Are you Ready?

ARE YOU READY FOR AN MBA?

words by > Jackie Larson

To MBA or not to MBA? If that is the question, here are some guidelin es to consider as you evaluate your own need and rea diness for a master’s degree in business administration.

Dr. Leonard M. Lodish is the Samuel R. Harrell Professor of Marketing and vice dean at Wharton West, the San Francisco-based branch of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Wharton West’s MBA Program for Executives is an every-other-weekend option for busy execs looking to take their education to the next level, but there’s a place at the table for career starters in the full-time program as well.

“A lot of our full-time MBAs end up going into consulting and investment banking, because those fields pay extremely well,” he says. “If you want to do that, and you’re under 30, and you want to start out in entry-level positions, go for a full-time program at a major school.

“If you already have seven or eight years of experience and really want to get to the next level, and you’re starting to do senior management teams and you’re doing some stuff cross-functionally, or if you’re an entrepreneur who has already run a business and wants to learn to do it much better, then this would be an ideal time to pursue an MBA program for executives,” Lodish says.

Is there a certain age beyond which an MBA is impractical?

Th e only real question, Lodish says, is “Can you can leverage what you learn?”

“We’ve had people in their early fift ies in the program who have started companies right aft er they’ve finished,” he says. Th at said, generally, the sooner an MBA-bound businessperson takes the plunge, the better.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with MBA students who have been running businesses and learning by making mistakes they wouldn’t have made if they’d had some training. On the other hand, you need to have some experience to really get some value out of the course,” he says.

Th e Graduate Management Admissions Council administers the GMAT, the test many accredited MBA (and EMBA, or executive MBA) programs require of their applicants. On its website (www.mba.com), the Council suggests developing the “right” pre-MBA experience, because post-MBA employment opportunities can depend heavily on pre-MBA experience—and it recommends researching requirements by school.

An MBA may not be for everyone. If you’re a specialist seeking to specialize more, you may want to get a degree in that field of specialty, not an MBA. If you’re an executive engineer who prefers the technical side as opposed to the leadership end of things but may end up leading a group of engineers on a project, an MBA may not be for you, Lodish advises.

What kind of engineer would benefit from an MBA? “Someone who wants to make a big diff erence by leveraging their technical knowledge as well as business to develop a new company, division or nonprofit,” says Lodish.

You’ll be well served by the degree program if your goal is general management or management consulting, and if you have an interest in a corporate career or forging ahead as an entrepreneur.

Lodish identifies three main signs you’re ready for an MBA. Th e first is leadership—the demonstrated potential to be a good leader; this is where some prior experience comes in. Th e second is capability—the analytical and creative skills to get through the coursework. Th irdly, there’s potential—the demonstrated ability to make a diff erence with an MBA education and the ability to leverage what you’re doing to make an impact. Also, consider whether you have the time. An executive MBA will take up a lot of your time, with every other weekend over two years spent in intensive study. And last but not least, consider financial readiness. Th e cost for an executive MBA program can range from the tens of thousands to upwards of $150,000. So if your company is on board to sponsor your advanced degree, so much the better.

Beth Flye, assistant dean and director of admissions and financial aid at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, feels that an MBA is an investment that will help businesspeople throughout their careers.

“Anyone interested in management in any industry would benefit from an MBA,” she says. “Successful managers are sensitive to all cultures and provide leadership in diverse, multicultural settings. Th ere is a range of skills that all managers need to master including analytical skills, people skills and leadership skills, and an MBA helps to hone these skills.”

“When you hope to achieve a management position within any type of organization, whether it is public or private, profit or notfor-profit, the MBA will remain an attractive and necessary credential,” says Flye.

Aft er assessing your skills and career goals, you may discover that your extended education could best be spent elsewhere. But if these goals sound like they match your own, and you are ready to take on the financial and time commitments, then perhaps it’s time to take the plunge.