An MBA is not going to serve the personal or professional needs of everyone. Forbes recently posted a blog piece that rather dismissed the virtues of an MBA. The article made some genuinely valid points. It is a pretty expensive enterprise and, yes, it's true, in business the real key to success lies in the mastery of complex processes of discovery. If you think you've mastered such processes, then, okay, maybe you ought to hold on to that $150k!
The thing is, of course, that an awful lot of people have found that the rigorous and structured learning environment of a top-level MBA program is the ideal environment for mastering just such skills and aptitudes. How do you know if it's right for you?
Here are a few questions you might ask yourself.
Let's pretend the unlikely scenario that the academics are of little value to you. This may be misguided, but not impossible. What though about the benefits of a great professional network? Do you value that? Where else are you going to get the kind you will while doing an MBA at a top school? It's common for business superstars to come in as guest lecturers. And don't underestimate the opportunity to social with them that such schools provide. And don't forget your own classmates. Many of your peers will become the hot up and comers in your industry.
Making these great connections while you're all still climbing up the industry latter will great a camaraderie that will serve you a lifetime. (Though, this does require, as we've emphasized elsewhere, choosing the right program for your chosen industry). And don't forget too the special perk of an MBA: a strong, influential alumni association.
Another perk you might not have fully thought through is the blank slate effect? You do kind of become a fresh new opportunity. This isn't to say that after an MBA your past experience is irrelevant. Of course not. What's different is that you are no longer limited by it. When some potential new employer regards you, freshly graduated from an MBA, what they see is no longer defined by your past.
On the contrary, your work record now merely provides a supplement to a record of achievement that makes you a promising new potential colleague. Someone who was able to break the mold of their earlier life and take the initiative, exerting the discipline, to embrace an entirely new set of opportunities, with new skills, knowledge and professional connections. You're now a freshly minted promise of better things to come.
What about the benefits of challenging your comfort zone? It's all nice and good to talk about getting out there and mastering the discovery of new ideas and so on. But what does that really mean? How do you actually start doing that? An MBA is a deliberate decision on your part to remove yourself from your established routine and place yourself in an environment designed to challenge you.
You carve from your busy life the time to concentrate on personal improvement and advance. And you place yourself in a situation which will demand the best of you. If you can do that all on your own, that's excellent. But how many people fool themselves that they are (or will, someday soon) do so? When you take the leap and enrol in an MBA program, there's no fooling anyone. You've taken the challenge and have to rise to your best to succeed.
Certainly there are cases in which money and time is squandered on MBA pursuits. Hopefully, though, these thoughts demonstrate that, even beyond the value of the curriculum, there are many significant benefits of an MBA. These may be harder to put a price tag on, but it would be a mistake to underrate the contributions they could make to your professional future.
The thing is, of course, that an awful lot of people have found that the rigorous and structured learning environment of a top-level MBA program is the ideal environment for mastering just such skills and aptitudes. How do you know if it's right for you?
Here are a few questions you might ask yourself.
Let's pretend the unlikely scenario that the academics are of little value to you. This may be misguided, but not impossible. What though about the benefits of a great professional network? Do you value that? Where else are you going to get the kind you will while doing an MBA at a top school? It's common for business superstars to come in as guest lecturers. And don't underestimate the opportunity to social with them that such schools provide. And don't forget your own classmates. Many of your peers will become the hot up and comers in your industry.
Making these great connections while you're all still climbing up the industry latter will great a camaraderie that will serve you a lifetime. (Though, this does require, as we've emphasized elsewhere, choosing the right program for your chosen industry). And don't forget too the special perk of an MBA: a strong, influential alumni association.
Another perk you might not have fully thought through is the blank slate effect? You do kind of become a fresh new opportunity. This isn't to say that after an MBA your past experience is irrelevant. Of course not. What's different is that you are no longer limited by it. When some potential new employer regards you, freshly graduated from an MBA, what they see is no longer defined by your past.
On the contrary, your work record now merely provides a supplement to a record of achievement that makes you a promising new potential colleague. Someone who was able to break the mold of their earlier life and take the initiative, exerting the discipline, to embrace an entirely new set of opportunities, with new skills, knowledge and professional connections. You're now a freshly minted promise of better things to come.
What about the benefits of challenging your comfort zone? It's all nice and good to talk about getting out there and mastering the discovery of new ideas and so on. But what does that really mean? How do you actually start doing that? An MBA is a deliberate decision on your part to remove yourself from your established routine and place yourself in an environment designed to challenge you.
You carve from your busy life the time to concentrate on personal improvement and advance. And you place yourself in a situation which will demand the best of you. If you can do that all on your own, that's excellent. But how many people fool themselves that they are (or will, someday soon) do so? When you take the leap and enrol in an MBA program, there's no fooling anyone. You've taken the challenge and have to rise to your best to succeed.
Certainly there are cases in which money and time is squandered on MBA pursuits. Hopefully, though, these thoughts demonstrate that, even beyond the value of the curriculum, there are many significant benefits of an MBA. These may be harder to put a price tag on, but it would be a mistake to underrate the contributions they could make to your professional future.
About the Author:
Thomas Ryerson write regularly for the site, Business Week MBA Rankings, check it out here.
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