Are you feeling trapped in your current career path? Do you find limited opportunities for growth and advancement in your professional life? Are you harboring ambitious dreams that require a strong foundation to turn into reality? Is your potential fully utilized, or is there room for more? How would you feel about pursuing a C-suite position, becoming a CEO, or starting your own business? Are you ready to enhance your business skills, expand your network, and increase your earning potential?
An MBA degree can be the answer to all these questions and more. If you’re an ambitious professional, the real question is not what an MBA degree is good for, but rather, what can’t it do?
At The MBA Exchange, we have witnessed various trends in business schools come and go, but the value of an MBA degree remains constant and is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Allow us to share some of the surprising insights and secrets we have gained from working with MBA applicants worldwide.
The Evolution of MBA Programs
To truly understand the significance of an MBA degree, it is essential to delve into the history of business schools. The development of MBA programs was a response to the rapid industrialization and global interconnectedness that characterized the early 20th century. Employers sought individuals capable of navigating the complexities and pace of modern commerce, leading prestigious universities to establish MBA programs.
This historical parallel becomes even more relevant today with the demand for specialized management, technology, and supply chain skills in sectors like consumer packaged goods (CPG). As the business landscape continues to evolve, the past serves as a prologue.
Initially, MBA programs were primarily offered in the United States. Harvard, with its renowned Harvard Business School (HBS), played a pioneering role by introducing the MBA program in 1908. The success of HBS inspired business schools in Europe and America, such as the Ecole Spéciale de Commerce et d’Industrie (currently ESCP Business School) in Paris and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The expansion of MBA programs across Canada, South Africa, and France in the 1950s marked the internationalization of the MBA degree. Today, MBA programs can be found worldwide, with over a thousand in the United States alone.
MBA programs in the present era encompass a wide range of commodities and technologies that were once unimaginable. Yet, the value of an MBA degree remains high in the 2020s and continues to rise.
Why Go To Business School?
Outstanding MBA Salaries
In recent years, salaries for new MBA graduates have soared to record heights. Top U.S. MBA programs have witnessed significant growth in median salaries for their graduates. For instance, Wharton, Booth, Harvard, Stanford, Stern, and Columbia reported median salaries of over $190,000. In fact, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC™) estimates that 2022 graduates could see projected median salaries of $115,000.
High Employability of MBA Students
Similar to the past, modern MBA programs aim to produce highly employable graduates. An MBA degree on your resume showcases your finance, technical, management, and communication skills. It allows you to specialize in areas like finance, consulting, or supply chain management, making you a highly desired candidate in sectors such as banking, hospital management, management consulting, tech, and startups.
Federal data, as analyzed by The Wall Street Journal, reveals that graduates from most MBA programs earn more than the funds borrowed for their degrees. An MBA is an investment that is likely to pay for itself.
Specialized Management Studies
Contemporary MBA programs provide students with specialized management skills required to thrive in competitive sectors of the economy. Depending on your career goals, MBA programs offer targeted courses of study that can help you acquire specific management knowledge and experience. From finance to supply chain management and even emerging tech disruptions, you can explore various fields of interest. Different types of MBA programs, including online, part-time, and executive MBA (EMBA) programs, cater to both traditional and non-traditional students. These options ensure flexibility, allowing you to pursue an MBA while maintaining your work-life balance.
MBA Networking Opportunities
Earning an MBA not only expands your knowledge but also provides invaluable networking opportunities. Top MBA programs offer unparalleled access to influential individuals in the business world. These connections can shape your future success.
Attending a reputable business school allows you to rub elbows with industry leaders and future luminaries. Even after graduation, you continue to benefit from access to elite alumni networks. An MBA can elevate your personal and professional network, opening doors to potential partnerships, collaborations, and mentorships.
Discover Yourself as an MBA Student
Contrary to popular belief, pursuing an MBA is not solely for overachievers aiming to advance an already impressive career. An MBA education is also suitable for qualified individuals who feel that something is missing or that something more could make their lives more meaningful and rewarding. Attending a top business school provides a unique opportunity for dramatic change, growth, and development that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
For many individuals, an MBA program represents a one-time, one-place opportunity to unlock their full potential. It is a transformative experience that offers a multitude of benefits, both personally and professionally. Let’s delve into the reasons why attending a top business school can be a life-changing decision.
Should I Do It? 5 Reasons to Get an MBA
Completing an MBA program is not going to be easy. But the results? Worth it. Super worth it especially if you’re the type of go-getter trendsetter groundbreaker that thrives in today’s fast-paced and innovative international business scene. That’s why MBA degrees remain so popular around the world today. So should you do it? Go through our list below and if you resonate with any of the points, you should seriously consider making the jump today!
1. Turbo-Charge Your Career Growth
An MBA degree is a great way to grow your career, whether you’re already established in a professional niche like healthcare management consulting or supply chain management, or you’re looking to get into new fields like tech-sector startups or green energy.
MBA degrees may open your path to promotion in your chosen field. Or, your degree can present a bridge to a different specialization. After completing your MBA, you’ll find more open doors and new career opportunities coming your way than you would with just an undergraduate-level business degree.
2. Boost Your Professional Confidence
As a graduate of a top-tier MBA program, you’ve got the confidence to back your bravest proposals. When you know you can bring it home, you’re more likely to put yourself out there and take the professional risks that can lead to the biggest rewards.
You already know how much of your success depends on confidence, guts and the willingness to go for it when the time is right. Don’t you deserve the added pep in your step that a top-tier MBA in your pocket could give you? That’s why you get an MBA degree.
3. Establish Your Credibility
With an MBA degree, you don’t have to ask your bosses or future employers – or your future clients – to take your word for it. Just think about why an MBA degree on your resume can mean so much. What can you do with an MBA degree after your name on your business cards or LinkedIn page?
Once you’ve got your MBA, you’ve got the credential to back up your claims of exceptional competence, skill and achievement. If your degree is from a top-tier MBA program, your resume conveys that added impact, as well.
4. Overcome Entry Barriers
The job market often throws up barriers to entry like resume screening. Lots of organizations prefer to hire job candidates with MBA degrees, and may screen for such when looking for entry-level management trainees.
If you want to work for a company like Amazon, Apple or Deloitte, getting an MBA puts you on the management career ladder instead of being flushed out of the C-suite pipeline. Top b-schools like Wharton, Northwestern Kellogg, Harvard and Yale boast a 90% plus employment rate for graduates. That’s definitely an answer to the question of what is an MBA degree good for!
5. Become an Entrepreneur
A big chunk of MBA hopefuls have their eyes on entrepreneurship as a future career. MBA programs like UNC Keenan Flagler offer specializations in entrepreneurship that can prepare you for the twists, turns and challenges of going into business for yourself. As an MBA graduate, you pull more weight and can demonstrate real credibility in a future entrepreneurial role. That’s a big part of the initial push to get a new business off the ground for launch. That MBA might be what you’ll need to get you there. The sky could be the limit.
High Demand for MBAs
MBA admissions are more competitive than ever, as markets and salaries rebound after the initial disruption of the pandemic. Earning an MBA can be more advantageous to your career than ever. That’s why you need every possible advantage on your side. Before you apply, learn what make a strong MBA candidate. To get started on your MBA journey, submit your profile for a free evaluation now, and find out what you’d need to do to gain admissions to top MBA programs.
