????MBA就業服務委員會需要克服的另外一個障礙是數據收集的方式。根據委員會制定的標準，所有信息必須來自于“可靠來源”，但關于可靠來源的標準卻并不精確。可能是家長、雇主，或者“個人的了解”，這就留下了加工或者偽造數據的空間。

????威爾伯稱：“我并不是說每所學校的就業報告都要做到完美無缺，因為這不可能實現。”但她認為，只要所有學校采取公開的、可比的方式進行報告，“我們的報告數據將更準確，繼續遙遙領先于其他類型的專業學位學校。”

????有意攻讀MBA，做好功課是關鍵

????大多數情況下，在統計上做手腳并不會顯著影響一家商學院的就業狀況。就業數據研究公司PayScale的艾爾?李表示，相反，有意攻讀MBA的學生應該留意其他方面。他認為，學生應該提防所謂“幸福畢業生的片面性”，也就是說，與已經找到工作的同學相比，無業的畢業生不太可能報告他們的就業狀況。

????有意攻讀MBA的學生還應該注意，工資統計數據是以有工作的學生為基礎，而高平均工資并不意味著畢業生的薪酬更高，而是因為低薪崗位數據被刪除，以免它們拉低平均數。例如，李表示，官方報告顯示，在經濟衰退期間，高校畢業生總體平均薪酬實際出現上漲，因為只有優秀的學生找到了工作，而學生總體就業率卻出現大幅下跌。

????有意攻讀MBA的學生還應注意數據中所包含的畢業生類型。有些MBA畢業生之前便有高薪工作，畢業之后又回到原先的工作崗位。而有些畢業生則可能擁有多年的工作經驗。謹慎的學生應該參考其目標行業的薪酬、獨立行業薪酬統計數據，以及根據個人工作年限提供的起薪（當然，前提是學校報告中對此有所涉及）。

????大部分關于MBA畢業生的累計薪酬統計數據都缺乏說服力。管理專業研究生入學考試委員會（Graduate Management Admission Council）報告稱，2010年畢業生的平均起薪為78,820美元，其中42%獲得了平均15,000美元的簽約獎金；但PayScale的研究卻發現，2010年MBA畢業生的平均起薪（包括獎金）為61,000美元。PayScale的數據涉及所有擁有MBA學位的人，統計的范圍更廣，但是，統計對象不僅僅局限于精英畢業生。

????李表示：“有一點非常清楚，如果隨便找一所學校攻讀MBA，并不能保證畢業后一定能拿到六位數的高薪。如果選擇排名前20的商學院，則很有機會獲得高薪職位，但如果選擇的學校在20名以外，情況就會大有不同了。”

????此外，頂尖商學院也會提供更準確、更全面的薪酬與就業報告統計數據，這使情況變得更加復雜。因為其他學校通常不會重視按照行業或工作年限細分薪酬數據。如何才能穿過就業數據的重重迷霧，找準屬于自己的方向？查看一下統計樣本數量，參考班級中已經就業的畢業生比例，以及他們的工作類型。不論是有意就讀MBA還是其他專業學校，學生們都應該做好功課，否則，等到欠下一堆債務就悔之晚矣了。

????翻譯：劉進龍/喬樹靜

????The CSC also has to contend with the hurdle of how the data itself is collected. According to the standards, the information must come from a "reliable source," but the criteria for what constitutes a reliable source are loose. It can be a parent, employer or "your personal knowledge" -- leaving room for interpretation, or error.

????"I'm not going to tell you every school's employment report is perfect because they're probably not," Wilbur says. But as far as reporting in and open and comparable manner across schools, she says, "We're so much further along than almost any other type of professional degree program."

????Aspiring MBAs: What to keep in mind

????In most cases, dirty accounting will not skew a B-school's employment picture dramatically. Prospective students should instead be wary of other things, says Al Lee of PayScale, an employment data research firm. Students should look out for what he calls the "happy graduate bias," where unemployed graduates are less likely to report their status than their salaried former classmates.

????Would-be MBAs should also note that salary statistics are based on students with jobs -- and a high average salary may not mean that graduates' salaries were higher, but that low-paying jobs were drying up, keeping them from pulling down the average. For example, Lee says, official reports of the overall average salary for college graduates actually went up during the recession because only exceptional students got hired, even though the total number of students with jobs took a dramatic dip.

????B-school hopefuls should also look out for the types of people included in the data. Some MBA grads may have high-paying jobs that they're going back to. Others may have years of work experience. The cautious buyer will look at the salary in his industry of choice, independent industry salary data, and -- if the school reports it -- the starting pay based on a person's years of work experience.

????Most aggregate salary data for MBA graduates is anything but conclusive. While the Graduate Management Admission Council reports that the median starting salary for 2010 grads was $78,820 -- with 42% receiving a median $15,000 signing bonus, PayScale research indicates that the average 2010 starting MBA salary was $61,000 including bonuses. The PayScale data, which screened for anyone who identified as having an MBA, is drawn from a larger and more inclusive, but probably less elite pool of grads.

????"One thing that's absolutely clear is that if you just go to a random MBA program it is not a guaranteed route to a six-figure salary after you finish," Lee says. "The top 20 programs, there's a decent chance that could happen, but once you get out of the top 20, that's just not the case."

????Compounding the problem, top programs also tend to offer better and more thorough salary and career reporting statistics. Other schools will often neglect to break down salary data by industry or years of experience. So what to do to hack through the jungle of career stats? Check the sample size, look at the percentage of the class with jobs, and look at what jobs they're getting. Prospective students should do this before singing up for any professional program, and – most important – before taking on debt to pay for it.