For a corporate employee, an MBA is generally a must have credential for career growth within a large organization such as Honeywell, American Express, Boeing, etc. Such organizations may have tuition incentive programs whereby fees are subsidized by as much as 100%. For full tuition reimbursement it's a no brainer; it's absolutely a perk that must be taken advantage of to gain the credential. But what if there is only a partial reimbursement or even no plan at all to help subsidize the cost of the MBA which can cost $40,000 or more? Then it becomes more complex. Each person needs to evaluate whether the MBA degree can be leveraged for individual growth.
The reality is that the MBA is not a credential that can be used to show your advantage over the competition anymore. Rather it's a credential that is commonplace and if you do not have it then you are behind the competition. Therefore you really need to recognize your other skills to determine your likely career path absent the MBA. In other words, imagine that there was no such thing as an MBA. Would you have a bright and upward trend throughout your career because of your team building, leadership, technical skills, or whatever is important in your function or industry? If so, then absolutely pursue the MBA but otherwise you may want to consider the value of it to you because a $40,000-$100,000 degree is not much use to you in the corporate environment if you would not be considered by management to be promotional material. That's just reality and a point that most people do not consider. A higher ranked institution may mitigate deficiencies in a resume or other skillsets but comes at a higher price that may or may not materialize.
Interestingly enough, in my MBA program at Arizona State University (ASU), I heard often from the professors that the MBA is only of value to large organizations since the bulk of the program studies large organizations and there are a lot of team exercises to develop collaboration skills. However, what about the entrepreneur? One of the reasons I selected my program was because of the entrepreneurship electives at ASU. There were several classmates of mine that had entrepreneurial dreams, including a teacher who lacked a business education but wanted to start her own business. Then, this program is absolutely beneficial too for the entrepreneurs because it teaches accounting, marketing, economics, and finance, among others.
In my statistics class, I actually polled my classmates by asking them this question: "Is the MBA experience more important to you or the actual MBA certificate received at the end of the program?"
Would you believe that:
1. The corporate employees said, "The certificate."
2. The entrepreneurs said, "The experience."
I think that says it all.
Therefore, each person should think about what the MBA will do for that person. Given that the program is costly and time consuming, thought should be given before jumping into the program.
The reality is that the MBA is not a credential that can be used to show your advantage over the competition anymore. Rather it's a credential that is commonplace and if you do not have it then you are behind the competition. Therefore you really need to recognize your other skills to determine your likely career path absent the MBA. In other words, imagine that there was no such thing as an MBA. Would you have a bright and upward trend throughout your career because of your team building, leadership, technical skills, or whatever is important in your function or industry? If so, then absolutely pursue the MBA but otherwise you may want to consider the value of it to you because a $40,000-$100,000 degree is not much use to you in the corporate environment if you would not be considered by management to be promotional material. That's just reality and a point that most people do not consider. A higher ranked institution may mitigate deficiencies in a resume or other skillsets but comes at a higher price that may or may not materialize.
Interestingly enough, in my MBA program at Arizona State University (ASU), I heard often from the professors that the MBA is only of value to large organizations since the bulk of the program studies large organizations and there are a lot of team exercises to develop collaboration skills. However, what about the entrepreneur? One of the reasons I selected my program was because of the entrepreneurship electives at ASU. There were several classmates of mine that had entrepreneurial dreams, including a teacher who lacked a business education but wanted to start her own business. Then, this program is absolutely beneficial too for the entrepreneurs because it teaches accounting, marketing, economics, and finance, among others.
In my statistics class, I actually polled my classmates by asking them this question: "Is the MBA experience more important to you or the actual MBA certificate received at the end of the program?"
Would you believe that:
1. The corporate employees said, "The certificate."
2. The entrepreneurs said, "The experience."
I think that says it all.
Therefore, each person should think about what the MBA will do for that person. Given that the program is costly and time consuming, thought should be given before jumping into the program.
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