Even with the time commitment and high costs associated with earning an MBA, having it on your resume has significant benefits. One of the most telling indications of an MBA’s long-term value is highlighted in the 2018 Alumni Perspectives Survey from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). The survey asked alumni of graduate business schools whether they’d pursue a graduate-level business degree knowing what they know now, and a whopping 93% said they would.

●  94% of alumni found their graduate management education personally rewarding.
●  89% of alumni found it professionally rewarding.
●  74% of alumni found it financially rewarding.

By contrast, when alumni were asked to identify the key driver in their initial pursuit of a graduate business degree, 47% said financial rewards, 38% said professional rewards, and 15% said personal rewards.

The graduate management degree holders were optimistic about the outlook for their counterparts in the future: When asked whether they would recommend their graduate-level business degree program to a friend or colleague, 61% of alumni of graduate business schools said they would do so, and only 13% said they wouldn’t recommend attending the school.

Learn key management skills and build a strong professional network

While you can realize many of the benefits of an MBA soon after graduating, such as higher starting salaries at many firms and a built-in network of alumni ready to help you get started, other advantages take longer to come to fruition.

●  An MBA degree provides you with “future-ready skills” that companies prize as they’re forced to pivot quickly in response to changing markets and industry conditions.
●  You’re taught a broad range of skills, including empathy and team building, to influence and motivate stakeholders from a range of backgrounds.
●  An MBA helps you accelerate your career path, whether by advancing within your current organization or striking out on your own via the entrepreneurial route.
●  Earning an MBA broadens and diversifies your professional network by establishing links to alumni as well as industry and community leaders.

The common belief is that the best time to earn an MBA is in your 20s, so you have more working years to capitalize on the degree. As the Wall Street Journal points out, many people are turning this axiom on its ear by earning an MBA midcareer. MBA programs seek students from diverse backgrounds and prize the practical business and life experience of older students.

The Wall Street Journal cites a GMAC study that reports the percentage of two-year MBA applicants with six or more years of work experience increased from 17% in 2019 to 32% in 2020. The percentage of such applicants with 10 or more years of work experience jumped from 7% in 2019 to 19% in 2020. The cooling of the job market as a result of COVID-19 and the availability of more affordable MBA programs contributed to the increase in midcareer MBA candidates.

Despite the benefits of having an MBA on your resume, the degree isn’t the best option for all business management careers. You have to balance the pros and cons of getting an MBA before deciding to pursue the degree. If your career goals don’t focus on work in a business field, earning a management position, or starting a company, an MBA may not be the best degree to prepare you.

Investopedia points out that companies prefer management candidates whose MBAs are from topflight business schools, so an MBA from a lesser-known school may not carry much weight with recruiters. Also, an MBA degree can’t make up for serious shortcomings in other areas, such as a lack of communication abilities or leadership skills.

The following are some of the important pros to earning an MBA degree:

●  An MBA usually translates into a higher starting salary, which leads to higher earnings throughout your career.
●  The skills that top graduate business management programs teach provide you with a built-in advantage over managers who haven’t earned an MBA.
●  MBA programs serve as the foundation for picking up new knowledge and capabilities as your career progresses, promoting career growth.
●  The MBA degree curriculum gives you exposure to new industries and management strategies that broaden the range of your potential career ambitions.
●  In certain fields, such as private equity and money management, an MBA degree is a de facto requirement to qualify for management positions.

However, there are some things to keep in mind about earning an MBA:

●  Realizing the value of an MBA degree requires you to constantly expand your knowledge and skills, which necessitates hard work and long hours above and beyond those spent fulfilling your current duties.
●  Even with lower tuition and other expenses, an online MBA requires a considerable investment. As stated above, you also have to consider the opportunity costs of an MBA degree: The time and effort you spend pursuing the degree could be used to better effect in other areas.
●  Now, you have many more graduate degree alternatives to earning an MBA, including Master of Accounting, Master of Finance, Master of Organizational Behavior, and Master of Business Analytics. Often, these degrees are paired with certifications such as Certified Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), or Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP).

The ultimate goal of many MBA degree holders is to secure a top executive position with a business organization. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that leading executives at public firms typically have earned a graduate degree in business administration, public administration, law, or liberal arts. The BLS notes that an MBA remains the most common degree earned by top executives at large firms.

The BLS reports the following median annual salaries of various top executives as of May 2020:

●  Chief executives: $185,950
●  Management occupations: $109,760
●  Top executives (aggregate): $106,180
●  General and operations managers: $103,650

The salary survey site PayScale estimates that the median annual salary for people with an MBA degree is about $90,000 as of May 2021. Within this group, project managers earned a median annual salary of around $85,000, senior financial analysts earned around $84,000, and chief financial officers earned around $151,000.

PayScale’s estimates of the annual salaries for other positions that typically require an MBA degree include the following:

●  Chief operating officer: $166,000
●  Finance director: $129,000
●  Marketing director: $115,000
●  Corporate controller: $107,000
●  Finance manager: $102,000
●  Financial controller: $95,000
●  Project manager: $85,000
●  Senior financial analyst: $84,000
●  Marketing manager: $80,000
●  Financial analyst: $65,000

In addition to their salary, MBA holders often receive compensation in the form of stock options and performance bonuses, as well as benefits such as expense allowances, use of company-owned vehicles, and memberships to exclusive clubs.

GMAC’s Business School Hiring Report: Corporate Recruiters Survey 2019 noted that 58% of companies offered their new MBA hires a signing bonus that averaged $10,500. The report also found that the average starting salary for MBA graduates in the U.S. was $115,000, the highest ever recorded in the survey.