Is An MBA Worth It?

 

For many people considering a career change or a quick way of advancing up the greasy pole, an MBA seems like smart move. But with so many people coming out of business school, job markets contracting and the cost of an MBA rising twice as fast as inflation in recent years, it’s only sensible to ask whether or not an MBA is worth it?

 

The main question to ask is whether or not an MBA will add the skills that your CV is currently lacking. A traditional business school curriculum will be heavily focused around finance and management theory. While these are great skills for banking, private equity and consultancy, for those considering a move into industry, say, or something completely different, does the MBA really do the job?

 

Tyler Tuite, 26, spent ten years helping children in Nicaragua and wants to move into social entrepreneurship. He felt that after years of running a non-profit organisation, he would greatly benefit from getting some hard business skills under his belt: “I was basically teaching myself how to manage an organisation”. Tyler is currently studing at Wharton. “I have always wanted to change the world. Wharton slapped me in the face and showed me that I needed to understand how it works first.”

 

Other students have found the networking opportunities invaluable. Many private equity and venture capital firms place enormous emphasis on the contacts you can build. At the post MBA stage, it’s a given that you’ll have impeccable modelling skills and deal experience. What they’re after are your relationships with the next Silicon Valley megastar so you can get in early.

 

In terms of moving to industry, while rationally, the usefulness for consultants and finance veterans may be debatable, the reality is quite different. One candidate we spoke to was far from convinced, but decided to go for it anyway: “After three years in investment banking, I found that the skills I’d developed just didn’t translate that well. No one really needs you to prepare pitchbooks at 3am in industry. They need you to have sales or operational experience and most importantly, a track record of managing a team. I hadn’t got that from my time in the City and so really felt the doors were closed. Doing an MBA gave me access to blue chip fast tracks- it’s been an expensive way in, but I’ve had a great time at business school and the job security means I can be a lot more relaxed about taking on debt’.

 

Read other articles on 'Is an MBA Worth it' in the BusinessBecause 'Why MBA' section.