fabindia, Laguna Clothing Private Limited, Li & Fung, and Gokaldas Exports.

A merchandiser is responsible for working with vendors to make sure a store has goods to sell and monitoring how customers react to products and other sales data. 

Marketing executive

Average salary: ₹7,32,000

Salary range: ₹3,36,000 to ₹24,00,000

Companies that hire marketing executives in India: Lupin, NoBrokerHood, Alkem Laboratories, Justdial, and Unilever.

A marketing executive works within an organisation's marketing department to help develop marketing strategies and analyse trends. 

Jobs after MBA Human Resource Management 

Another potential specialisation for someone earning a Master of Business Administration is human resource management (HRM). The human resources department of a company looks after the people who work for an organisation. When you earn your MBA in HRM, you’ll learn management methods, communication skills, training and developing staff, ethics, and performance management. 

For insight into the scope of work in human resource management, consider IMARC Group’s projections that the technology industry that supports human resource management will be worth USD 1.6 million by 2028, growing at an average rate of 9.5 per cent annually [5]. That translates to a growing opportunity for people with MBAs in HRM. Jobs you may be qualified for include human resource manager and staffing director. 

Human resource manager

Average salary: ₹9,00,000

Salary range: ₹6,00,000to ₹15,00,000

Companies that hire human resource managers in India: Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Accenture, Infosys, and Cognizant Technology Solutions.

A human resource manager manages hiring, terminating, and training staff in a company. They also serve as the link between employees and management. 

Staffing director

Average salary: ₹5,50,000

Salary range: ₹3,00,000 to ₹7,00,000

Companies that hire staffing coordinators in India: Microsoft, McKinsey and Company, Aruba Networks, Aleron, and Zoho.

A staffing director may have similar job responsibilities to human resource managers but may also be responsible for overall hiring plans and strategies, such as how many employees to recruit.

Jobs after MBA International Business

International business is a specialisation of the Master of Business Administration preparing you for a job in a global world. You will learn about managing different business departments with an emphasis on international policies, such as finance, marketing, human resources, IT, and managing a diverse workforce. Two of the jobs you may be qualified for with an MBA in international business are business development executive and project manager. 

Business development executive

Average salary: ₹8,88,000 

Salary range: ₹3,00,000 to ₹24,00,000 per month

Companies that hire business development executives in India: BYJU'S, Extramarks, Jaro Education, Square Yards, Unacademy.

Business development executives help companies find and retain customers, contributing to the growth and longevity of companies. 

Project manager

Average salary: ₹19,56,000

Salary range: ₹11,00,000 to ₹28,00,000

Companies that hire project managers in India: Infosys, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Wipro, IBM, and Accenture

Project managers oversee projects to ensure they are completed correctly, within budget, and on schedule. 

Options for further education

Although an MBA qualifies you for a wide range of positions, it’s not the highest credential you can earn. If you’re interested in further education, you can choose from various advanced diplomas, doctorates, and certifications. What you choose will likely depend on the fields you’re interested in working in and where you’ve gained your professional experience. 

You could earn your doctorate if you’d like to narrow and strengthen your specialisation. Or you could select several postgraduate diplomas to broaden your qualifications and give you more career options. For example, an MBA graduate interested in marketing can enrol for the Graduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership and Management course from the University of Illinois.