Eight Reasons to Get an MBA Now

1. Today’s flexible programs make enrollment easy. Degrees or certificate programs can be completed in as little as one day to two years. Weekend or evening classes, summer sessions, Internet courses, distance learning, open enrollment, and full-time modules accommodate busy professionals. Harvard Business School (HBS) offers Forty-five Executive Education programs, and Rutgers University offers a 12-week Mini-MBA certificate. And many top schools now have multiple campuses. The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School has a campus in San Francisco, and Columbia Business School merged resources with the University of California’s Haas School to create the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Program.

2. The MBA network never stops growing–and neither should yours. Business education introduces students and alumnae to a diversified world of organizations, business leaders, and outstanding colleagues around the globe. A particular college network can boast tens of thousands of alums (HBS has more than 65,000 alums and Wharton has 81,000) all representing an enormous network of knowledge and opportunity. 

3. Business courses are more diversified than ever. As business topics become more heterogeneous, schools are offering courses that are increasingly applicable to the business world. Colleges like Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management offers training in specific programs like “Fundraising and Marketing,” “Performance Counts!” and a targeted “Women’s Senior Leadership Program.” Emory University’s Goizueta Business School teams up with corporations like The Home Depot to create customized leadership and development programs.

4. Business skills deliver success in the office–and in life. A business degree rewards graduates with both quantitative and qualitative skills. A general curriculum will include the essentials of business: finance, operations, marketing, accounting, and economics. But it also teaches negotiation, communication, governance, teamwork and ethics, valuable skills for aspects of life.

5. MBA candidates gain access to limitless knowledge, business tools, and technology. MBA schools boast world-class faculty consisting of consultants, experts, and executives with real-world experience. Students also gain access to extensive business libraries (like the 550,000 items at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Jackson Library), progressive digital centers, classroom discussions, and field-based projects.

6. Alumnae enjoy lifelong learning. An MBA education continues long after graduation. Graduates have access to alumnae networking events, research, faculty, libraries, technical support, conference invitations, online resources, and discounts to executive education sessions. Many programs publish an alumni magazine or online newsletter, like HBS’s Executive Education Update, with cutting-edge business advice.