What salary can you expect after business school?

What salary on leaving business school?

This median salary of €40,000 gross a year, measured on the class of 2024, is only a snapshot: the CGE surveys also track the average salary, calculated over several classes, which stands between €38,000 and €42,000 gross a year depending on the specialisation. These two figures do not measure the same thing, but they tell the same story: an income that starts at around €40,000 and then rises with experience.

The difference between the two comes down first of all to the sector chosen. A first job in finance or consulting is generally negotiated at a higher level than a job in digital marketing or human resources, even with an equivalent degree; the final amount therefore depends less on the school than on the career path taken. That is why a single figure, average or median, never replaces targeted research into the career you are aiming for.

Another finding from the CGE survey: most graduates sign their first contract within two months of obtaining their degree, which limits the period without income between the end of studies and the start of working life.

What is the employment rate after business school?

The 81.2% rate put forward by the CGE is a net rate: it excludes graduates who choose to continue their studies (on a double degree, abroad or by choice of specialisation) and counts only those who were genuinely looking for a job. This methodological point matters, because an indicator that mixed the two populations would artificially inflate the result.

It is also what distinguishes an independent sector-wide survey such as the one by the Conférence des Grandes Écoles from a figure published by a single school: this survey aggregates the results of dozens of institutions, using a common, published methodology, which makes it comparable from one year to the next. To go further on how to read these indicators, our article how to read an employment rate properly sets out the method.

Young graduates find it easiest to get hired in four families of careers, which account for a significant share of the hires recorded by the survey:

• consulting
• finance
• digital marketing
• tech

Even before you apply, you can discover in a few questions the management careers that suit you.

Does work-study improve employment prospects?

According to a survey carried out at the end of 2024 among former work-study students, 80% are in employment six months after the end of their contract, 48% of them on a permanent contract. This figure reads as a strong signal: work-study does not merely provide professional experience, it also shortens the transition to stable employment.

Another result from the same survey points the same way: 54% of work-study students stay with the company that hosted them. The employer has already had time to assess the person in real conditions, which changes the nature of recruitment compared with a standard application, where everything remains to be demonstrated at interview.

This is the mechanism that work-study at Excelia Business School activates, available in several of the school's programmes: tuition fees are covered by the company, and the student is paid as an employee.

However, this salary should be considered alongside the cost of the studies that lead to it: our article what business school really costs sets out the tuition fees and the funding available.