There are many reasons why you might decide to get an MBA. Some people pursue the degree in hopes of growing or sustaining their business venture. Others want to climb the ladder within their company, make more money, or change their career.
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Summary.
Here are four common reasons people pursue an MBA, and how you can use your own “why” to help make the most of your time at school.
- If you want an MBA to grow or sustain your business venture, ask yourself: What are the persistent problems I’m facing in trying to start or grow my business? Which business concepts can I learn at school that may help me solve these work-related problems? How can I quickly introduce and integrate these concepts into my company?
- If you want an MBA to help you get a promotion, ask yourself: Which work practices, if changed, would accelerate my promotion? Which business concepts from school can I apply to change these work practices? How can I leverage the improvements I make to advocate for a promotion?
- If you want an MBA to help you switch industries, companies, or roles, ask yourself: What does my current career path look like? How do I want to change it? What experiments can I conduct at school (and at work) to try out this new path? How can I leverage these experiments to change careers?
- If you want an MBA to figure out your career goals, ask yourself these questions: What are some possible post-MBA careers that might interest me? What are my personal values, and how do these possibilities align with those values? Which MBA courses would allow me to explore those possibilities?