Now is the Time to Get an MBA

By Kenneth A. Kavajecz 

May 2010

If you are reading this you are likely already considering an MBA. But with the ongoing economic recession, you may be questioning whether it makes sense to move forward at this time with such a major investment.

We come across this question a lot in our conversations with prospective students at the Wisconsin School of Business. Our answer is simple: While the economic situation may make you question a lot of things, pursuing an MBA may just be the best recession-proof move you make.

Recessions come with obvious downsides, but a time of recession actually enhances the traditional benefits of pursuing an MBA and also provides a variety of benefits unique to the situation such as vital professional and alumni networks, decreased opportunity costs, better career opportunities and stability, and higher salaries.

Oftentimes, prospective students step out of the workforce and into business school in order to make a career change. For some, a project in a current position has led to a new area of interest. For others, an undergraduate major has them feeling boxed in. The key to a successful career change is using these opportunities to discover an area of passion and then using an MBA as a starting point for the pursuit of that passion.

With today's surplus of unemployed and underemployed workers - many of whom are highly educated - competition for jobs is tough and getting tougher. Employers are now able to specify to the letter the skills and qualifications they want in an employee and still get an abundance of qualified, and even overqualified applicants.

A quick glance at recent unemployment numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics clearly demonstrates this point: In March 2010, average unemployment rates for individuals with a college degree or higher were literally half the average unemployment rates for individuals with just some college education or associate degree holders.  Furthermore, a recent GMAT 2009 year-end employer poll, suggested that MBA graduates appear to be the most attractive to employers when compared to students with bachelor's degrees or masters-non business degrees.

Where once an MBA education may have been a differentiating factor in the job market, it is quickly transitioning into a basic qualifier for many job titles. A noticeable trend evolving out of the current recession is that the salary differential between those who hold an MBA and those who do not is widening.

According to a recent report published by TopMBA.com, an MBA degree in the Financial Services industry in the U.S. alone brings in an average salary of 141 percent more per year than the average salary of non-MBA graduates with 4-years experience.To provide some idea of how this translates in real numbers, an average Wisconsin MBA graduate earns close to $90,000 plus a $15,000 sign-on bonus.