I've just received an offer from Stanford for their MBA program..I'm pretty damn excited.Just to calm my nerves about the huge pile of debt I'm about to land myself in, I'm curious what ballpark salary I could be looking at post-MBA if I can get a job with a top strategy firm (e.g., McK, BCG etc). Just some background, I've also done an MSc and PhD in one of the leading UK universities, worked both in academia and industry (in the UK and the US) for about 4 years.Thanks for you help.

Worry not - see Tony's post below, assuming you're thinking of coming back to the UK when you've finished, of course (a lot of people get tempted to stay!)Using Tony's numbers, which are not far off, of 75-80k base (some of which may have a deferral lag) with 15-20% bonus scheme, gives a range of 86-96k for the first year. Plus a sign-on bonus (or rather, reimbursement of fees) that's likely to be in the teens. Should be enough to get by on :)Congratulations on getting into Stanford! Enjoy it....

Thanks for your message Strat. I'm hazarding a guess that your a Stanford alum, don't answer that if you don't want a deluge of emails from others. But I was interested in your point concerning reimbursement of fees. Are you suggesting that some firms may completely reimburse the cost of 2 years at GSB?

Actually I'm not a Stanford alum, but I know a few people who are, and they all had a great time. Hope you do too.I wasn't suggesting that you would get all fees reimbursed (sadly!) but rather that if, instead of a sign-on bonus, you arrange for the payment to be a reimbursement of (part of) your fees, it tends to be very tax efficient. I'm sure the careers team will advise you on these things nearer the time - although the top US schools' careers offices aren't always too hot on UK opportunities (just a generalisation, I can't speak for Stanford in particular). But all that's at least a year away for you!

Very useful, thanks for taking the time to respond.

You lucky, lucky thing...I visited the campus when staying with friends. Sweeping long drives lined with palm trees will make studying for an MBA to be far more pleasant I would guess