MBA: What’s in a name and all you ever wanted to know about it
The only thing that has not changed in the previous years around this Master’s degree is the name which stands for Master of Business Administration. However what really got revolutionized, is its actual power, in a negative trend. Some say that the degree that was once praised as the guaranteed ticket to the gate for leadership has now lost contact with the reality of the modern business world, which is dominated by globalization. Others say that this expensive and time-consuming program failed to develop leaders at all. However, academics supporting their jobs point out a curriculum that moves side by side with the business world and the admiration of still owning such a degree is daily enabling graduates to reach out for the dreams.
Why MBA?
1. MBA focuses on entrepreneurship, finance, marketing and accounting. Avoiding this master degree, learning the way on your own is inevitably an inefficient and slow option.
2. The wage and the status as MBA graduates are certainly paid better holding higher managerial positions. An ACCSB-accredited business school made a research finding that Post-MBA wages rose up to 50% compared to the Pre-MBA wages while 5 years later their wages rose up to 80%. This would case a $50,000 annual pay before the program to a significant raise up to $135,000 5 years after the end of it.
3. Who does not have an MBA? It has become the most popular postgraduate degree in the United States holding 25% of them every year. This leads us to two contrasting questions:
· If I don’t have it how will I compete with the others?
· If I have it how will I stand out?
4. MBA classes are more international than ever enabling a more global experience and teaching.
5. Its innovative program flows alongside with the business community. However this could also mean that your MBA degree will be obsolete in 10 years when the business world will evolve and along with it, the specific program.
6. Networking at its best. Graduates can all agree that during this program they have met people that have brought their career to another level. However do we really need to spend 6-digit numbers just for tuition fees to build a network? Undergaduate alumni networks and events around your community can be considered solid alternatives.
Why not MBA?
1. Expensive is a very cheap word to describe the MBA’s tuition fees that can reach up to $130,000 for a top tier school.
2. Time consuming, since this degree lasts around 2 years to complete, if you choose the full time program. Some schools however offer now a 1-year accelerated full-time program while few offer part-time ones which can even take up to 5 years to finish.
3. Not many are innovative. Many successful universities do not feel the need to revolutionize their programs. If there’s the demand why bother?
4. MBAs are a worth investment only if the university you will follow it is among the top-tier ones. There are too many MBA programs and not enough MBA-level jobs available. This trouble leads as expected employers to fish only in the best schools. Additionally the disparity in terms of wages is huge. A Harvard graduate’s starting salary is expected to be around $115,000 compared to the $60,000 of a low ranked school. Therefore getting into a worthy MBA is extremely hard.
5. Does not guarantee employment, and certainly not success. Henry Mintzberg did once a research for Fortune that examined 19 Harvard’s best MBA graduates’ career paths. We can all agree that we are talking about the top of the food chain. Shockingly the results showed that 10 of them were either fired or led their companies into bankrupt, 4 were questionable and only five did well.
6. MBA focuses on certain subjects and skills. However in a lot of industries companies want to employ managers with specialized knowledge and experience, not widespread education like the one offered by the MBA.
Who should go for an MBA?
We could answer to this by checking out where all the graduates go. According to Thomas Robertson, dean of the Wharton school of Pennsylvania, around 95% of them are going into either big corporations or startups in important positions such as Management consultants, marketing managers, operations managers, investment bankers and financial advisors. Therefore people that aspire and feel that they could handle such positions. The other 5% are directed into NGOs (non-governmental organizations) or non-profitable businesses.
When should I go for an MBA?
The smartest choice is to get work experience first, for two reasons. Firstly you will examine your options while working, since you will see how much do you really need an MBA or if it would be better to continue working. Additionally certain businesses are also willing to offer their employees the degree’s expenses in exchange for paid work in the following years. Secondly both MBA admissions’ office and future potential employers seek to accept/employ applicants with professional experience. This can be seen also from the wages, which are considerably lower compared to graduates with no experience. The average work experience expected from an MBA applicant is 5 years which enables this still young enthusiastic workers to learn from each other’s experience.
Where should I do my MBA?
Sources: Schools’ websites
(Don’t be misled by the “low” tuition fees. Additional costs such as health insurance, rooms and utilities sum the value into a 6-digit number.)
Overall there is a constant debate on the MBAs. Is it too theoretical, teaching management on remote control? Too applied? Are the graduates too ambitious? The conflict of interests brings this discussion on different levels daily with undergraduates/employers having to take the matter into their hands aligning the pros and cons.
