by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Are you a job-seeker who is looking for more responsibility and
pay, seeking more leverage in obtaining a work/life balance, or
contemplating a move into management -- and are considering
returning to school to get your MBA? Or perhaps a job-seeker
exploring changing careers by going back to school for your MBA? Or
perhaps a consultant looking to add a credential to your dossier. Or
perhaps a college junior or senior contemplating going straight
through and obtaining your MBA right after your undergraduate
degree?
Regardless of your reasons, if you are contemplating attending
graduate school to obtain your MBA, you should read this article
before you make your final decision. This article will take you
through all the important issues you need to contemplate before
making your decision of whether -- and when -- to obtain your MBA.
What is an MBA? It's a Master of Business Administration degree,
granted after one to two years of graduate-level university study
that provides training in the theory and practice of business
management. The MBA is basically a document that certifies that you
have a general competency in all the major functional management
roles you'll find in the modern corporation. An MBA is a career
accelerator across a number of industries and MBA graduates can
usually command higher salaries.
Ideal Time to Get MBA
When is the best time to enroll
in an MBA program? The obvious answer is to enroll at a point in
your career when the MBA is necessary to take your career to the
next level, but the choice is never that simple.
For the college undergrad, the biggest question you need to ask
yourself is why -- why are you interested in going straight through
and getting your MBA right after your bachelor's degree? The
top-ranked programs will not even admit you if you don't have at
least several years of experience, and a freshly minted MBA with
little or no job experience is often in a much tougher job hunt than
a recent college grad with little or no job experience.
For the job-seeker, the question about getting your MBA involves
how as much as when. Will you keep working while earning your MBA in
a part-time program or do you have the financial resources to quit
your job and return to school full-time? Will your current employer
help finance your MBA? Do you need the MBA as part of a career
change -- and if so, how are you going to do it?
Finally, there is the question of the economy. Some people think
it's a good hedge to get an MBA during an economic slowdown -- a
safe haven -- rather than face the tough job market; however, when
the economy is bad, even having an MBA is no guarantee of obtaining
a lucrative job offer. The best advice? Talk to recruiters and MBA
career placement counselors -- and read the current trends in
magazines such as Business Week, Success, U.S. News
and World Report.
MBA Enrollment Trends
The number of MBA degrees
conferred annually has seen explosive growth over the last few
decades, going from under 5,000 MBAs in 1960 to more than 100,000
MBAs in 2000 -- and now averaging more than 150,000 annually,
according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Enrollment is also influenced by the economy, and as the economy
turns toward a downturn, both recent grads and displaced workers
head back to earn their MBAs.
Because of the growing number of graduate business programs that
confer more and more MBA degrees, the degree itself is not as
special or highly-valued as in the past. An MBA alone will not be
the magic key to the door of career and job-hunting success.
Types of MBA
One of the questions you'll need to answer
is whether you are interested in a general MBA, which is often
shorter in duration, or a specialized MBA, which may take longer but
make you more marketable.
Regardless of the type of MBA, the core topics you'll encounter
include:
Accounting
Quantitative analysis
Economics
Marketing
Organizational behavior
Specialized MBAs offer more advanced study in a particular area
of business (such as marketing) or a particular industry (such as
higher education).
Finally, you'll need to determine the value of the "name" of the
program you are considering. If you are searching for a big push
that fast tracks your career, snagging an MBA from one of the top
schools in the country may be the ticket. But, if you're looking to
simply get ahead and move your careers along, don't discount the
many MBA programs that are unranked but that offer you the degree
and value you need. (See the link for Business Week, below,
which is one of several organizations that rank MBA programs.)
MBA Costs -- and Returns
According to one salary guide,
an MBA is worth about $10-30,000 a year over a bachelor's degree,
but the salary increase you could see may be much less -- or much
more. Factors that can affect your salary include:
- whether you stay with your current employer or seek a job with
a new employer.
- the amount of relevant experience you have for the job you are
seeking.
- the reputation of the graduate school you attended.
- the type of job you are seeking -- and the level of
supply/demand for workers.
- the industries where you are seeking a job.
- the location of the jobs you are seeking.
But don't forget to factor in the costs as well, with the average
cost of graduate study leading to an MBA at about $40,000. Tuition
and expenses add up to about $54,000 per nine-month academic year
(resulting in an investment of more than $100,000 for the full-time
two-year MBA) at Wake Forest University, one of the premier MBA
programs. You'll find tuition closer to $12,000 at lesser known
programs with generic MBA degrees.
What an MBA Can Do for Your Career
If you're looking
for the MBA to help you get into the executive suite, it may be just
the ticket you need. According to a study by Accountemps, a global
temporary staffing service for accounting and finance professionals,
80 percent of executives responding to the survey said that a
graduate degree in business is still important to reach senior
management ranks within most companies.
And there is growing evidence that having an MBA not only gives
you more leverage in dictating new job titles and salary, but also
gives you leverage in achieving a better balance between work (read:
fewer hours working) and life outside work.
Final Words of Wisdom
Whatever you do, don't jump into
an MBA program without doing all the necessary research and
introspection. And once you have made the firm decision to attend a
graduate business program, make sure you read one of our other
articles: Criteria
for Choosing a Graduate Program.
Sources
There are numerous other good sources of
information about attending graduate school -- and about the MBA in
particular.
Quintessential Careers Sources:
See also our article: Considering
Graduate School? Answer These Five Questions Before You Decide.
For application help: Mastering
Your MBA Application.
Other MBA-Related Sources:
MBA Trends -- a listing of articles pertaining to
MBA trends, degrees, programs, etc., published in previous issues of
Business Week.
MBAinfo.com --
a comprehensive MBA program directory and information source.
Includes a great glossary of MBA terms.
gmac.com -- the
official site of the Graduate Management Admission Council. Contains
some great information, resources, forums, and worksheets to help
prospective MBA students determine the best programs and schools for
you.
MBA-Related Books:
For the most recent editions of the best MBA and graduate
school-related books, please go this section of our online
bookstore: Graduate
School Books.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get
more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and
job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker's
Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Dr. Randall
S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers, one
of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the
Web, as well CEO of EmpoweringSites.com. He
is also founder of MyCollegeSuccessStory.com
and EnhanceMyVocabulary.com.
He is publisher of Quintessential
Careers Press, including the Quintessential Careers electronic
newsletter, QuintZine. Dr.
Hansen is also a published author, with several books, chapters in
books, and hundreds of articles. He's often quoted in the media and
conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr.
Hansen is also an educator, having taught at the college level for
more than 15 years. Visit his personal
Website or reach him by email at randall(at)quintcareers.com.
Have you seen all our career and job resources for job-seekers
considering an MBA, currently attending an MBA program, or who have
an MBA? Go to: Job and Career
Resources for MBAs or MBA
Resources.
