Currently, no master’s program has gained as much importance as the MBA (Master of Business Administration), both for the impact it has on a professional who seeks to strengthen his career plan, as well as for the impact on his personal life. Here we present the opinion of the most prestigious consultants for MBA candidates on the true value of the program.
We include in this report the opinion of expert professionals in advising MBA candidates who have extensive experience in the postgraduate business education sector and why an MBA should be studied and its main advantages.
“It’s about building a better future not just for you, or your family, but for everyone”
Andy Roughton, Managing Director, GMAC Media Solutions and BusinessBecause Ltd
Andy Roughton
Why is it important to study an MBA? It’s a big question and there are many easy, practical, or glib ways to answer it. I could tell you because it will allow you to fulfil your potential – professionally through career opportunities, financially through earning potential, personally through self-fulfilment. I could say improved job security, employability, and increased salary. Or I could say it’s a great way to discover another country or region, meet interesting and like-minded people as well as build a great social and professional network.
I could say all these things because all of these are true and could be explored in a lot more detail if I had more than this 200-word opportunity to inspire or engage you! But I think there’s a more over-arching consideration – it’s about building a better future not just for you, or your family, but for everyone. The world needs leaders, it needs innovators, it needs open minds, and it needs people who can articulate all those things and take others with them on that journey. That’s why it’s important for you to study, and that’s why it’s important to us to help you make the decisions which find the right program and business school for you.
About Business Because
BusinessBecause is a trusted source of information and inspiration for business school applicants, inspiring and informing their business school decisions.Whether you’re considering an MBA, EMBA, or master’s degree, on BusinessBecause you can:
Keep up to date with the latest business school news—rankings, reports, and the rest Uncover the personal stories of business school students and grads Get practical resources and guidance to help your business school application, including advice on GMAT and GRE prep Compare business schools Find out what the top business schools—and employers—are looking for
Today, BusinessBecause is a leading online publisher dedicated to graduate management education. We have more than 50,000 registered members worldwide and a monthly audience of over 120,000. More information here.
“An MBA is a powerful way to equip yourself with knowledge, skills, and a network that propel you forward”
Petia Whitmore, Founder, My MBA Path
An MBA is a means to an end but also so much more. Going to business school is an action catalyst, a confidence boost, and a career springboard.
If you have maxed out on learning and growth in your current position, an MBA can help you pivot.
If your career trajectory is no longer exciting, an MBA can help you level up by providing the credentials, credibility, and confidence to climb faster or shift.
Do you crave entering a new industry? A different function? Starting a venture?
All of these are scenarios where an MBA can be an efficient way to enable a change. Changing industries or functions has traditionally been a major impetus for pursuing an MBA. But the number of entrepreneurs recognizing the value of business fundamentals and heading to business school is on the rise too.
And then there is one more scenario. You observed other MBAs and their success. Maybe a parent has one. Maybe you reported to one. Maybe a founder you admire is one. So you start to think, “What if?”
Whichever one of these scenarios is yours, an MBA can be the path. An MBA is a powerful way to equip yourself with knowledge, skills, and a network that propel you forward. I’ve seen hundreds of leaders leverage their MBA to significantly and positively impact their careers.
About Petia Whitmore
I’m Petia Whitmore. For the last 14 years, graduate management education has been part of my life. My journey started as an eager GMAT test taker and MBA candidate ready to take on the test and then the world. As an MBA student, I dreamed of entrepreneurship, starting an empire, leading an enterprise. A few years later, I became Dean of MBA Admissions at Babson College, where my team worked with MBA candidates from every part of the world on their road to business school.
Fast forward again and after helping EAB, the world’s leading enrollment marketing firm, build a service for graduate schools, I became Managing Director of The MBA Tour, a subsidiary of the Graduate Management Admissions Council. There, my team connected thousands of candidates with top business schools around the globe.
My expert opinions and insights have been featured in many publications. That’s not my proudest accomplishment. It’s when an aspiring future MBA feels empowered after speaking with me. More information here.
“The MBA gives you the chance to explore multiple paths”
David White, Founding Partner Menlo Coaching
Top MBA programs continue to offer important career benefits to students:
1. A credential that is respected by employers in consulting, investment banking, tech, private equity, real estate, and other industries.
2. Practice with soft skills, such as negotiation and team management, that are crucial for winning promotions in your post-MBA career.
3. A network of professionals who can help you in many ways. You may use the network to move to a new job, to learn about a new industry, to raise investment, or even to directly sell your company’s products or services to a fellow graduate.
4. If you have any doubt about the right career path for you, the MBA gives you the chance to explore multiple paths through on-campus recruiting, a summer internship, and shorter in-semester internships. Finding a career that excites you makes it more likely that you will achieve long-term career success.
For these reasons, MBA students typically achieve a great long-term ROI on their investment, even when counting their foregone compensation during the years they attend the program.
Besides these practical benefits, the vast majority of MBA students tell me that they enjoy the experience and make many lifelong friends.
About Menlo Coaching
Professional MBA admissions consulting that brings out your very best. Our knowledgeable and experienced MBA admissions consulting team helps you push for more, find your voice, and tell your story in the most compelling way possible. There’s a perfect way to tell every story. We help you find yours. It’s natural to have blind spots about your strengths and weaknesses, and also to doubt that admissions officers at your target business schools are interested in what you have to say. As MBA admissions consultants, we’re here to get you through that. Whether you think your experience is too traditional, or not traditional enough, our consulting team will help you present a solid, honest, strategically crafted profile, that maximizes your chances of admission into your target MBA program. More information here.
Perspective MBA candidates often begin the MBA application process by asking: “Why should I get an MBA?”
Scott Edinburgh, Founder, Personal MBA Coach
Whether you want to switch careers or return to the same industry after graduation, there are countless reasons why an MBA might be the right fit for you.
Below, Personal MBA Coach shares three top reasons for considering an MBA.
1. You have stagnated in your career
If you are bored at work and/or have you stretched yourself as much as possible in your current role, this is a good sign an MBA might be right for you.
2. You have specific skill gaps to close
On top of developing core skills (finance, marketing, etc.) during your MBA studies you will build soft skills such as communication, leadership, and teamwork while learning the latest trends in your target industry.
3. You want to increase your salary
It is no secret that MBA recipient receive high salaries. According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the median salary of MBA graduates ($115,000) is 77 percent more than those who have a bachelor’s degree ($65,000) alone.
Of course, an MBA is quite costly. However, most candidates look at an MBA as an investment in themselves. Plus, Personal MBA Coach clients often earn sizeable scholarships!
About Personal MBA Coach:
Founded by a Wharton MBA and MIT Sloan graduate who sits on the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants Board of Directors, Personal MBA Coach has been guiding clients for 15 years and is consistently ranked #1 or #2 by leading sources. Personal MBA Coach is the #1 most favorably reviewed US Consultant of all time on Poets & Quants. We help clients with all aspects of the MBA application process including early planning, GMAT/GRE/EA tutoring, application strategy, school selection, essay editing, and mock interviews. Our team includes former M7 admissions directors and former M7 admissions interviewers. Last cycle, our clients earned more than $6.5M in scholarships!More information here.
“The MBA itself will be an intensive and exhilarating journey”
Judith Silverman Hodara, Co-Founder at Fortuna Admissions and former Wharton Admissions Director
The MBA is a wonderful investment in yourself, at both a professional and personal level.
You will develop valuable business skills, refine your strategic thinking, explore exciting new career opportunities with greater levels of impact, responsibility and financial rewards, and lay the groundwork for long-term ventures and senior leadership.
And you will grow as an individual, perhaps discovering a new part of the world and engaging with a vibrant community, enhancing your soft skills and self-confidence, matching self-awareness with leadership, and building deep friendships as part of an influential network that will support you for the rest of your career.
The MBA itself will be an intensive and exhilarating journey, and you will never find enough time to pursue everything you want to do – both in the classroom and beyond. There are so many clubs, treks and fun events that are part of the business school experience, in addition to all the career workshops and company visits.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that will continue to provide a return on investment in more ways than you can imagine.
About Fortuna Admissions
Why Fortuna? With 36 business Schools insiders, including former Admissions directors, our experience is second to none. Our coaches have worked as gatekeepers to the world’s top tier business schools and are uniquely qualified to help you strengthen your profile, position your application and target the best schools. Our roster of talent includes former directors of MBA admissions and senior staff from Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Wharton, INSEAD, Chicago Booth, Columbia, Duke Fuqua, London Business School, Berkeley Haas, Yale SOM, UCLA Anderson, Kellogg, NYU Stern, IE Business School, Virginia Darden and Johnson Cornell. Our experience gives you a level of MBA admissions insight that you won’t find anywhere else. With our passion for coaching, we can help you bring out the best in yourself so you truly shine in your application and interviews. From initial orientation and school selection, through thoughtful essay editing and recommended support, to mock interviews and reapplication strategy, our experience and insight will help you stand out in your business school applications.More information here.
“Why do an MBA in a post covid era?”
Mirko Chiappe, Regional Manager, GSG Education
In a post pandemic era, with inflationary and recessive trends, why do an MBA? Much has been said about a decreasing global trend for higher education in general and even more so for MBA programs.
However, statistics on employability and ROI seem to show otherwise. In a recent study done by statista[i], the hiring trend is clear, 97% of employers hired an MBA graduate in 2021 and 92% plan to do so this year. That is the highest it´s ever been!
This trend responds to two main factors: FORCED MULTINATIONALS + FLEXIBILTY (REMOTE TEAMS)
At all levels, from fortune 500 to SMEs the adoption of hybrid or online models have forced companies to rethink their markets, products and strategies. The need for MBA graduates with multicultural, multilocation and remote leadership skills is at an all-time high.
The surge of the so called “forced” multinationals, together with the proven effectiveness of remote work, has expanded the global hiring market for MBA graduates, where borders, labor laws and hiring costs seem to be more flexible than ever.
MBA
students can now be sure the pool of options upon graduation is vast, diverse,
and as global as never before, with employment rates and average hiring
salaries following the same path.
[i] https://www.statista.com/statistics/233189/hiring-rate-of-mba-graduates/
About GSG Education
We are GSG Education, a school with more than 8 years of experience helping hundreds of students to enter the best universities in the world. If you are looking for adequate preparation for the SAT, TOEFL, IETLS, GRE, GMAT and more, GSG education is your best option. We have what you need for your future. Each course includes all the materials you need, simulations equal to the real exams you will take and monitoringof constant progress. Our admissions advisory service is responsible for guiding you throughout the process of applying to universities abroad, from the forms you have to fill out, through the essays and tips for your personal interview. We have the best contacts to help you apply to any university in the world. More information here
Something else to reflect on the MBA
We live in times of great change, of uncertainty, of great challenges, of strong competition between companies, of an incredible impact of technology on human relations that take place within business organizations. All this requires leaders capable of envisioning the future and directing their work teams to successfully achieve their goals. This situation requires directors with an intense development of critical thinking, decision making, and especially, that all of this be sustained correctly, honestly and with values.
Currently, the MBA programs are designed to train these leaders, hence its importance as the program designed for those professionals who want to be business managers.
The particularity of the MBA program is that it is designed in such a way that a professional from practically any specialty can study it. The MBA provides all the tools for a professional to successfully lead an organization in any sector, any size, in any country.
Today, studying an MBA is very important because the current times, which are turbulent, require precisely professionals who clearly understand how organizations work, how markets work and how the different events in the world impact them, be they social, political, economic and even, as we already experienced, health, and the MBA provides all that knowledge.
Business schools have understood that technology, whether to use data, make decisions and carry out the required research, is no longer something that is only used by some schools, today it is practically essential that all business schools use these tools as artificial intelligence in the process of training managers through its different programs, including the MBA, times have changed and we must respond to these times, even anticipate them.