AdminThe decision to pursue an mba can be a career game changer. It may help you advance in your current industry or pivot to a new one with a stronger business background and broader network of business leaders.
The first step in deciding whether to pursue an MBA is to thoroughly understand your professional goals and aspirations, as well as the level of advancement you seek and how much of a financial investment you are willing to make. You should also assess the skills that are most important to you, as well as the depth of your knowledge in specific disciplines.
Many MBA programs allow students to personalize their degree through elective courses and degree concentrations. At SNHU, for example, there are 17 different concentrations to choose from. Carpen recommends evaluating where you see frequent job openings and what your career goals are to identify a concentration that might offer more opportunities in the future.
Most MBA programs require at least three years of professional experience, a bachelor’s degree and satisfactory Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. Many business schools also consider gender and local-international student ratios as part of their application criteria.
Some MBA programs are designed for recent graduates who don’t have a great deal of work experience and are known as Early Career MBA or Pre-Experience MBA programs. Others are accelerated and condense the two-year program into a single year. Then there are a range of other part-time and full-time MBA options for professionals who prefer to continue working while they attend school.