An MBA or a Master’s in Business Administration can provide competence and knowledge to start a new business or help professionals enhance their career opportunities, increase compensation and for job promotions. Many employers also look for MBA graduates to fill in certain management and leadership positions in their organization.
On the other hand, an MBA from top MBA colleges in India can cost nearly INR 25 lakh – a considerable expense for recent graduates and substantial time out of the employees for early-career professionals. To get into an MBA course one has clear entrance exams like GMAT or CAT. The question is does an MBA worth the cost? And, the answer would be ‘it all depends’.
When is an MBA Worth?
An MBA is only worth the expense, time, and effort when one plans to work in a business-related field, management, or as a company founder. An MBA may not be useful for those working in other industries unless they are in management or leadership positions.
Besides, not all MBA degrees are considered the same and different MBA course adds different value to your career. Unless a student earns a degree from a respectable program, it might not be as valuable as expected, as a top-tier business school greatly increases the value of the degree. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t view an MBA earned from an unknown or online-only educator as it doesn’t hold the same weight as the program earned from top-10 schools. For professionals sacrificing a few years of work to earn an MBA and choosing a second- or third-tier school could be a waste of time, money, and possibility.
Having an MBA won’t make a candidate stand out if they are flawed in other manners like being ignorant, slow to adapt, or bossy. Hiring managers also understand that candidate with an MBA is not the right person for their company as they believe that people without MBA also achieved leadership positions.
On the other hand, many entrepreneurs with an MBA start their own company but they do not look to hire MBA candidates instead they hire people who think out-of-the-box and can come up with new ideas and offer a different perspective of their own.
On the other hand, for people who cannot afford the cost or doesn’t have time to manage work and study, for those there are fortunately other good options like a part-time or e-MBA program that will give their career a boost and can help in their professional growth and promotion.
