Benefits of An MBA Degree
A Master of Business Administration degree is one of the most sought after and prestigious business degrees a person can obtain. There are many reasons for this, such as how it gives students enhanced career options and instills them with essential skills to help them open a business or manage a team.
It’s a tough degree to get into, due to how applicants need to have a bachelor’s degree as well as at least three years’ work experience in a business-related role. It’s also a very full-on course, with many days consisting of none stop study and lectures, however coming out on the other side is very rewarding. That is because this degree has a whole host of benefits that make it worthwhile. This article is going to look at some of those benefits and discover why the MBA is such a useful degree.
Benefits of An Online MBA
Before going into the benefits of the course as a whole, it’s worth exploring the value of studying an online MBA. More and more people are deciding to learn the degree this way, and that’s because this distinct learning method has its own set of benefits that deserve to be explored.
The first is that studying an online MBA means that students aren’t required to learn on campus. This means that they can study from anywhere in the world, eliminating the need for some people to move and uproot their life to attend the course. This can be very beneficial as a lot of people looking to get on the course already have a job or a family that they can’t abandon.
Learning an online MBA also adds extra flexibility, as although students can join lectures live via a video link, they can also access the lessons and resources at any time, meaning that they can study in between their other commitments. It’s also a cheaper way of obtaining the degree because you won’t have to borrow as much to fund living on campus, and the course fees can be reduced too.
It’s a worthwhile way to learn the MBA degree, which in itself is a great degree to be on. Here’s a look at some of the reasons why.
You Develop Advanced Management Skills
An online MBA degree is designed to help students obtain the skills and knowledge necessary to manage a team and lead a business. Therefore, one of the biggest benefits of the degree is that it can help you develop more advanced management skills.
In the course, you will learn some of the most common competencies that will help you thrive as a person in a leadership position, such as giving you the skills to manage difficult situations and financial management.
It will also get students out of their comfort zone, which can help them learn more interesting and new ideas, such as exploring the latest international business trends and applying the most cutting-edge management tools and techniques.
After an online MBA, you’ll have improved your ability to work as a team, collaborate with others and improve a business, making you a lot more suited to important management positions.
There Are Many Specializations
An online MBA is usually designed to give students an overview and comprehensive insight into all aspects of business, so that they have a wide spectrum of understanding to allow them to be a well-rounded induvial within the business. However, if you’re an induvial who knows what department or sector they want to go into, then an online MBA can also be helpful as it allows you to specialize and focus your study on one distinct aspect of the business so that you can become an expert in that position and excel.
There are so many different types of specializations you can enter, and many courses also allow you to get a dual specialization, which can further improve your management capabilities while also making you more versatile on the job market. Some of the top MBA specifications are:
- General Management – This is undoubtedly the most popular form of MBA specialization, and this is because it gives students a comprehensive understanding of effective business management. This makes it a great degree to obtain for those going to a versatile business environment.
- International Business– This exciting specialization is brilliant for individuals who are set on working in a company abroad, or a global company that hires a variety of people from different locations and have different offices around the globe. As global businesses are growing, and as more businesses are obtaining this status, this is also emerging as a popular specialization for online MBA students. It gives you the skills to better align business goals across borders and makes you better equipped for the differing international business environments you may encounter.
- Strategic Management– This specification makes you an expert in planning and strategizing, be that a business plan, marketing plan or financial plan. Having this ability will make you a far more attractive candidate and can also give you the skills needed to make good, high-pressure business decisions.
- Finance– The finance and accounting specialization of an MBA is great for students who want to get onto a more numerical field within the business. This means that this degree is a great route into becoming a banker, financial controller, finance manager or a chief financial officer. The course focuses more on statistics, data analysis, accounting, and a lot more, so ensure that your mathematical skills are up to scratch before enrolling.
- Marketing– Marketing is an essential part of business, due to how it allows businesses to promote themselves and grow, meaning that this is a good course to get into. It focuses on the methods and techniques on how to conduct good marketing both digitally and in other forms, as well as insight into how to conduct market research and analysis.
- Entrepreneurship– The entrepreneurship specialization of the online MBA degree is best suited to individuals who are set on starting their own business but need to learn a few things about how to do that. This aspect of the course will help you develop your business idea and teach you the key skills necessary to succeed as a new business owner.
- Operations Management– This is a great specialization for those who are interested in working in the production process of a business and working hard to optimize it and make it better. This course will teach students how to run a production of products or services as efficiently as possible to maximize profit and revenue.
- IT Management– An IT management specialization within an online MBA helps to prepare students for business within a technology sector or for a business that relies heavily on technology. This part of the business is interested in analyzing data and information, so the course will teach students how to do that effectively.
- Human Resources– Human resource is a great specialization to learn for students who are interested in senior roles within HR. This course will focus and teach students how to resolve workplace conflicts, develop effective and complementary teams, motivation techniques and a whole lot more. This specialization suits people who are people persons, and it’s an in-demand degree due to how businesses need people who can keep staff happy and well-motivated.
- Consulting– Learning consultancy through this specialization can help students prepare for roles where they offer outside opinions and advice for businesses who are faced with challenges. You’ll learn a lot of expertise within many different sectors, and this can lead to a role that is very well paid.
You’ll Get A Great Business Network
As an MBA student, either both online or on campus, you will be exposed to a wide array of different people within a business, meaning that there is a great opportunity to mix and interact with these people to build a network. This can be greatly beneficial as the people you meet and network with can lead to better opportunities and experiences which can benefit your career.
The type of people you’ll be able to connect with and network amongst include fellow students – who may be pretty experienced themselves – professors and other guest teaching staff. As well as these people though, you will also have access to the extensive alumni network of the particular MBA program you’re on once you’re graduated, meaning that you’ll always be connected with useful individuals. To get the best out of these networking opportunities, it’ll be worth your while to learn how to network properly.
One of the best networking tips is to try and make critical connections with just a few people. You don’t want to be collecting multiple business cards as you network, because you’ll forget about people and these people will forget about you. Instead, try making a closer connection with a few key people in your industry and keep up to date with them. It’s also vital to never dismiss someone you meet as unimportant. They may not be critical, but you should at least value everyone, as you never know where an opportunity might come from. When trying to break the ice and first make a conversation, the best way is to do so is to try and offer a way to help that person. This will endear them to you and may also sprout up an opportunity as well.
Jobs After an Online MBA Pay Well
One of the greatest benefits of studying an online MBA and enduring the grueling education schedule is that once you graduate and complete the course, you’ll have an increased number of career prospects open up to you, with many of them being well paid. Roles for graduates of an online MBA are some of the highest in the job market. The average income of an MBA graduate is much higher than one with a regular master’s and you can expect to earn twice as much with an MBA degree than with a regular university degree.
Some of the top roles you can get into includes a business operations manager, market research analyst, management analyst and an HR manager, with there being plenty other high paying roles as well. Furthermore, the pay of some of these roles available to you after an MBA is also very high internationally as well, meaning that you have a lot of options in terms of where you can live. The average MBA salary annually in the United States sits at around $102,100, with the salary within Canada, Australia, the UK, and France all being over an equivalent of $90,000. Switzerland has the highest salary for online MBA graduates, sitting at a lovely $123,500; however, the cost of living in the country does reduce its value somewhat.
It’s good that the roles available to online MBA graduates are so lucrative, due to the pretty sizeable finical investments getting on an MBA course can be. For example, the average cost of tuition within the United States can reach an eyewatering $35,000, meaning that a lot of people are unable to study the degree without a loan. Top institutions can even charge more than this, but if you do manage to obtain a good role after the course, then this financial investment will be more than worth it.
You Can Start Your Own Business
An MBA is a great course to study for people who are interested in starting their own business. This is because the course allows students to learn important skills that can be used to improve an individual’s business management and make them more effective at running a business. It also provides students with practical experience within a workplace, meaning that they can feel more comfortable and be better equipped at dealing with the challenges of taking a business off the ground.
The degree will help teach students the major pitfalls and traps to avoid and will give you key communication skills, financial management skills and risk-taking expertise to help new business owners maximize their business and have the best chance of making it successful.
