Why take a (full-time) MBA?

Author	Yolanda Habets
Function	Career Services Manager
Organistation	Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School

People seem to instinctively know for themselves when it is the right time for them to take an MBA. Although there are as many reasons for taking an MBA as there are MBA graduates, the reasons seem to fall into several broad categories (which are not rigid) as many people are motivated by more than one
element.

 

Reasons for taking an MBA:

• To achieve a specific career objective - perhaps to move out of a 'specialist' role into management.
• To develop specific professional managerial competencies - to enable a person to do his/ her job better.
• To enhance a person's CV to enable a job or career change - perhaps internationally.
• To take an opportunity to up-date their skills base and re-assess direction.
• To be part of an exciting and demanding challenge leading to greater personal satisfaction and achievement.
• To improve long-term career and financial security.
• To start their own business.

 

Whilst many people initially consider taking an MBA in order to achieve rapid financial gain (and this was undoubtedly the case during the late 1990's 'dot.com' era) they nearly always need a much stronger motivator to carry them through the preparation and completion of the programme.

 

Do make sure when choosing an MBA that you understand how it is going to contribute to your skills and advance your career. Before selecting an MBA programme, do evaluate carefully what kind of programme is right for you.

 

Points to consider:

• International Reputation
• Local Reputation (with employers in locations you are interested in working)
• Participant Profile
• Learning and networking opportunities
• Academic content (case study vs. lecture)
• Social and cultural environment (competitive or cooperative)

 

Look beyond the marketing campaign and the rankings and make sure you choose a programme that fits your career aspirations and your personality. The highest ranked programme might not necessarily be the right programme for you.

 

Why a full-time MBA?

Despite an increase in the popularity of parttime programmes over the past years and a decline in enrolment numbers for the full-time MBA programmes, I do believe that in order to reap the full benefits of a MBA, the full-time format is the way to go.

 

A full-time MBA programme provides participants with a total immersion experience. This full immersion in the programme and the environment provides significant opportunities for personal growth and development which cannot be duplicated in the part-time format.

 

Because of its very nature, the full-time MBA is a much richer experience, which is as much about networking with classmates, professors, guest speakers and alumni as it is about the curriculum.

 

Full-time MBA programmes offer a very intensive learning environment that allows for brainstorming and solving cases and problems in teams with people with different skills sets and different styles that have a high level of focus. Participants can spend as much time as needed on the coursework without being stretched too thin by other competing demands.

 

Full-time participants do not need to balance their time devoted to the programme with other responsibilities and therefore the fulltime programme is much more effective in developing skills than its part-time counterpart. The group interactions that are imposed by the intensity of the full-time MBA experience can be very valuable in learning new management skills.

 

When enrolled in a full-time MBA, you will find yourself in a group of people who are totally focused on the course, unlike the parttime participants who will need to steal time and energy from a full-time job, relationship, children on evenings and weekends.

 

Also, the class population in a full-time MBA programme is much more diverse than those in part-time programmes in all aspects: age, race, gender, nationality and work experience. You will find yourself exposed to many different foreign cultures in your own classroom and this allows for interaction in dynamic and often difficult team situations with a group of highly motivated, intelligent and successful peers. Business case discussions and team projects offer participants the opportunity to gain valuable experience working in and leading teams of different personalities and different cultures

 

Networking among classmates is actually one of the greatest benefits of a full-time MBA programme and this network of professional contacts is as valuable as the theories and concepts one learns. Full-time exposure helps to develop a cohesive network of MBA colleagues in different fields and participants often build invaluable and high-level contacts that benefit them throughout their entire career. This close network would be hard to achieve in a part-time format. Part-time participants have a lot less time for networking and socialising.

 

Another reason professionals often consider an MBA programme to open new career opportunities. Especially if one's ambition is to switch careers, the full-time MBA is the better option. During the programme, participants step away from their career-to-date and can explore other possible career tracks, determine potential employers and together with the career counsellors can develop an action plan for their future career.

A part-time MBA is unlikely to immediately change one's job prospects. Part-time MBA programmes tend to function more, in this regard, as career enhancement programmes often designed to make the participant more effective in his or her current organisation.

 

Most full-time MBA programmes also offer participants the opportunity to gain additional professional experience by means of an incompany project or internship. Through this important component of the programme, participants can test their interest in a particular field or sector and determine whether it is right for them. An internship allows one to learn and practice new skills and enhance one's resume for post-MBA employment. In this way, the internship can provide a professional bridge between experience before the MBA and ambitions after the MBA.

 

In addition, full-time MBA participants have access to enhanced services and activities, including career services and counselling, social and professional clubs, executive speakers, etc.

 

Of course, not everyone can afford to take one or more years out of their lives to return to school. Enrolling in a part-time MBA will allow you to preserve your income and your degree might even be sponsored by your employer. Financial considerations are of course important, but don't let them be the only obstacle between you and a full-time MBA. Explore opportunities. Full-time applicants often have access to scholarships and advantageous loans or the programme might include a paid internship at the end that will allow you to earn some money towards your enrollment fee. Research also still indicates that the average return on investment for a full-time MBA is only three years.

 

Even with recent developments in the market, the part-time MBA programme still does not enjoy the same prestige as its full-time equivalent, and also from career and learning standpoints, full-time MBA programmes are more desirable. A full-time MBA programme encourages learning far beyond and above the classroom instruction and as a result participants enjoy a much greater personal transformation and form much closer bonds with the other professionals enrolled in their programme, leading to life-time business contacts.