When does it make sense to earn your MBA?

From a young age, we’re taught that education is the vehicle that can take you wherever you need to go in your career. While increasing your level of education is never a bad thing, it requires more critical thinking and tough decision-making with each additional level you pursue.

Many professionals are faced with a tough question once they enter the workforce: Is a graduate degree necessary to pursue my career goals? For many, the question is whether to pursue a master’s of business administration degree. MBA programs are one of the most common graduate degree programs for professionals, because this type of graduate degree can be applied to so many professions.

So how do you determine if earning an MBA is what’s best for you and your career? Here are four reasons getting an MBA could make sense for you.

* If your employer will cover part or all of the costs. Many employers want their employees to grow with the company and be able to transition easily into a management role when the time is right. Obtaining your MBA is one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a management role, so your employer may be happy to assist you in that venture. Online MBA programs are becoming more and more popular, and usually offer the flexibility to learn while you remain in your current job – a bonus for you and your employer.

* You find yourself needing another marketable skill. You may find that your resume falls a little flat for the types of careers you want to pursue. Obtaining an MBA is an effective way to bolster your qualifications, and you’ll be able to market what you’ve learned in your master’s program when the time comes for an interview – and then apply that extra knowledge once you’re on the job.

* You know you want to be in management. It’s possible to advance to the ranks of management without earning a graduate degree, but an MBA can improve your chances. Not only can it help you get a job in management, it can give you the managerial skills to excel in your role once you get the job.

* You have time to do it. Even if earning an MBA makes sense on other levels, you should have the time you need to commit to a graduate program. Finding flexible online MBA programs with course options that fit perfectly into your schedule might be exactly what you need to successfully obtain your degree.

Too old? Too young? What’s the right age for business school?

Barbara Bierach

Typically, business students enter graduate school with a first degree and about five years of work experience, meaning they are generally in their late 20s –an age where change is still part of the lifestyle. People in their 40s and older on the other hand are rather settled in their careers and work at a level where additional skills don’t necessarily guarantee substantial plus on the payback.

For some people, though, business school is right regardless of age. Philip Delves Broughton, an author who graduated from Harvard Business School in 2006 writes: “Overconfidence can occur at any age, but it seems to be rarer among those who have done more between university and business school than spend a couple of years knocking around with like-minded souls on a management or analyst program. But experience also has its risks, notably overbaked assumptions and habits that can be hard to change.”

A graduate degree can increase career options at any age. For people over 35 it can for example help to move from a small entrepreneurial environment to a larger cor-porate one. Or it can assist to acquire the skills for a new start in a different industry.

Nevertheless, today’s GMAT-takers are younger than the degree seekers of the past. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council, 37 per cent of those who took the test were under the age of 25 in 2007. In 2011, this number in-creased to 44 per cent. The percentage of test-takers over the age of 31 in the same timeframe has dropped to 16 per cent.

Some institutions are catering to those who wish to enter graduate programmes sooner. At Harvard Business School for example students can apply for a spot in a so called 2+2 Programme. According to the school’s website, those who are ac-cepted into this track spend two years after college working and then an additional two years taking MBA courses. The Sellinger School of Business and Management at Loyola University Maryland offers an Emerging Leaders MBA. The average age of students enrolled in this 12 months long track is 24, and 6 out of 10 are immediate college graduates.

In many European schools on the other hand, the median age of students entering a full-time programme is considerably higher, at Insead for example it is 28, at IMD it’s 30.

And then there is always the alternative of an Executive MBA where the average age of most candidates is between 30 and 40. A few business schools featured in the QS TopExecutive statistical review have candidates with an average age of 40 plus, including the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and the Helsinki School of Economics, which offers its Executive MBA in Finland, South Korea and Singapore. National University of Singapore, HEC Paris, Athabasca University in Canada, Melbourne Business School in Australia and the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine,he Trium Global Executive MBA from NYU Stern, HEC and London Business School also have an average candidate age of 40.

Sources:

BusinessweekU.S. NewsQS TopMBA