By Prof. John DeSpagna
Campus News
In a previous column, I wrote about how you should be planning out your career and have a five-year plan. As you read this column, you are working your way through your two-year degree and getting ready to take the next step to a four-year school or a full time career. Let’s take this the next step on the path to success and set a goal within that five-year plan to earn an MBA degree.
An MBA degree is a Masters in Business Administration. You will first have to complete your four-year degree to be able to apply for admission into an MBA degree program. As you are going through college, you are investing in yourself and I can think of no better investment that you can make. Depending on the program you enroll in, most of these programs are around 60 credits. This degree will be able to help you in many ways during your career.
One of the primary reasons students complete this degree is to advance their career. It is very competitive in the job market and you should seek to set yourself apart from the competition. Completing an MBA degree shows that you are a hard worker and motivated to succeed. Having an advanced degree in business will also open up more job opportunities for you.
As you make the decision to obtain the MBA degree, you also will have many choices in regards to what field to specialize in. You can have your specialization in areas such as management, marketing, human resources, finance, international business, healthcare and many other areas. The point is that you may have had an undergraduate degree in a field unrelated to business and can now specialize in an area of business.
Another benefit of an MBA degree is that you can develop management skills. Some managers are born with these skills and for others, we can develop these skills. You will be exposed to professors who are experts in their fields, who will share their wealth of experiences with you. They will be able to relate to you with real world experiences that you can learn from.
In order to continue to move up within an organization, you will need to develop leadership skills. A leader will have a vision for the organization and use their energy, enthusiasm and experience to lead the organization. Think of how a company like Amazon, Facebook or Apple needs to have a vision of how to lead the company forward in the next five years. A leader will be able handle this important task. Leaders like Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerborg and Steve Jobs all developed skills to be an effective leader.
An MBA degree will also be a challenge you can undertake. Some people like to always have a challenge to always push themselves to be better. This would be an example of personal growth and remember that learning is a lifelong process. Do you want to push yourself to do better or be a couch potato?
Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit in you where you want to go out and start your own business? You not only will need capital, experience and expertise but you need to learn about business. The MBA degree will help you develop the necessary skills to be a successful entrepreneur and start your own company. Many people want to go out and start their own business; it is not easy and you want to prepare yourself as best as possible.
Other benefits of the MBA degree will be opportunities for a greater salary. You will have a skill set that will set you apart from others to earn more. You will also be exposed to other people who will help you network. Many people get an interview or job because they know someone. You could also specialize in international business and open up doors to find a job outside the United States.
The path to success is a long one where you will have to put in a lot of long hours studying and working hard. Earning an MBA degree will open up more opportunities to you and will probably help you on the path to being a success.
John DeSpagna is Chair of the Accounting and Business Administration Department at Nassau Community College in Garden City, N.Y.
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