What an MBA Can Do For Your Career - CareerAlley

What an MBA Can Do For Your Career - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. The current job market is quite competitive with employers looking to hire the best talent. A degree is no longer a guarantee that you will even get an interview call. To stay ahead of the competition, job seekers are either returning to school or leveraging online programs to earn an MBA. Although tuition costs at top business schools can top $60,000 per year, the hope of career advancement more than outweighs this drawback. Many MBA candidates also consider alternatives such as an online MBA from from schools such as Northeastern. Here are some of the top benefits of an MBA. Catalyst for a Salary Increase Most employees want to earn more money and an MBA is a sure ticket to the rarefied field of top earners. According to a study carried out by the Graduate Admission Council (GMAC), people who graduated with an MBA 2011 earn an average annual salary of $75,000 while their counterparts who graduated a year earlier make, on average, $15,000 more. An astonishing 82% of all the graduates who took part in the study said that the starting salary exceeded their expectations and unsurprisingly, 96% of the graduates said they would recommend taking an MBA to people who would like to improve their career fortunes. Of course, the starting salaries vary from one industry to another. For example, MBA graduates working in the healthcare industry could potentially earn as much as $111,477 while those working in finance could potentially earn $103,122. Other industries where the starting salary is well above the $100,000 mark include energy and consulting. Increased Chances of Getting a Job after Graduation An MBA increases the chances of getting a job immediately after graduation, . The aforementioned GMAC study found that 45% of MBA graduates started working straight after graduation. An additional 24% continued with internships while looking for work. In addition, 79% of employers said they had plans to hire an MBA graduate in 2012. These statistics show that one of the best ways to impress potential employers is by adding MBA credentials to your CV. Better Networking Opportunities On the one hand, the majority of students pursuing degree courses are young with no working experience. On the other hand, most students taking MBA classes have some bit of working experience under their belts. This makes it easy for the students to expand their network of professionals with similar career goals. Such connections can prove quite useful especially when looking for new job opportunities. This is because you can also use the networks you cultivated while in business school to learn more about certain industries. For example, you can gain invaluable information from someone working in quantitative trading and use the information to expand your knowledge about finance. Career Advancement Another great benefit of earning an MBA is the opportunity to advance your career. To start with, by joining an MBA program, you will not only acquire new skills but also enhance some of your old skills. As such, you will be able to handle new and bigger responsibilities because you would be able to use your new skills to improve productivity at the work place. In most cases, a promotion comes with perks such as a salary increase, performance bonuses, and stock options. People who do not have an MBA can only dream about such rewards. Gateway to Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship has become a badge of honor in the United States. The fastest route to bootstrapping the next big startup is by enrolling in an MBA program. According to Forbes Magazine, some of the successful companies started by MBAs include Zynga, Yelp, Bump, GrubHub, Warby Parker, Trulia, and Birchbox. An MBA is more than a piece of certificate from a business school. It can help you earn a higher salary, advance your career, increase networking opportunities, reduce the likelihood of becoming another sad unemployment statistic after graduation, and help whet your entrepreneurship appetite. Up to 93% of students surveyed by the GMAC said that an MBA made it easy for them to find the right employers. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ Job Search job title, keywords, company, location jobs by