Many professionals ask themselves, “why get an MBA?” Obviously, the first question that comes to mind is “I wonder how much more money I can make with an MBA after my name?” It’s true; an MBA does often lead to more pay. But this isn’t the only reason why you should get an MBA!
Equips You to Solve Business Problems
Your coursework in an MBA covers many business disciplines plus some electives that suit your fancy. They all lead up to a capstone class which requires skills gleaned from your core classes. You will use case studies to solve real-life business problems and have a highly knowledgeable professor tell you how to best solve the problem.
Opens the Door to the Club
On top of the networking opportunities you’ll find with your fellow students, an MBA automatically gives you access to the inner circle of leadership in your community. It instantly makes you a candidate for many open positions in leadership, management, or something more particular to your skillset. They say “it’s not what you know, but who you know”—but having an MBA helps!
Credibility
Your peers at work see your effort in pursuing an MBA. They see that you value business knowledge and that you take daily operations seriously. It also shows your initiative in improving your skillset. The next time you are in a meeting and an executive asks about depreciation and marketing concerns, you can answer intelligently. This makes your team and your boss look good, too.
Teaches You the Skills of Business
In your MBA coursework you will learn the reasons behind mission and vision statements, the importance of brainstorming, what is the best way to plan strategically, why your company has a Marketing department and how it isn’t simply “advertising.”
Teaches You How to Communicate
You’ll better communicate with your peers and superiors when you learn the language of business. You’ll also learn presentation skills and how to create a communication plan so that a message is disseminated properly. You’ll also learn how to “boil down” your message in a way that your audience can take away what is important.
Learn How to Interpret and Read Business Statements
French is the language of France. Portuguese is the language of Brazil. And Accounting is the language of Business. In your classes you will learn to read balance sheets, income statements, cash flow statements, and SEC filings. You will be a better investor because you can tell if a company can ride out a recession based on their 10-K filings. Being a better investor is one GREAT reason why you should get an MBA.
Opportunity to Improve Your Technical Skills
Part of your MBA coursework will require you to brush up on your technology skills. Not just for writing papers and giving presentations, but also in required courses for IT Management.
You can Apply Your Classwork to Your Full-Time Job
When you are working toward your MBA your assignments oftentimes will be to analyze a key aspect of your company’s processes. You may evaluate the best technology to use for virtualized computing machines in your Innovation class. Or you may examine the hiring processes in your organization. Your final paper can then be forwarded to your boss who will most likely pass it on—giving you some more credibility in the organization (see Credibility above).
You’ll Learn How to Better Organize Business Units and Processes
Throughout your MBA course load you will also learn how best to separate different units within the organization. You will learn why Marketing needs to work closely with Information Services and vice-versa. Why the Sales department should influence the organization, but only when they are communicating freely with other departments.
How to Play Well With Others
In much of your MBA Coursework you’ll be asked to team up with other classmates to form a team. Your team is responsible for a strategy recommendation, or a sales presentation. You’ll learn how to quickly divide work fairly, assess each other’s strengths and capitalize on them, and work together with other skillsets toward a common goal. It goes without saying that these are skills the most successful business people have.
So why get an MBA? To be a better employee and a better person.