Why get an MBA?

The Master of Business Administration: Long respected as a sign of business acumen, managerial skills, and leadership potential, this advanced degree continues to offer life-changing personal and professional value, immediately and in the long term, to those who earn it.

Why get an MBA? Ten reasons follow here. Review them and see why the choice to pursue an MBA is an empowering decision as you seek better job opportunities, a richer professional life, and a wealth of practical skills.

Highly skilled professionals often find themselves in business-oriented roles without any training in the skills they need to succeed. For many engineers, scientists, programmers, and creative professionals whose responsibilities require business-centered expertise, a comprehensive education in business operations and leadership is one of the most compelling reasons to pursue an MBA.¹

The opportunity to meet driven, like-minded, successful professionals from diverse backgrounds has long been an important appeal of MBA programs. Your peers, faculty, and new contacts in your university's alumni network can push you to become the best possible business leader. Beyond that, your connections with them will be crucial when you're seeking new career opportunities. Even in an online MBA program, where networking takes place through an interactive learning management system rather than in person, the ability to expand your professional network remains a major motivating factor.

A Master of Business Administration degree is a powerful asset for people who find their careers stalled out or unfulfilling. Should you become eager to explore new career paths, the in-depth practical and theoretical business knowledge you gain in a high-quality MBA program will translate into proficiency in all kinds of organizations. In fact, the opportunity to pivot into a new professional phase is one of the leading reasons to get an MBA, as cited by candidates for the degree in recent years.²

Especially for MBA students who are young professionals, one of the most challenging aspects of upper-level roles is the need to manage a team. While much of your training in handling a management position will happen on the job, a strong MBA program will include coursework in leadership skills and people management.³ You may even choose a concentration in Leading Innovative Organizations if you find that successfully coordinating the efforts of many diverse people is essential to your upward career path.

There’s truth in numbers: In 2022, 92% of corporate recruiters and 95% of staffing firms have said that they plan to hire recent MBA graduates in the short term. In addition to expanded opportunity, an MBA can position you to earn significantly more than your associates with undergraduate degrees alone. The median starting salary for MBA graduates is an attractive $115,000, with a median signing bonus of $10,500 on top of that. ⁴ While MBA tuition is an investment, the degree more than pays for itself very quickly.

Of all the expertise and business skills you'll acquire as an MBA student, the less tangible soft skills may serve you best in the long run. Many an MBA graduate reports that attributes such as empathy, communication skills, and proficiency in leadership strategy and a global sense of awareness were the most valuable assets gained through MBA coursework.⁵ These soft skills are best developed through concerted practice, and the space in which you can nurture them is high among reasons why an MBA holds true value.

Whether you're making a career change and facing a job interview or looking for quicker career advancement, a graduate education and an MBA degree can help you feel that you really belong in leadership positions. An MBA program can be a safe, risk-free setting in which to make and learn from mistakes, without the stress and consequences that can accompany them in the professional world.⁶ The expertise you'll acquire in business school and the credential that you'll proudly add to your resume will help you in the job market: They're powerful reminders, to yourself and to potential employers, that you are a true asset.

In the hectic pace of a busy career, it may be hard to look carefully at the hot-button issues in the business world. An MBA program can provide opportunities, away from the office, to consider the more complex aspects of business, from economic theory and models to international business, global trends, growing crises, and other issues making the news.⁵ The perspective you gain can enhance not only your professional success but your personal connection to your work.

Even if you never imagined it as you were cramming late at night while pursuing your bachelor's degree, it's not unusual to miss the experience of acquiring new, in-depth knowledge. An MBA program—especially a top-ranked online MBA program that flexes around your full-time job—can help you tap into this feeling again, as your curiosity and drive to learn meet new inspiration.¹

Some MBA students enter business school fully aware of the industry, organization and position in which they would like to work a decade after graduation. Other incoming students approach a graduate degree experience with a more open mind, or at least with less clarity. Both paths are valuable: An MBA degree program can help you find or solidify your professional identity by giving you the chance to choose which of several MBA concentrations you want to pursue. Whether your passion lies in leadership, finance, marketing, business analytics, or another business discipline, an MBA education can help you find it.

Put Silicon Valley’s expertise and network at your fingertips. Start your application to Santa Clara University’s Online MBA program today.

Visit us to learn more about our faculty of accomplished business leaders, and explore some of the exciting networking opportunities available to online students at SCU. For more information, reach out to our Admissions Advisors.