At one time or another nearly every student, executive or business-minded person contemplates whether to pursue the MBA or Masters in Business Administration Degree. We all hear the stories of young MBA graduate landing prestigious Wall Street jobs or thirty-somethings going back to school to change careers, but do you really need an MBA or can you succeed in business just fine without one?

What Do You Gain By Having An MBA?

The stated and obvious objective of a pursuing an MBA is to educate and teach the student a core set of business competencies as preparation for a successful career in business. These skills encompass such subjects as finance, marketing, strategy, economics, and management among several others.

Along with the academic, an MBA also cultivates students in other ways through 'soft' and 'experiential' skills such as the experience of working on group projects, leadership training, and being immersed in the intellectually stimulating environment that working along with other motivated, bright students and faculty from a wide range of backgrounds provides. Finally, good MBA programs provide in-depth networking and contact building opportunities as well as career guidance and in some cases even job placement.



What Kind Of MBA Candidate Are You?

MBA candidates typically fall into one of three groups. Depending on which type you are also dictates how obtaining the MBA is of value to you and whether you really need one.. The first group typically consists of those students who are in their mid twenties to early thirties with a few years of work experience behind them. They have decided to obtain their MBA as a way to polish their educational pedigree and use the MBA as a launching point into financial jobs on Wall Street or to various positions in Corporate America. These are the 'typical' MBA students and make up the bulk of the programs.

For most of this category, an MBA while desirable, might not be absolutely necessary unless the student is truly trying to change fields into a very specific and contrasting field from what they've done before. In that case, the MBA can be the 'great equalizer' and after graduation the student can then pursue a job in for instance investment banking when before they were in media. Without the MBA experience it might have been difficult if not impossible to make the career transition between two such disparate fields.

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