You’ve crunched the numbers a million different ways; you know better than anyone that across North America, a graduate of a Master of Business Administration degree program sees on average a 75% increase to their pre-program salary. You know that it takes 4 years for the difference in salary to pay back the initial tuition investment, and that over a 10-year period, you will have earned $500,000 more than you otherwise would have. If you have a clear vision of where you want to take your career and you know that earning a Master of Business Administration degree is the way to get there, it’s a sound financial decision that will pay you dividends.
Even when you take into account the lost income of taking a year or two out of your career (and this is where a single year program can really help), the investment makes sense, but are there intangible assets that you gain from earning your MBA? These are the insights you gain into business practices and methodologies, the contacts you make from networking through your school, and an integrated perspective on business challenges.
Should you enrol in a Master of Business Administration program?
If you’re debating a 1 year MBA program, especially with a specialization in Entrepreneurship, you may have fallen into the pro- and anti-graduate school debate. There are vocal opponents on either side: some claim you can’t teach innovation while others think an MBA is your best weapon in the world. You can find plenty of reasons that support furthering your business education before jumping into your career on Lazaridismba.ca and there many successful business leaders who encourage young people to pursue the MBA route.
On the HBR, scrap metal tycoon Stephen Greer tells the story of how he went straight into building his own company rather than taking the time to learn more about best practices and methodologies. His company was a $250 million success, but he claims he missed out on a lot of money and opportunities because he didn’t know how to manage human resources, control his inventory and prevent fraud, or expand at a strategic pace. Ultimately, he says that while you can’t teach someone to get excited by risk taking, an invaluable quality in an entrepreneur, you can teach them a lot of valuable lessons about how they strategize and manage those risks.
Why you should enrol in a Master of Business Administration Program
When you take your fledgling business plan to university, you essentially get a lab for trying your idea and probing for mistakes. University institutions can give students with great ideas access to startup incubators and even funding opportunities. Entrepreneur-focused courses concentrate on practical, hands-on approaches to business management so that you can learn invaluable skills like how to scale and attract talent. No one can teach you a great idea, but they can teach you what to do with it and how to turn it into a viable, competitive company.
One year MBA degree programs offered by business schools provide great financial returns, but whether you want to be an entrepreneur or an executive, a higher degree puts you in a position to achieve independence and control over your career. The real ROI of this degree is the education it gives you allowing you to embark on the career you’ve always envisioned for yourself – it’s time to stop crunching the numbers and apply today.
A very interesting post. I’m sure my daughter would be interested in this too. She has her MBA in business psychology, which she also completed in a year and her Doctorate too. She now teaches and researches in Sydney, Australia.
Definitely information one should look into if planning to do a MBA.
My husband is considering an MBA. Thanks for the food for thought.
My pleasure!