If you’re wondering whether earning your Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is worth it, considering the jobs you can get with this graduate degree can help you decide. Certainly, pursuing your MBA will take time, money and a great deal of hard work. The quicker you plan to complete your degree, the more demanding your studies will be. However, MBA graduates find that there are numerous high-paying jobs open to them once they have their degree that were out of reach before going to graduate school.
Marketing Manager
If you already have work experience as a marketing specialist or associate, an advertising assistant or similar role, then you might wish you had the power to make big-picture decisions about the directions of promotional campaigns. As a marketing, advertising or promotions manager, you would be the one calling the shots and supervising the team that develops marketing and advertising programs. While experience is a bigger factor in securing a marketing manager job than formal education is, there’s no doubt that having your MBA demonstrates your leadership skills as well as your skills in developing successful marketing campaign strategies and promotional materials.
As a whole, the occupation of advertising, promotions and marketing managers earns a median wage of $129,380, but marketing managers tend to have the best earning potential of these careers, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Financial Manager
With a bachelor’s degree, there are plenty of great jobs in finance open to you. However, earning your MBA, combined with acquiring positive work experience, can position you for advancement into financial management roles. As a financial manager, your job title may vary, but your overall job function is the same: to account for your organization’s financial health, the BLS reported. That means creating, analyzing and interpreting financial documents to understand how your company is performing financially and planning investments and business operations strategies that will help your business make money. Financial managers look at immediate financial risks as well as long-term goals. The BLS reports a median wage of $125,080 for this occupation, which currently is growing at a much faster than average rate of 19 percent.
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Treasurer, controller, cash manager, credit manager and risk manager are just a few of the many job titles that fit into the category of financial manager.
Chief Executive
At the top of a company is its executive leadership. Chief executives, sometimes referred to as the C-suite or C-level positions, are the most senior-level jobs you could hold in a company. Chief executive officer (CEO) is the most well-known C-suite title, but there are also specialized C-level management roles, including chief financial officer (CFO) and chief operating officer (COO). Earning your MBA isn’t a sure path to a chief executive role, but many top executives do have this graduate degree, according to the BLS.
The competition for top executive roles is fierce, but the payoff is high. The median wage for chief executives is $183,270, the BLS reported. Chief executive is one of the management jobs with the largest wage difference between the highest and lowest earners.
Management Consultant
Earning your MBA isn’t only valuable for attaining management roles. Other jobs, like management consultant, are more plentiful and profitable once you have your MBA. Management consultants aren’t managers themselves, but instead analysts who look at a company’s operations and provide recommendations to company management on increasing profitability. Most management consultants are outside personnel, employed by a consulting firm or offering their services as self-employed experts, so they can approach a company’s processes with fresh eyes and offer an outsider’s perspective on changes that could boost productivity and reduce wasted time, money and resources.
Management consultants, also called management analysts, earn a median salary of $82,450 per year, the BLS reported.
Financial Advisor
You don’t need to have a graduate degree to become a personal financial advisor, but having that advanced education can help you become more successful in this career path. Both clients and employers see a financial advisor with an MBA degree as having greater expertise in the field of finance. This can translate to higher salaries and more prestige. If you are contemplating setting out on your own as a self-employed financial advisor, having your MBA can help you better attract and impress clients. The median salary for financial advisors is $90,640, the BLS reported.
More than half of all personal financial advisors work in the industry of securities, commodity contracts and financial investment activities, and another 24 percent of the occupation is categorized as self-employed.
Entrepreneur
Whether you have been longing to launch your own business all along or you simply came up with a great business idea during your career, entrepreneurship may be calling your name. Earning your MBA is a great way to develop the skills you need to build a business. By combining your conventional work experience in the business world with practical studies on how to create a business plan, get funding and manage the company and your employees, you will be in a better position for success than someone with only traditional work experience or with an entrepreneurship degree only.
An MBA degree with an entrepreneurship concentration may include classes in entrepreneurship management, venture capital and finance, acquisitions, negotiations, legal and social aspects of entrepreneurship, product design and entrepreneurial marketing.
Additional Resources
How Long Does It Take to Get an MBA?
What Is the Salary Potential for Someone With an MBA?
What Should You Know When You Interview for a Job With an MBA?
