Preparing: Is an MBA right for you?
Common motivations for obtaining an MBA
- Brand: The MBA degree provides a strong signal to future employers of your intelligence, ability, and business acumen.
- Salary: The Financial Times found that MBA alums boosted their salary by 70% – 145% over their pre-degree salary.
- Industry or Functional Skill Pivot: Data from Transparent MBA, an MBA career platform, found that 87% of MBAs switch either functions or industries in their jobs directly before and after B-school.
- Network: An MBA expands, enriches, and deepens your global network.
- Learn: An MBA allows students an opportunity to learn quantitative skills, to practice leading diverse, multicultural teams, and step back from the daily grind to think big about their careers, and their purpose.
Furthering your career goals
Every MBA application asks this question in some form, “What are your career goals?” According to MBA Prep School, here is what they are trying to learn:
- Is the applicant truly interested in the field they are pursuing?
- Do the applicant’s career goals address a problem?
- Is solving this problem meaningful to them?
- Will solving this problem benefit others?
- Does the applicant have the leadership needed to help solve this problem?
- Does the applicant present evidence that they understand that industry?
- Is the applicant connecting the dots between prior skills/experiences and post-MBA career goals?
Identify your goals and purpose
Most importantly, your goals and purpose are tied to your motivations for pursuing an MBA. Start by answering these four questions:
- What industry/field are you passionate about working in?
- As a leader, what significant problem would you tackle?
- What motivates you? Why does this matter to you?
- What leadership role can you play given your capabilities, skills, and knowledge?
Once you answer those four questions, your objective is to:
- Identify your ‘dream’ role, not the role you are seeking now, but the role you want in eth future.
- Inventory the skills and knowledge you’ll need to secure that role.
- Develop your action plan to move towards that goal.
