Pay gap shrinks: Will BTech grads stay MBA course?
BTech graduates in India have narrowed sharply over the years, according to the findings of a Deloitte survey. This could potentially lessen the lure of opting for costly management courses after completing BTech. The pay gap between MBA and BTech graduate salaries has nearly halved to 57% in 2024 from 102% in 2021, according to Deloitte's Campus Workforce Trends 2024 study shared exclusively with ET.
«This is without accounting for the investment of time and money,» said Neelesh Gupta, partner at Deloitte.
The median annual pay for a BTech graduate from India's top 10 colleges was ₹15.8 lakh in 2022. Had the graduate chosen to continue employment, in 2024, the pay could have risen to ₹19-21 lakh respectively for an average vs high performer, said Gupta. While an MBA course typically costs ₹14-24 lakh, the average salary of an MBA graduate is Rs 20-24 lakh per year, showed the study. Experts say the shrinking pay gap between MBA and BTech graduates is mainly due to strong demand for high-tech talent among IT product firms, consulting industry, besides sustained demand for talent in new technologies.
Even after spending several lakhs of rupees for an MBA course, the pay package is nearly that of a BTech graduate. This is in addition to the fact that most students in an MBA class tend to be engineers (BTech grads).
According to Gupta, the narrowing pay differential can potentially lead to lower attractiveness for young talent to seek business
