Benefits of an MBA

With an MBA, you can:

Earn more money.
Salaries earned by graduates of MBA programs just keep getting higher. According Graduate Management Admissions Council's (GMAC) "Global MBA Survey 2002": "Overall, the typical graduate earned $48,000 before entering the MBA program and now expects to earn $75,000 in the first job after graduation-a 56% increase."

The Bureau of U.S. Labor Statistics provides the following salary data for the year 2000:

Position Mean hourly wage
Financial managers 33.83
Personnel and labor relations managers 29.95
Managers: marketing, advertising, public relations 37.20
Managers: medicine and health 30.11
Managers: properties and real estate 20.93
Accountants and auditors 22.10
Executives and general administrators: public administration 23.72

Advance your career.
Whether you're a real estate agent, an ER doctor, an engineer, or an editor for your local newspaper, a graduate business degree can prepare you to move into a managerial position within your field.

Change your career.
Is your current career path a less than perfect fit for your aptitudes and interests? If so, business school can give you the opportunity to explore your options, then provide you with the training you need to change careers entirely.

Get paid training (and then get a raise) from your employer.
As today's marketplace evolves and becomes increasingly complex, many employers are choosing to balance their need to retain good employees with their need to fill managerial positions with candidates possessing advanced-level knowledge and skills. They're doing this by sending selected employees to business school - and footing the bill.

In their "Corporate Recruiter's Survey 2002," the GMAC reports that: "Fifty-nine percent [of companies who responded to the survey] sponsor employees for part-time programs, 43 percent sponsor for executive MBA programs, and 18 percent sponsor for full-time programs."

Start your own business.
Interested in starting your own business, but not sure you have the necessary expertise to launch a start-up in a high-growth industry? An MBA can prepare you to do everything from writing a business plan to acquiring venture capital to launching an IPO. Research has shown that the failure rate for small businesses started by MBAs is about 50 percent less than the standard failure rate.

Develop technical expertise and business savvy--quickly.
Can you advance to a managerial position or launch your own business without the benefit of a graduate degree in business? Yes. There is much to be learned from on-the-job training, and employers certainly value work experience. But an MBA program will put you on the fast-track to career advancement by offering you the chance to develop a wide range of general business knowledge and a broad base of technical skill - and in a relatively short period of time, as opposed to the years-long trial-and-error process that tends to characterize knowledge and skill gleaned from on-the-job learning.

Become a leader in an emerging field.
A recent proliferation of "niche" MBA programs means that you can not only look to business school for a firm grounding in the basics, but for innovative education that can lead to an exciting career in a newly emerging field such as brand management, information technology, e-commerce, or mobile telecommunications - just to name a few.

Network.
Networking is another key benefit. Business school teaching styles encourage teamwork, and over the course of an MBA program, you'll develop important relationships that can serve you well throughout your business career. And no matter the school, you can often get plugged into a network of alumni working at a wide range of companies. This is useful for mentoring, job searches, and professional contacts.

One benefit of Executive MBA programs and Executive Education sessions is to tap into this network even as a successful business executive without a prior MBA.
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