Is An MBA The Right Move? 5 Reasons You Should Invest In One by: Marta Andaluz, Director of Marketing and Admissions at The Lisbon MBA on August 17, 2018 | 874 Views August 17, 2018 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit Once upon a time, investing in an MBA was seen as what really big shots did when they wanted to become even bigger shots — and it worked. But now, as higher education becomes more accessible and many young professionals have some kind of university degree, why make such a huge investment? Well, for very good reasons. This blog post will help you reframe the way you think about MBAs and understand whether pursuing one is the right move for you. 1 – Because it’s an MBA! The democratization of education worldwide and the huge increase in both the number of MBA applicants and students and the number of programs on offer sometimes overshadows the obvious: an MBA is the most prestigious and challenging business master’s degree there is. Its stamp on a CV offers instant worldwide recognition. It corresponds to a professional certification in business administration as well. All of this means that an MBA opens many doors careerwise, wherever you choose to live and gives you the chance to negotiate higher salaries. The only caveat here is that you must choose your MBA wisely and ensure you’re attending a school with international standards of excellence. 2 – Because smart people need to meet smart people to succeed Networking opportunities are a major part of a solid MBA. Yet when prospective students read this kind of sentences, they often think of conferences, parties and “meet & drink” events attended by important executives. Actually, occasions such as these complement the most long-lasting kind of networking an MBA allows: the one that takes place in the classroom. If you’re an MBA student, you’re surrounded by really smart and ambitious people who — just like you — want more out of life. Some of them may become friends for life, business partners in post-graduation ventures, investors that make your ideas a reality. And let’s not forget the Faculty! MBA Professors and lecturers are handpicked based on academic and professional experience, so make the most of what they have to share with you if you’re one of their lucky pupils. 3 – Because everyone needs a chance to stop and think from time to time If you think about your daily life, filled with urgent requests from your superiors at work; with worries about your family; with efforts to spend quality time with your partners and friends; so on and so forth. When do you really pause to ensure that you’re managing your career and your life instead of it managing you? Taking an MBA allows you to stop for one or two years and learn new things, look beyond your little bubble and imagine a future in a globalized world with immense opportunities. It also forces you to work on the kind of subject matters and soft skills that you’ll need if you decide to embrace such opportunities. 4 – Because the market wants MBA graduates One of the studies ordered by the GMAC (the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the organ responsible for the GMAT) in 2017 concluded that hiring MBA graduates is again an important market trend. According to the research, 79% of employers (as opposed to 68% in 2016) were on the lookout for MBA graduates in 2017. 5 – Because MBA alumni would do it again In 2014, Harvard Business Review published an article based on a survey that approached 21,000 former business school students — over 90% of whom, when asked if they would’ve enrolled in B-school again at the time they did, knowing all that they’d learned after graduation, answered an unequivocal “Yes.” Who are we to disagree with them? If you want to discuss in more detail your MBA plans and how our program fits them, please schedule a meeting here. We’ll be happy to help! Marta Andaluz is director of marketing and admissions at The Lisbon MBA, a joint venture between two top European schools based in Lisbon: Católica-Lisbon and Nova SBE. They offer a one-year full-time MBA and an executive MBA in collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management.