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Business, technology, internet and network concept. See a young entrepreneur working on a virtual screen of the future and the inscription: MBA

This question is nothing special, and given the fact that MBA’s have been around for over 100 years, you wouldn’t expect to be asked such a question.

With junctions that require considerable time, effort, energy, capital, and other resources, it is quite natural to consider whether the investment is worth the return.

One of the difficulties in making decisions is the abundance of different opinions on the topic of whether to proceed. You can find a very natural answer to this question from universities, qualified people and even many employers. Most of them would say they should.

However, the individuals and organizations listed above have strong incentives to answer yes. Because the relative costs are likely to be negligible, there are potential benefits. For example, for someone with an MBA from Harvard University, increase their alumni if they think you are worthy of joining such an association?

For the pressure of “yes” you have to decide whether the “yes” is your “yes” or theirs.

There are many ways to find out the return on investment of an MBA. Several ranking agencies exist that offer different ways of evaluating potential programs. Academia has also provided excellent insight on this topic. For example, Yehuda Baruch’s 2009 paper “To MBA or not to MBA” (available here) is one of his most important papers on the topic and seems worth a read.

As shown in the chart below, employers provide a neat conceptual framework for whether or not you should pursue an MBA. Without going into detail here, note that this chart shows that not all employers value MBA’s equally.

Emphasis on experience

for education

for managers

– homemade

– In-house or on-the-job training for administrators

MBA is “nice to have”

– approval

– Prefer general undergraduate courses

MBA as an added benefit

professional or vocational focused

– Disassociated

– No investment in formal education

No need or interest in an MBA

– specify

– Functional university degree

Professional MBA Possibilities

This will display the two final items.

First, if you are looking to pursue an MBA primarily for financial reasons, consider what an MBA is and what value it can bring not just to you personally, but to your organization as it relates to your career trajectory. We need to make sure people who do I’ve never done an MBA before, so I’d suggest meeting up with them over coffee on Monday morning to find out more.

Second, there are things in life that are difficult to measure. How would you rate an epiphany that would change your worldview? How would you value a friendship? How would you rate education in general? When considering investing in any form of education, MBA or not, these may not be the minor items of value.

Finally, when tackling this issue of MBA value, don’t be lured in by marketing materials and sensationalist claims. An MBA may be a useful stepping stone, but there may be many other options, and the MBA option should not be viewed as the only option available. Of course, there are many others. Choose wisely.

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