A Masters in Business Administration is a versatile degree that aims to equip students with knowledge of management, leadership, and technical skills. Although most MBA graduates tend to enter the business world after graduation, there is a growing trend of students leveraging the transferable skills gained through an MBA degree to be more successful in fields such as medicine, law, governments, and non-profit organizations. However, an MBA still requires time and monetary investment–so is this degree worth it for non-business students?
This answer varies among professionals and depends on each person’s unique situation. Emily Schieber, a recent graduate of Harpur College with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Law, transitioned into the Harpur 4+1 MBA program last year. Schieber entered into Binghamton as a member of the Source Project and declared a PPL major after her research on mass incarceration and academic interests in human rights and philosophy. However, she was also interested in learning more about business, and an MBA emerged as a way for her to gain business knowledge. Through this combination of programs, Schieber has created a unique opportunity for herself to develop communication, argumentative, technical, and leadership skills that she is hoping will make her stand out to recruiters. She has been able to add Excel, Tableau, and SQL to her resume as a result of her experiences in this program, and this will allow her to qualify for different positions than what was previously available to her as a Philosophy, Politics, and Law major.
Some experts agree that this cross-training is a great way to prepare for the job market. Governments and nonprofit organizations are run similar to a business, and having business knowledge transfers well in this respect. This is especially true for those interested in financial or leadership positions in these institutions. For students like Schieber who are hoping to expand their options or pivot into a new field, an MBA program is an excellent way to achieve this.
Students should do a cost-benefit analysis prior to pursuing an MBA program. While it provides valuable skills and a possible competitive advantage, it also requires extra time in school and can be expensive. Harpur’s 4+1 MBA program can help to reduce this time and expense for students, but this does not bring the cost to zero. Some schools offer dual MBA/MPA programs or MBA programs that are focused in government, public policy, political science, and nonprofit management. For students hoping to enter the government or nonprofit sectors, starting salaries tend to be lower than the private sector, and this means the investment will take longer to pay off. An appointment with the Fleishman Center can help students weigh their options and determine if this could be an appropriate path.
