Considering Embarking on an MBA?

As you would imagine, a number of our proteges are quite ambitious, seeking to fast-track their professional careers in a variety of ways. Often these proteges are aiming to get ahead, work their way up into the C-suite and/or manage a business one day. And, fortunately, a number of our professional mentors have themselves worked in senior and C-suite roles, so are able to guide these proteges!

So, it’s not a surprise that we regularly have conversations about whether MBA (Masters in Business Administration) or Executive MBA (EMBA) programmes would help these proteges in their executive ambitions. Some of our professional mentors and coaches have themselves done MBAs at different schools globally, or altMBAs, or MBA Essentials courses... There is naturally a wide range of considerations at an individual level, including location, part-time vs full-time, specialisations or alternatives like Masters in Business Leadership or Masters in Business Analytics, entrance requirements, application processes and personal statements, and more… Given how specific and personalised these are, this article concentrates on career goals and whether an MBA could help. It’s not just those aiming at the C-suite who consider an MBA...

At a very high level, MBAs are particularly helpful to add broad ‘business skills’, especially if you’re coming from a highly technical professional background like an engineer or doctor. It’s unlikely that these professionals, unless they’ve also run an entrepreneurial venture, would have developed business skills at undergraduate level or in their working careers to date. These include aspects like strategic analysis, negotiation, marketing & branding, communication, networking etc, all of which are required for executive leaders. 

MBAs are a very significant investment of money as well as time (which can also have a financial consequence if forgoing a salary for a full-time programme). Some programmes are hundreds of thousands of dollars (!) although you may be able to get a scholarship and/or convince your employer to pay part of the cost. So, are they worth it?! As you’d expect, it depends… Read more as we unpack career goals that our proteges have where an MBA might help, including C-suite ambitions, making a career switch into management consulting or a transition into a new field or industry, entrepreneurship, personal growth and more...

Career Switching / Transitions
Given that an MBA offers an opportunity to step away from your past professional self (either on a full-time or part-time basis), it can be helpful in allowing you space to shift direction in your career. For more intense careers, this can even be a form of career break! In fact, it’s a professionally understood and accepted way of taking time to reflect. 

Some jobs/industries hire MBAs from specific business schools as an active recruitment strategy. Attending these schools can thus give you an improved chance to join these industries. Examples are management consulting (such as McKinsey, Bain & BCG), investment banking and private equity – although an MBA may not be a strict requirement. Research the ‘entrance requirements’ for your preferred industries before deciding.

Pursuing an MBA in a specific region can also help you if you want to move countries/regions to develop an international career, as you’ll learn about the country and culture while there, be able to build a regional network, and become more familiar with the local business environment. In addition, there been a rise in ‘global’ programmes / partnerships between regional schools, so you may have exchange opportunities during your chosen programme. 

And, as covered earlier, the business skills learnt during an MBA allow a previous specialist to gather leadership, strategic and soft skills helpful in senior executive roles i.e. a transition from technical specialist to business generalist capable of bigger remits. The signalling effect can help too. If this is your main reason for considering an MBA/EMBA, we’d encourage you to research how many of the leaders in your industry and company themselves have MBAs (and if so, which schools they attended).

The breadth and general nature of MBA programmes also offers the possibility to learn a little about a wide range of industries, and explore different internships and/or projects (especially on longer programmes). This can be useful for satisfying diverse interests i.e. a design or test-and-iterate approach to discover what’s next for you.

If you’ve hit a plateau at work, it can help to reset. An MBA could offer you a safer environment to learn more about yourself, get feedback, and try out improvements. An alternative to achieve personal growth though is to work with a career coach, perhaps as part of your board of mentors. 

While an MBA could give you an advantage in getting into certain industries, there are other industries where other studies (or skills) are better. For example, a CFA qualification or Masters in Finance to work in asset management or hedge funds, or coding and design skills to work in technology. Similarly, volunteering at incubators or attending startup bootcamps may help you work in venture capital or become an entrepreneur yourself. Actually founding a business is a great way to learn and practise your entrepreneurial skills! And, a degree in public policy or international relations could offer a route into social impact work.

The alumni network (including the group on the programme together with you) can be an incredibly powerful benefit of an MBA – it can give you a community and brand to lean on for the rest of your career. Especially for those who love building solid connections, this can be fantastic. 

So, could you build-your-own MBA?
Even if an MBA aligns with your career goals, it may have too hefty a price tag for you… Consider a lower-ranked school, online programmes or an MBA Essentials alternative. Another much cheaper alternative is to build your own! A DIY approach could replicate some MBA elements, particularly given the online courses on various topics available these days. You could also purchase books and case studies to work through, and engage with experts or mentors. To this, you could add volunteering and networking to tailor exactly what you need. 

But, even if you can mimic the business curriculum, soft skills development and extracurricular opportunities to expand your horizons, you may not be able to access the teaching available to students at Stanford, INSEAD, Harvard, LBS or other top schools. Your DIY experience won’t be accredited / certified i.e. no luxury brand, and you won’t join an exclusive alumni club. And, it’s also not all structured in a neat package for you. It will be a lot of effort to design-it-yourself (and seriously impressive if you do!), and for most people, the DIY approach is probably too unconventional.

What’s right for you?
Ultimately, the choice to embark on an MBA or an alternative is a very personal one, even if we ignore the finances to start. It depends on your individual career goals, your background, what stage of your career you’re at, other career development options you have, and more… You especially need to consider what MBA programme you could be accepted into – there is a very wide range! All things being equal, you should opt for top brands with strong alumni connections to maximise the value to you. If you’d like to speak with our professional mentors and career coaches about your personal circumstances, we’d be happy to help!