We already mentioned in What is Master of Business Administration? article that MBA programs equip their students with universal managerial and analytical skills that can be transferred to a wide range of business and leadership functions. It was also indicated that MBA degree is often used for advancement in one’s career. Here we will take a closer look on the different reasons why it can be beneficial for a professional to pursue MBA degree and what the main reasons for getting MBA degree are.
MBA students are probably the only category among those pursuing advanced graduate degrees who are not supposed to be shy about their ultimate goal of getting that degree. Lawyers can talk about their desire to uphold social justice, doctors may refer to their desire to cure the sick, engineers will probably speak about their aspiration to solve complex industrial problems, and so on. Not that most advanced degrees will not lead to better career prospects and higher salaries eventually, but this is not as explicitly pronounced in these other fields.
MBA aspirants are not required or expected (other than in the admission essay) to beat around the bush. The number one ultimate goal of getting MBA is to increase income. This is not to say that all MBAs are unscrupulous clones of Gordon Gekko, with “greed is good” written all over them. But the reality is that MBA applicants, due to their business inclinations and aspirations, are more likely to be predisposed to thinking in practical monetary terms. If they are not conditioned that way at the application stage, business schools will help them to realize this in no uncertain terms, especially when they see the final price tag of their student loans at graduation.
Now that we established the ultimate goal of getting MBA – increasing income potential, we can focus on why MBA is an appropriate route to that goal, what routes are taken by MBA to reach that goal, as well as other less obvious reasons for getting MBA.
So here is our short list of reasons to get MBA:
- Increasing income potential
- Career advancement within the company or industry
- Switching career to some other industry or function
- Starting one’s own business
- Getting knowledge and skills required for business in current role/position
- Self-gratification
This list is neither exhaustive, nor is it ultimately authoritative. For comparison purposes we offer another list compiled by the Graduate Management Admission Council ( GMAC) – the owner of the GMAT, the leading admission test used by business schools in application to their MBA programs. These reasons for MBA have been used by GMAC for MBA graduates survey to measure their level of satisfaction with the degree:
1. Preparation to get a good job in the business world
2. An increase in your career options
3. Credentials you desired
4. Opportunity to improve yourself personally
5. Opportunity for quicker advancement
6. Development of your management knowledge/technical skills
7. An increase in earning power
8. Opportunity to network and to form relationships with long-term value
9. Job security
As you can see both list overlap significantly, even if GMAC list has a bit more granular categorization and they are worded somewhat differently.
Whatever list you are going to use as the basis, you need to ultimately develop your own list of reasons why you want to get MBA. Hopefully this article helped you to start that process.
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