Why Pursue an MBA? Digging into One of Today's Most Sought-after Degrees
Why MBA? This might be a complex question for many professionals. An MBA is a degree that focuses on establishing leadership skills and providing learning business principles. And in a larger scenario, it could lead to more career opportunities, a strong professional network, and bigger paychecks.
It's up to the person what are his/her expectations are from the program. With a correct mindset and attainable aim, within a few years you'll reach your goal. However, if your mindset isn’t clear, you may not accomplish the outcomes you’re looking for.
Coming to the point, what is the value of an MBA? To comprehend this better, we’ve listed down the advantages you’re going to gain from completing an MBA course.
1. The future-ready career
Leadership and influence in the corporate world demand certain skills an MBA intentionally targets: managing a team, influencing stakeholders, setting strategic goals. While these skills can be gained (sometimes painfully) through on-the-ground experience, they can also be developed systematically through a strong MBA program. And in recent decades, an MBA has become more and more a baseline requisite for moving into higher-level corporate positions.
2. Broadened industry exposure and opportunity
Some professionals complete an undergraduate or graduate program in a non-business-related field and find they're dissatisfied with the opportunities available to them. This might be due to limited work opportunities, a low pay grade, burnout, or perhaps simply the realization that the jobs available in your field of interest may just not be as interesting as the academic study of the field was to you. In any of these situations, an MBA can be your ticket to broader horizons. You do not need to come from a business background to pursue an MBA, and gaining the degree can open up career opportunities in just about any sector you might be interested in.
3. Advanced skills development
While every MBA program has its own flavor, all programs help students develop certain core competencies. Whether it be improving leadership quality, understanding sales techniques, financial savvy, conflict resolution and problem solving, or data interpretation, an MBA will ensure you're equipped with the fundamental skills necessary to run a business. You'll understand how to take a tough call without compromising your work ethic. You'll learn how to explore the latest business trends. You'll dabble in management, learning tools, and how to push yourself to your limits.
4. Access to an extensive business network
As an MBA aspirant, you'll have excellent networking opportunities. You'll be able to interact with students, professors, and perhaps future colleagues; attend conferences on global events and world affairs; and hear the best the business world has to offer. Not only will these connections help you develop your own way of navigating the business world, but they'll also set you up for successful business partnerships in future.
5. Potential to win some of the highest paying jobs
MBAs come with a high probability of getting a job and a high salary. You’re capable of earning almost double what a person with a typical master’s degree can earn, and there's a low-risk factor involved with winning a position since there's such a wide variety of jobs available. You might find yourself serving as an HR manager, a market research analyst, a business operations manager, or a top executive.
6. Calculated benefits
One should always calculate the value of a degree after one finishes schooling, and an MBA's value blows doors in this regard. More than 79% of employers agree that MBA graduates are a highly sought after commodity; the Chicago Tribute claims that the long-term benefits of an MBA are unquestionable; and a GMAC Survey shows that new hires holding an MBA are expected to fetch $45,000 more than non-MBA graduates in US. The median salary of an MBA graduate is $95,000, as opposed to a Bachelor's median earnings of nearly $50,000.
7. Again, Networking. Can we say it enough?
Just because it's crucial, we'll hit this again. It is often said that your network is your net worth. Because we live in an era where information and human intelligence is the commodity, and because MBA programs attract many of the world's top business performers, pursuing an MBA provides you access to a gold-mine of "human" resources. And the more top performers you build relationships with, the more effective your business operations will be in future.
In summary, is an MBA the only way forward in a career? Absolutely not. But it makes it easier than nearly any other degree to move up in hierarchy in a corporate context; it holds greater job security; it equips graduates with strategic business skills; and it provides networking potential that's hard to match. Ready to supercharge your own career? Maybe an MBA's a step in the right direction.