Students who are considering their options after finishing their undergraduate degree often face an almost bewildering range of possibilities.
Grad school beckons, with its promise of deeper engagement with important questions relating to science, social science, and the humanities, as does the workplace, with its promise of regular income and hands-on learning. For those who are interested in moving into a professional career, law school, med school, dentistry school, and pharmacy school may offer the possibility of a rewarding career.
However valuable and important these paths might be, for many and perhaps even most students, the path that offers the best return on investment and the widest array of possibilities is the one year MBA program designed for students who are just entering the workforce. Here’s why.
1. The MBA is a Different Kind of Graduate Degree
Most graduate programs act as funnels, taking students with a general kind of knowledge and helping them specialize and become experts in a certain field. While students definitely do gain specialized knowledge when pursuing an MBA (in fields like supply chain management, accounting, and marketing, for example), the degree itself is designed to open up a student’s horizons and expand the number of jobs for which they would be eligible.
2. The MBA is Versatile
There are actually two ways in which the MBA is versatile. As was noted in the previous point, MBAs give students a wide range of options, and in many cases, people come out of the MBA interested in exploring a different industry than they intended to at the beginning.
But MBAs are also versatile in terms of the options for study that they allow. Because it is a degree designed for practical students looking for real-world business opportunities, many MBA programs are designed to facilitate a wide range of study options, including part-time study on evenings and weekends.
3. The MBA Delivers Results
Above all, the MBA is driven by results. An MA degree in English literature may be fulfilling and valuable, but most students in an English MA program would admit that they are not primarily there to build a career. An MBA, on the other hand, is all about equipping students with the real-world know-how they need to build a career they are excited about.
This is borne out in the numbers: MBA graduates on average make significantly more than their peers who lack this credential and often have an easier time rising through the corporate ranks.
The decisions made in the first few years after finishing an undergraduate degree can be absolutely crucial in shaping the rest of an individual’s life and career. Pursuing an MBA before you are entrenched in a career can be a vital springboard into exciting sectors of the economy you might never have considered before and will equip you with the skills and credentials you need to make an impact.
By providing a wide range of opportunities, versatile study options, and better-earning potential, an MBA is one of the most compelling options for students who want to change their life and take charge of their future.
