The One Year MBA--An Attractive Proposition?
Stuart Nachbar
December 01, 2009
Whenever I went to Rutgers football home games the university wasted no time in promoting the option of a one-year MBA degree, beginning in June 2010. One year MBA programs are nothing new; the University of Pittsburgh, Southern Methodist, even Northwestern--one of the top programs--have offered one-year options for some time. But they are not for everyone.
The best attraction of a one-year MBA is cost. The cost of a MBA is not only the tuition, fees and living expenses; it is also the income you give up to go to school. So, if you graduate in one year you spend less money and give up less, too.
Sounds good?
It is, if you had a career before you started the program. Imagine you are a young corporate executive, for instance an engineer, sales rep, or accountant in your first managerial position, and you lose your job. If you want to find a new position in the same field you can collect unemployment, manage your job search and complete the MBA, all at the same time. Your pre-MBA resume is the major selling point. Completing the MBA is icing on the cake.
I can also see that a one-year MBA would benefit the entrepreneur or the self-employed who do not intend to pursue a corporate position. You get the fundamentals at the least possible expense, and you can plan your work schedule around the program.
But what if you want to make a career change? In the traditional MBA program, students submit resumes to career services for internships between the first and second year, then for post-graduation employment. The internship is essential if you want to consider a new field.
For example, when I worked on my MBA, I had a summer internship in human resources, then a part-time internship in marketing during the school year. Both experiences helped me secure a job offer before graduation. If I had tried to jump from my public/non-profit management career into a corporate position without the benefit of these internships, I would have been out of luck.
In addition to the internship experience, career-changing MBA students like the choice of electives in their degree program. A one-year program has fewer electives than a two-year program, or it takes you through the core courses: accounting, economics, finance, marketing, among others, at an accelerated pace, so that you can get to the electives. Business programs are very quantitative, so students with limited math backgrounds will need remedial courses in calculus and statistics. And these courses carry no degree credit.
I was 31 when I started my MBA, slightly older than the typical student. But a recent college graduate who jumps directly into a MBA starts with the same disadvantage I had: no full-time private sector work experience. It might be tempting for members of the class of 2010 to put off the job market for an extra year, and hope for better things.
However, inexperienced MBAs face two problems. They compete at a disadvantage against experienced people from very good schools, and they are forced to compete against business undergraduates for entry level jobs.
Whether you go for one year or two, full-time or part-time, a MBA can provide an invaluable education. But keep in mind, different degree options are tailored to different prospective students. A one-year MBA works well for some, but not for all.
Stuart Nachbar blogs on education and politics at www.EducatedQuest.com. Learn more about his novel, Defending College Heights, an investigation into the murder of a U.S. Army recruiter, at www.DefendingCollegeHeights.com
The best attraction of a one-year MBA is cost. The cost of a MBA is not only the tuition, fees and living expenses; it is also the income you give up to go to school. So, if you graduate in one year you spend less money and give up less, too.
Sounds good?
It is, if you had a career before you started the program. Imagine you are a young corporate executive, for instance an engineer, sales rep, or accountant in your first managerial position, and you lose your job. If you want to find a new position in the same field you can collect unemployment, manage your job search and complete the MBA, all at the same time. Your pre-MBA resume is the major selling point. Completing the MBA is icing on the cake.
I can also see that a one-year MBA would benefit the entrepreneur or the self-employed who do not intend to pursue a corporate position. You get the fundamentals at the least possible expense, and you can plan your work schedule around the program.
But what if you want to make a career change? In the traditional MBA program, students submit resumes to career services for internships between the first and second year, then for post-graduation employment. The internship is essential if you want to consider a new field.
For example, when I worked on my MBA, I had a summer internship in human resources, then a part-time internship in marketing during the school year. Both experiences helped me secure a job offer before graduation. If I had tried to jump from my public/non-profit management career into a corporate position without the benefit of these internships, I would have been out of luck.
In addition to the internship experience, career-changing MBA students like the choice of electives in their degree program. A one-year program has fewer electives than a two-year program, or it takes you through the core courses: accounting, economics, finance, marketing, among others, at an accelerated pace, so that you can get to the electives. Business programs are very quantitative, so students with limited math backgrounds will need remedial courses in calculus and statistics. And these courses carry no degree credit.
I was 31 when I started my MBA, slightly older than the typical student. But a recent college graduate who jumps directly into a MBA starts with the same disadvantage I had: no full-time private sector work experience. It might be tempting for members of the class of 2010 to put off the job market for an extra year, and hope for better things.
However, inexperienced MBAs face two problems. They compete at a disadvantage against experienced people from very good schools, and they are forced to compete against business undergraduates for entry level jobs.
Whether you go for one year or two, full-time or part-time, a MBA can provide an invaluable education. But keep in mind, different degree options are tailored to different prospective students. A one-year MBA works well for some, but not for all.
Stuart Nachbar blogs on education and politics at www.EducatedQuest.com. Learn more about his novel, Defending College Heights, an investigation into the murder of a U.S. Army recruiter, at www.DefendingCollegeHeights.com
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