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MBAs Are an Essential Tool for Seasoned Professionals

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the ten-year mark is more often than not a career crossroads for business professionals. If you have anywhere between 10 and 20 years of experience in your chosen discipline, chances are you feel pigeonholed into a particular role, such as portfolio manager or IT analyst. Perhaps you have even been passed over for promotion in favor of a coworker with skills and experience practically identical to your own. Although you most likely have achieved a significant measure of success, you realize that you must enhance your skill sets in order to advance to the next level. You may also regret not earning an MBA sooner and ultimately decide to bolster your resume with this advanced degree. Here are a few excellent reasons why an MBA is an essential tool that seasoned professionals can utilize in order to change careers or advance in their current one.

One major benefit of earning an MBA after 10 to 20 years of experience is that it provides professionals with the solid foundation necessary to become strong business leaders. By forcing ambitious, type-A students from a variety of backgrounds to work together both inside and outside the classroom, MBA programs help teach experienced professionals invaluable leadership skills, such as integrity, teamwork and self-confidence¹. Additionally, since business leaders must possess “a solid background in organizational theory, business finance, planning and other technical skills,” completing an MBA is a crucial next step for seasoned professionals who aspire to leadership positions¹. Recognizing that developing today’s working professionals into skilled leaders is paramount, Ramapo College’s MBA program places key emphasis on leadership. With leadership-focused courses, including Becoming a 21st Century Leader and Leading Business in Contemporary Times, graduates will possess the knowledge base they need to succeed as leaders within their organizations.

While an MBA indeed enables seasoned professionals to sharpen their leadership acumen, it is also a vital tool for developing interpersonal, entrepreneurial, communication, and strategic thinking skills². For instance, Ramapo MBA students who elect to participate in our signature Capstone Consulting Project will collaborate with each other, as well as faculty members and business executives, to address the real-world business challenges facing the College’s corporate partners in New Jersey and New York. In addition to learning how to think strategically to better comprehend the steps Ramapo’s corporate partners must take to ensure continual success, participants will learn to compromise and negotiate to incorporate others’ ideas into providing solutions for the client’s business problem. With that being said, pursuing an MBA will help experienced professionals become valuable team players.

Another advantage of returning to college and completing an MBA after 10 to 20 years of experience is that earning this advanced degree can be especially helpful for professionals who plan to change careers. According to Idie Kesner, the dean of Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, pursuing an MBA enables students to “explore a variety of different functional areas” in business, such as accounting, finance, management and marketing³. What’s more, Kesner says that MBA programs provide career-switching professionals with “the cross-functional disciplinary perspective” they need in order to be successful in their new profession³. However, these are not the only two advantages an MBA has for individuals seeking to pursue a new and different career. Though MBA programs allow students to explore potential career paths across a diverse range of industries and disciplines, they more importantly provide opportunities to do so in a relatively low-risk environment³. For example, if you fail on your first attempt at a particular project, you will learn valuable lessons without having to face the dire consequences of failing on the job³. This demonstrates that an MBA is clearly essential for experienced professionals considering a career switch.

Acknowledging the importance of continuing education for career revitalization, Ramapo College’s comprehensive, 42-credit MBA program is designed specifically with today’s working professionals in mind. Our critical thinking- and leadership-focused curriculum, along with hands-on learning experiences such as the optional China Immersion Trip and Capstone Consulting Project, is an outstanding fit for professionals with 10 to 20 years of experience who are looking to advance in their current careers or pursue a new one. Also, even if you have not taken a college course in a decade or more, you can brush up on fundamental business principles and practices through our six new foundational courses. With a focus on key concepts in accounting, finance, management and marketing, all six classes will give you the strong foundation you need to succeed throughout the program and after graduation.

While Ramapo’s MBA program indeed provides working professionals with 10 to 20 years of experience the opportunity to revitalize their careers, it is also designed to fit right into their busy schedules. Since our Flex program features a convenient hybrid course format, blending in-class and online learning components, Ramapo MBA students can earn their degrees without having to sacrifice their day jobs or time spent with their families. Students can also maximize employer reimbursement by spreading out their coursework over three to five years, all while gaining valuable work experience in their current positions.

Prospective students interested in learning more about Ramapo’s MBA program are strongly encouraged to visit https://www.ramapo.edu/mba/ for more information. 

¹Source: The Thriving Small Business – “Two Reasons Pursuing That MBA May Make You A Better Leader” by Patricia Lotich. Retrieved from https://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/two-reasons-pursuing-mba-may-make-better-leader/.

²Source: The Princeton Review – “Why Get An MBA? Practical, Applicable Skills”. Retrieved from https://www.princetonreview.com/business-school-advice/why-get-an-mba-skills.

³Source: Poets & Quants. “Why The MBA Is The Right Choice for Career Switchers” by John A. Byrne. Retrieved from https://poetsandquants.com/2019/10/02/mba-for-career-switchers/.

Categories: MBA