Why You Should Specialize Your MBA
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Why You Should Specialize Your MBA
Pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is a major investment. It requires a great deal of your valuable time, hard work and resources. To ensure your degree is worthwhile and will support you in achieving your professional goals, it’s important to understand how your degree will best serve you.
Why do you want to earn your MBA? What skills do you hope to develop? What program is a good fit for you? In what sector of business do you want to pursue a career? How will this degree help to propel your career forward? Asking these questions, along with others, will clarify the purpose of your MBA and help you to plan accordingly.
One critical question to ask when planning out your graduate business education is, should you specialize your master’s in business? Pursuing an MBA with a concentration can provide you with distinct skills and industry-specific knowledge, which can better equip you for leadership positions in your preferred business sector.
General MBA vs. Specialized MBA
First, let’s explore the differences between a general MBA and an MBA with a specialized track.
A general MBA provides a comprehensive business education, covering the fundamentals of business strategy, financial management, marketing, accounting and management and developing broad skills. You receive training across specialties and further develop your key professional skills like communication, management best practices and strategic thinking.
While a general MBA may allow for more flexibility in your career prospects since your expertise isn't tethered to one industry or field, it can also become overwhelming when trying to secure a career post-graduation. Employers often look for applicants with an in-depth industry understanding and focused skills. In turn, this may require those with a general MBA to spend additional time cultivating more defined skills outside of their degree program.
A specialized MBA, on the other hand, is a graduate degree path that allows you to take a series of courses, sometimes called streams, tracks, electives, concentrations or specializations, that prepare you for a career in a distinct business sector. These industry-specific courses are designed to give thorough training and direct experience in the desired career field, positioning you to take on leadership roles after graduation. You develop a marketable niche and increase your chances of distinguishing yourself.
By choosing a specialized MBA degree, you narrow your educational focus, allowing your expertise to grow deeper and more concentrated.
Types of MBA Concentrations
Depending on your chosen MBA program, there are a variety of tracks you can pursue. Aligning your professional interests and goals with an appropriate graduate degree concentration allows you to direct your focus toward a particular field and cultivate the skills needed to succeed.
In-demand MBA degree concentrations include:
- Accounting
- Business Analytics
- Financial Management
- Information Systems
- Management
- Marketing
- Healthcare Management
Career Benefits for MBA Concentrations
The business world is vast, competitive and growing quickly. With such rapid growth comes employment opportunities, which is a favorable outlook for business school graduates. Hiring projections show recruiters are looking to hire MBA degree holders. Approximately 92 percent of corporate recruiters surveyed by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) stated they plan to hire recent MBA graduates because of their strategic and critical thinking and strong communication skills.
By developing a highly specialized skill set and receiving a graduate-level business education, you can boost your marketability and sharpen your competitive edge as a job applicant.
Elevated Skill Set
While career prospects may vary from field to field, overall, the job market is promising. However, there is no shortage of hopeful job seekers ready to vie for career opportunities. To stand out among other applicants, it’s critical to know your strengths and demonstrate how your skills and expertise will be an asset to future employers. Specializing your MBA allows you to better manage your educational experience and devote your time and effort to the development of a higher-level expertise you’ll need to succeed in your chosen field.
The skills and knowledge needed to excel as a marketing executive differ from the skills and knowledge needed to succeed as a business analyst. If you pursue a marketing concentration, you’ll learn the intricacies of consumer behavior, how to conduct quantitative and qualitative market research and how to navigate the international market. Pursuing a business analytics stream will prepare you for operations analytics, data and text mining, risk and decision technology and more.
Holding an MBA degree with a specialized track can show corporate recruiters and future employers that you possess a highly developed understanding of your chosen industry and are committed to furthering your professional development, making you a stand-out applicant.
Earning Potential
You can increase your earning potential with an MBA degree. According to GMAC, the median salary for those who hold an MBA is $115,000, approximately 77 percent higher than those with a bachelor’s degree.
While the career field, fluctuations in job demand and general economic conditions influence potential income, specialized training and an advanced degree prepare you to take on more advanced leadership positions, which generally entail higher salaries and benefits.
If you earn an MBA with a concentration in marketing, then you could secure a career as an Advertising, Promotions and Marketing Manager, which has a promising job outlook.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics averages marketing managers’ median salary to be $133,380 and estimates the employment rates to increase 10 percent through 2031.
Perhaps you prefer working with budgets and financial reports, so you obtain your MBA with a specialization in financial management. This prepares you to work as a financial manager or a finance director, making a median salary of $131,710 and $187,452, respectively.
Or, maybe you narrow your MBA focus to an information systems concentration, allowing you to work as a Chief Information Officer (CIO) or a Chief Technology Officer (CTO). These positions earn a median annual wage of $159,010 and also have an employment outlook that is projected to grow 16 percent over the next decade.
Although there are many factors that affect your earning potential, pursuing a master’s in business with a concentration can benefit your professional and financial success.
Selecting the Best MBA Degree Specialization for You
While it is important to consider career outlook and growth opportunities, earning potential and other factors when deciding to follow a specialized track in an MBA program, ultimately, the decision should rest on your individual professional and personal goals. If your specialized MBA is fueled by a passion to learn and a desire to innovate, then it is the right choice for you.
Earn Your Specialized MBA Degree at Iona University
At Iona University, the LaPenta School of Business offers a customizable MBA degree that allows students to tailor their graduate business education to fit their desired personal and professional goals. Our innovative MBA program empowers students to make a bold career change, start their own company or become the business leader they’ve always wanted to be.
To expand industry-specific knowledge and fine-tune target skills, the MBA program curriculum offers six 12-credit concentrations, including:
- Accounting
- Business Analytics
- Financial Management
- Information Systems
- Management
- Marketing
Taught by an accomplished faculty, these elective tracks provide in-depth training, hands-on experiential learning and mentorship, positioning students to excel in their post-graduation careers.
Adding a concentration to your MBA degree elevates your graduate business education to the next level. With specialized industry expertise and valuable real-world experience, you are prepared to emerge as a business leader and innovator wherever you go.
To learn more, review Iona’s MBA program specifics.
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