I Have Advanced Degrees Already. Does an MBA Make Sense?

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Considering becoming the latest member of the career student club? Many of my friends are in this situation. They’re successful engineers, lawyers, and doctors, but business has always alluded them, so an MBA seems like a logical choice. They already make a lot of money, so it’s definitely not a salary boost thing. It’s more of an “I’m not satisfied with what I’m doing” thing.

 

We hear it’s a good way to switch career, so why not? What’s the worst that can happen?

 

Many of us have been there. After all these years of struggling, we were finally kind of comfortable financially. With the paycheck to paycheck life behind us, we’re now free to enjoy living. Life is good until we realize that we’re not satisfied with what we spend most of our time doing. What was once engaging is now mundane and unsatisfying. Time to find a way out. Lots of us have a few friends who got MBAs; their lives look pretty enjoyable. We hear it’s a good way to switch career, so why not? What’s the worst that can happen?

 

Let’s back up a little. Do you know what you actually want to do first? Maybe more importantly, why do you want to do it? An MBA, like many degrees is just a tool that you can utilize to your advantage in the right situation. If you’re not focused, you can end up back where you first started or even worse: in another position that you don’t care about without the prior experience to justify advancing quickly.

 

If you’re not focused, you can end up back where you first started or even worse: in another position that you don’t care about without the prior experience to justify advancing quickly.

 

So what do you do? If you’re familiar with some of my other advice, you know what you need: a plan. From a high level, you should (1) do some research on different post-MBA career paths, (2) determine which ones you’d like and which you’d be good at, and (3) deconstruct why an MBA specifically would help you achieve your aspirations. If you’re really struggling to get past these steps, you might want to pump the brakes on the MBA.

 

I might sound like a broken record here, but an MBA from a quality school costs a good deal of money, time, and effort. If someone gave you your what it would cost to get an MBA, in addition to some free time, what would yo do with it? Think about that before rushing into it.

 

If you would like to participate/be interviewed for the blog, contact me at nkem.nwankwo@lifeafterschool.co.