8 Reasons the MBA is Still Worth Studying

The MBA degree has been around for a long time and has long been considered the gold standard of business competence. An MBA graduate is widely seen as a safe bet in terms of hiring, and those who have earned an MBA often find that they have a significantly easier time making it into the workplace.

“In the business people with expertise, experience and evidence will make more profitable decisions than people with instinct, intuition and imagination.” 

― Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

However, many entrepreneurs today are uncertain of whether the MBA still offers them the same value that it always has. After all, in a world where there are so many prominent self-made millionaires and billionaires, it is becoming harder and harder to convince people that any kind of formal training is required before entering the world of business.

While anyone can become an entrepreneur and have a stab at the big time, there are plenty of reasons why studying an MBA is still a worthwhile endeavor that will improve your chances in the long run.

Improve Your Career Prospects

Those who hold an MBA will be able to apply for management and administration positions that would otherwise be out of their reach. The MBA is a valuable degree, both for those who want to start their own businesses and those that want to go and work for someone else.

If you feel as if your professional life has begun to stagnate and you are no longer feeling that same spark from your daily job, then the MBA can be a great way of reinvigorating yourself. Not only will you end up with a degree that other businesses consider to be of great value, but along the way, you will come to learn more about yourself and the world of entrepreneurship. Many people enter into an MBA degree thinking that they have a greater understanding of themselves and their professional ambitions, only to discover as they progress through their course that their interests lie elsewhere from where they originally thought.

It is always a good idea to have a plan and a sense of purpose, but even if you aren’t quite sure what you want to do in life or where you want to go, studying for an mba in canada can really open your eyes to the many career opportunities that exist out there. If all you know is that you want to progress your professional life, but you don’t know exactly in what direction to take it, studying for your MBA will enable you to experience many different facets of business operation and ownership.

Acquire Transferrable Skills and Gain a New Perspective

Whenever you are studying for any degree course, there are certain skills that are inherent to the process. For example, regardless of the type of degree that you study, you will need to develop your organizational skills and learn to manage your own time efficiently. These skills are valuable in the world of business, especially if you aspire to lead and oversee other people.

Over the course of studying for an MBA, you will encounter both subjects relevant to the world of business, and more generally applicable lessons. An MBA will provide you with a new perspective on the way that businesses are run, and exactly what responsibilities managing a business entails. But it will also equip you with a whole host of life skills that will serve you well both inside and outside the world of business.

Below are just some of the key skills that you will learn while studying for an MBA.

• Organization: One of the key skills that you will learn over the course of any university degree is that of personal organization. When you start studying at university, you take on responsibility for your own study schedule. It will be up to you to ensure that you are keeping up with work and that you are making time for all of your assignments. If you were previously not the most organized person, university may well change that for you.

• Management and Leadership: The whole purpose of the masters of business administration degree is to prepare students for taking on a management role within a business. Over the course of studying an MBA, students will gain valuable insights into the most effective standardized approach for managing and leading within a business. MBA graduates will be encouraged to develop their own management and leadership styles, but this formal training will provide them with a solid grounding from which to build their own style.

• Marketing: Marketing is a vital skill to have in business. Whether you are a single individual trying to sell your services, or you are the leader of an established corporation, a solid marketing strategy is essential to success. Without proper marketing, no one is going to know about your business. And with a lackluster marketing strategy, a business will never be able to grow to its full potential.

• Business Operations and Processes: Managing a business is much more complicated than it might seem from the outside. Most MBA courses will require students to already have some experience in managing a business. But the majority of MBA students will still have much to learn, hence their desire to study for the degree in the first place. A core component of the MBA course is teaching students about fundamental business operations and processes. The exact way in which businesses are run will vary from business to business, but there are many more universal principles than a lot of people realize.

• Accounting and Finance: Money is the lifeblood of any business. A business that isn’t making more money than it is spending only has a limited lifespan. Accounting and finance are essential skills for any business leader to have. Informed business decisions need to be made with consideration for the anticipated return on investment. In other words, MBA students will be learning how to assess the value of proposals and establish whether they are financially viable for a business.

Improve Your Earnings Potential

One of the most compelling reasons for any students to consider studying for an MBA degree is that it will significantly enhance their earnings potential. All other things being equal, an applicant with an MBA degree will be more valuable than one without. MBA graduates are regarded as a safe bet by businesses looking to hire because the degree that they hold denotes a certain level of competence. This makes it much easier for MBA graduates to apply for roles within existing businesses, and to command a higher salary during negotiations.

The MBA is not the only factor that businesses will consider when deciding on the value of any applicant, but holding an MBA will undeniably improve your value to employers.

Similarly, if you are looking to start your own business, then holding an MBA degree makes it easier to hire other people. You will find that other workers are most eager to work for businesses and people who have a proven track record of competence and achievement. Having an MBA under your belt shows that you have some real-world business experience, along with formal training in business management.

An Opportunity for Self-Improvement

Studying for any university degree is a wonderful personal journey to embark on. Not only will you learn about your chosen subject of study, but you will also learn a great deal about yourself, your own capabilities, and even your own limitations. Having a firm grasp of all of these things is very useful in the world of business.

The most effective business owners and managers are those that are down to earth and able to connect with the workers that they oversee. Managers who are aloof and disconnected from their subordinates will find it difficult to cultivate healthy relationships with those that they have to oversee. Studying for an MBA degree encourages students to better understand themselves and their own personal foibles.

After studying an MBA degree and graduating, students won’t just be walking away with a degree, but they will also be walking away as more evolved and self-aware people.

Challenge Yourself

One of the best ways of improving your capabilities is to constantly challenge yourself. As with most university courses, an MBA degree will present you with a constant stream of new challenges and obstacles to overcome. While many of these will be difficult to traverse, over the course of your degree you will become much more adept at solving problems. By the time you graduate, there will be few challenges in business that you aren’t able to take on.

Prepare to Launch Your Own Business

Starting your own business is a very challenging undertaking, not something that you should enter into lightly. Many people who start their own businesses do so with only minimal previous experience. These people find it even harder than most to survive in the cutthroat world of business.

Studying for an MBA will provide students with the grounding that they need to give them the best chance possible at launching their own business. Having an MBA in your pocket won’t make building a business from scratch easy by any means, but it will ensure that you are as prepared as possible for the challenges that you will face.

Take Over an Existing Business

Not all of those who study for an MBA aspire to open their own business. Many are aiming to secure a management level position within an existing organization. The MBA degree is ideal for both groups of people, and the lessons that students learn are applicable to both scenarios. 

Being successful at managing a business requires more than just experienced within that organization. Anyone aspiring to take on a leadership role also needs to possess the necessary leadership skills. Working within a single business is not going to prepare students for everything that the world of management has to throw at them, but studying for an MBA degree will ensure graduates are forewarned and forearmed.

It’s Never Been Easier to Study an MBA

There are a number of barriers that often keep perfectly capable students from studying the degrees that they want. Two of the biggest concerns of students are time and money, both of which students will need if they are to succeed at university. Historically, this has meant that certain groups, notably single parents, have been unable to access higher education.

Fortunately, thanks to the internet and the advent of credible online degrees from established educational institutions, there are now numerous remote learning opportunities for students. Studying remotely enables students to save money and complete their courses on a part-time basis. For a qualification like the MBA, which has a practical component to it, this can make an otherwise unfeasible course a potential option for many people.

Studying online also means that students in one part of the country can study at a university in another. For example, a student living in New York could enroll in MBA programs in Michigan. If you have plans post-graduation to move somewhere else, this gives you the opportunity to establish roots there before you graduate.

Whether you are planning on starting your own business venture or applying for a management and leadership role in an existing organization, the MBA degree has a lot to offer you. Over the course of studying for an MBA, students will learn the vital skills that they need to survive the world of business.

Not only does the MBA equip students with the knowledge they need to excel in the world of business, but it also provides the perfect environment for students to develop themselves in other ways. MBA students will be required to take control of their own learning and will have to demonstrate their competence during a practical placement.

Overall, the MBA is an excellent way of improving your value to potential employers while also growing as a person. The MBA remains one of the best ways for any entrepreneur to expand their horizons. Look at the options available to you and see if it is something that will benefit you.