Is an MBA Worth It?

Earning an MBA can provide a lot of different benefits as you work to reach your career goals. To help give you a better understanding of what these might look like, here are six ways that earning an MBA degree may benefit you:

• Improve your knowledge, education and skills: Like any degree, an MBA is primarily focused on helping students develop abilities that they can bring to the workplace. While enrolled in an MBA degree program, you'll likely take courses in a variety of business subjects that can be used in your professional life such as accounting, information technology and marketing. As a graduate degree, an MBA takes many of the skills that you’re likely to learn during a Bachelor's in Business program and builds upon them, leaving you with a deeper level of specialized knowledge.


• Pursue a promotion at work: An MBA degree can be a useful credential to have on your resume that shows your dedication to lifelong learning and professional development, as well as your competence in the business field. An MBA degree may also allow you to consider higher-level jobs or apply for promotions as you move through your career, depending on the requirements of the higher-level position.


• Add an advanced degree to your resume: Resumes are a bit like trophy shelves, in that the more you achieve, the more impressive they are. Adding a graduate credential like an MBA can be very impressive to employers and can help you stand out in the talent pool or in a specific industry.


• Consider management or leadership roles: While an MBA degree focuses mostly on business administration, it also provides you with the chance to develop your abilities in people managing, communication and collaboration. With this wider understanding of how to move through the business world, MBA degree holders may find themselves able to consider management positions in the current field or in another industry that interests them.


• Prepare you for new opportunities: Like any graduate degree, an MBA can help you broaden your skillset and help you prepare to pursue new job opportunities. But what is unique about an MBA, is that in addition to its emphasis on business administration, it also teaches many base level skills in other disciplines which may allow you to consider a wider range of opportunities in both in and out of the business world.

At DeVry, we believe there are a lot of benefits in earning an MBA degree, especially when it comes to increasing your skill set and helping you prepare to pursue a better career. As a graduate-level program, an MBA can help you build skills that you may not have had the chance to nurture during a bachelor's degree program. Another benefit of earning an MBA is the potential for increased career growth. A higher-level degree may help you stand out when pursuing a job opportunity, making an MBA a beneficial option for people who want to advance their career in the world of business.

People primarily earn MBA degrees if they’re working toward advancing their careers or if they want to enter a field that has higher education requirements. They may also earn an MBA to try and improve their chances of advancing in their field, to try something new or after hitting a wall where promotions in their current role become harder to gain.

The right time to earn an MBA is whenever it makes the most sense for you. For some people, it may make sense to earn their MBA directly after their bachelor's degree. For others, they may want to spend some time gaining experience in the workforce and then return to school for their MBA. There is no timeline that works for everyone. If you choose to earn your MBA, make sure its on a timeline that fits your goals.