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Report illustrates benefit of business training

A Sainsbury Management Fellowship product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Dec 12, 2005

Findings from a new report from the SMF on the value of an MBA to today's engineers have shown up some surprising results.

Findings from a new report from the SMF on the value of an MBA to today's engineers have shown up some surprising results.

The report interviewed SMFs and analysed engineers' salaries prior to and post MBA qualification.

The report shows engineers who study for an MBA increase their individual earning capacity by approximately 50%, reinforcing the added status and value these highly skilled engineers contribute to the workplace.

The report also reinforced the perception by engineers of a "glass ceiling" that makes it far harder for them to reach boardrooms compared with accountants.

55% of respondents felt it was harder to reach the top because of the public perception and common stereotyping of engineers.

Many were very aware that they are often perceived as not being as dynamic as their business counterparts because they did not do a fashionable degree such as law or accountancy.

This means networking can be harder for engineers.

After taking an MBA base salary increases by an average of 48% and the differences between the first role after MBA and the current role is an even larger 91%.

This is based on an average time period between first and current role of just 8 years.

When analysing pay by different sectors some interesting trends can be seen; those who work in financial services tend to earn more, however, this is closely followed by those working in oil and gas.

This suggests that the more traditional engineering employers are also embracing and rewarding their highly qualified staff, recognising the skills they bring to the work place and trying to remain an attractive employer.

65% of respondents feel that engineering companies do not invest enough in business education.

This also tallies with the respondents' opinions on how they can break into boardrooms.

A surprising finding was the low rate of those interviewed who were eligible for a company car.

This was a mere 42%, which is surprising considering that so many are at senior management level.

This suggests that for many senior staff in engineering the increased monetary rewards are preferred to a company car.

Cathleen Breeze, SMF's Director of Communications, commented: "These results clearly spell out that engineers can significantly boost their salaries after completing an MBA".

"More importantly though, they also confirm the view that if engineers combine their analytical skills with business finance and marketing knowledge, then they're well placed to break through into UK plc's boardrooms".

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