I conducted a UB/Towson MBA open house last Wednesday (June 11, 2008). A prospective student asked “The MBA has become devalued. Why would anyone want to earn an MBA?” His question goes back to my first blog post, “Is an MBA Worth it?” I’d suggest reading that article before reading this one. Is the MBA worth it? Yes and no…keep reading.
First, I’ll note that the MBA is not the degree for everyone. Your particular occupation may not require an advanced degree or may require a different advanced degree. However, if you are in the business world and have thought about earning an MBA degree, then in my opinion, the MBA is worth it.
Point #1: The Statistics Prove an MBA is Worth It.
Statistics show that those with an MBA earn more than those without one (reference my previous article, Is the MBA Worth It? for detailed stats). I won’t belabor the point here.
Point #2: Your Competitive Advantage
The MBA can be your own personal competitive advantage. Every organization must have a competitive advantage over the other players in market. Wal-Mart has low prices. Nordstrom has excellent service. Starbucks sells a coffee experience. Without a competitive advantage it is difficult to differentiate and draw customers.
What’s your competitive advantage? Think of yourself as a brand. How do you want to be known? What differentiates you from other prospects in the job market? Why should you get the promotion over a colleague? Why should you receive a pay increase? If your current boss or a prospective employer cannot answer these questions, they’ll give that job or promotion to someone for whom they can easily answer these questions.
The MBA is one powerful way to begin gaining a personal competitive advantage. It is not the only way, but it demonstrates your drive to learn and succeed.
Point #3: Expanding Your Mind
In the workplace, it is easy to put on blinders. You work in the same cube everyday, meet with the same people, and work on the same projects. You are presented with problems that are similar to previous problems so you use the same mental models to solve them. The MBA can radically shake your world.
Imagine that you are in an MBA program. After work you go to your class and your Operations Management professor begins discussing process improvement and change management. She discusses best practices to bring about change. Another student tells how his company failed at a change initiative and why. Another student tells of a fantastic success story of radical change. The professor notes on the board the differences between the two and asks the class why one failed and the other did not.
Ideas swirl in your head about how you can help make positive change in your workplace. You raise your hand and tell the class about your experiences at work. You ask for their advice as to how change can take place given your specific situation. The professor adds her insights and students comment as well. You go to work the next morning with a different perspective. You’ve become empowered. The blinders are off.
That’s the power of an MBA.
Point #4: Everyone doesn’t have an MBA. Even if they did, you better get one!
In the 1990s, there was talk about MBA devaluation. If everyone had an MBA, you could not use it as a competitive advantage and thus, it was useless. First, I’ll argue that even if MBA enrollments increase astronomically, most American office workers will not possess an MBA and therefore it still is an advantage. But let’s say we get to the point where “everyone” has an MBA. If everyone has an MBA and you decide not to get one, what do you think your career aspects will look like? Do you think it is a good strategy for you NOT to earn an MBA when everyone else has one? Absolutely not! In fact the opposite is true. If everyone else has an MBA degree, you MUST earn one just to stay competitive.
The MBA is known around the world as the advanced degree for business professionals. Should you get one? It depends. If you’re in business, then absolutely.
As many of my readers know (as do students in the UB/Towson MBA), The UB/Towson MBA offers students the flexibility of taking courses in the classroom and online. I was speaking with a friend today and he made an interesting observation. He said, “With the price of gas going up, you may see more students taking online courses so they don’t need to drive to class.” I told him that most of our students take a combination of online and in-class instruction and very few students are solely all web or all classroom. However, he might be onto something.