This was the lowest-paid occupation in 2021 according to data supplied to U.S. News by business schools. That doesn’t mean MBAs aren’t living comfortably in the field. MIT Sloan grads topped all comers, with base salaries averaging $137,500. Sure enough, Operations ranks among the most competitive fields in pay, as Sloan barely edged out Michigan Ross ($136,744), Columbia Business School ($135,900), and Berkeley Haas ($135,340). With the advent of COVID, Operations hires are experiencing a pay jump – at least among the elite programs. Among the business schools whose graduates pulled in the five-highest pay averages, four scored pay increase between $9,500 and $18,000 over the past two years (with MIT Sloan seeing a $6,600 improvement). Speaking of Sloan, one of their graduates also snagged the highest Operations base in 2021: $200,000. At the same time, Florida Warrington ($165,000), Michigan State Broad ($161,000), and Vanderbilt Owen ($153,000) graduated students whose individual paychecks ranked among the ten-highest in 2021. Still, Operations isn’t for everyone. After all, several schools didn’t produce enough graduates to be ranked in the field, including Stanford GSB, Harvard Business School, and Northwestern Kellogg.