When’s the best time to get an MBA?
As I speak to potential MBA candidates, I often hear one question and one statement:
As I speak to potential MBA candidates, I often hear one question and one statement:
“Is now a good time to go back to school?”, or: “Now isn’t a great time for an MBA – I am (too busy, just married, in a new job, etcetera.)”
How would I respond to these comments? When do I think is the best time to get an MBA? From my standpoint, it’s almost always a good time to go back to school, but it’s never a perfect time. Expanding your capabilities and developing new skills is always a good (and important) thing to do if you want to move ahead in your career. However, as a working professional life can often get in the way. There are always conflicts and complications that may make further education more difficult. It might be a new job or the fact that your company is going through a tough time. It might be family obligations like a new spouse or child. As a busy professional, you have extraordinary demands on your time. Trying to fit in a serious academic programme will never be easy, and, no matter what you think it won’t be “easier next year”.
How should you evaluate the timing of your decision to undertake an MBA? There are several questions you must ask yourself:
Will the MBA help me achieve my career goals? As I have written before, an MBA is not for everyone. Some careers, positions and industries don’t really require an MBA. In others, it’s an absolute must. You need to determine if an MBA will help you advance within your organisation, allow you to make a desired career switch or prepare you to launch your own venture. Whatever your goals, you first need to make sure that an MBA will help you get there.
Do I have sufficient experience to make an MBA worthwhile? Most top MBA programmes these days expect students to have several years of work experience – often as much as four or five years. If you have just graduated from your first degree, you probably ought to wait a few years before applying to business school. Your chances of acceptance will be greater and you’ll probably get more out of the experience.
How will the programme affect my family, my work and my personal life? Any MBA programme is a big commitment. You are probably already busy with work. If you have a spouse and family, you are undoubtedly busy there too. If you add in the demands of an MBA something will definitely have to “give”. How will you manage the additional time required? What are you willing to give up or cut back on to fit in the programme?
Are you prepared for the commitment? A serious MBA programme will demand a lot from you. You’ll be stretched and tested in ways you’ve never imagined. You’ll need to be extremely skilled at time management and you’ll need to learn to juggle many competing priorities. If you are thinking about a part-time programme and plan to continue to work, the demands on your time will be even greater. Are you ready and willing to make the sacrifices and expend the energy necessary to succeed? Can you do this for the two to four years it might take to finish the degree?
What do the next two to three years look like? What is coming up in your personal and professional life? Is there a new child on the way? Have you just been promoted? Is the company looking at a merger? Any of these major events will have an impact on your ability to adequately focus on school. As you consider an MBA programme, you should think carefully about what major life and career events are likely and whether you can fit an MBA in around them. While there is never a perfect time for the MBA, sometimes are worse than others.
Will my life ever get less “crazy”? If you are like most of our students and graduates, your work life is busy – extremely busy. You travel, take on major responsibilities, and are being groomed for even greater leadership roles. Some of our prospective students have the idea that things will calm down in a year or so and they’ll consider applying to school then. However, given the ambition and capabilities of the students who do well in our programme, they are always challenged to take on more and are always in demand by their employers. If that describes you too, you shouldn’t think: “I’ll apply when life gets less crazy” but rather: “I’ll figure out how to fit it in now”. Life will never be less crazy and the MBA can help you manage the craziness more effectively.
So, if you are considering getting an MBA and wondering when might be the best time to do so, remember three things:
It’s a big decision are requires a lot of serious thought.
You will be making a major commitment that affects not only you, but your family, friends and work colleagues as well.
As difficult as it might be to fit it into your life now, it’s unlikely to get any easier next year (or the year after that).
I encourage you to investigate a variety of programmes, talk with alumni and current students, and meet faculty members. This will give you a perspective on what you can expect and how you can manage your time appropriately. An MBA can be a great career boost and whether you are ready to “take the plunge” right away or feel that it’s not quite the right time, it’s always a good time to start exploring the possibilities.