Why MBA | Top 5 reasons to get an MBA - YouTube

Why MBA? for the money that's why. What a stupid question right? But if we dig a

little deeper and try to understand why this question is important it may not

sound as stupid. In fact having a clear answer to the why MBA question will help

you get more out of your MBA experience. That's exactly what we'll do in this

video. As a bonus, we'll also cover another related question so watch till

the end. Whether you're tackling the why MBA question in MBA essays and MBA

interviews or simply introspecting at some point in your career it's a

question that can drive you nuts. Here's the big problem if money is your only

answer. Even in the best case if you get a high paying job immediately after

graduating it'll be a while before you can get back the money you've invested.

In the top MBA program, pay the education loan and then start saving. The payback

period for some popular MBA programs can range from five to ten years or even

longer and what if you don't get your dream job after graduation? For those

reasons you're better off if you have a few more equally important reasons for

pursuing an MBA. Here are some common answers to the why

MBA question. Imagine what you think when someone says I went to Harvard Business

School. Your respect for them goes up instantly

and you don't even know if they've gone there to study or to deliver a pizza.

That's the power of branding. Top ranking B schools have strong brand names which

can help you build your personal brand. These B schools have been around for a

long time. They have an impressive list of alumni in the top positions across

industries. The alumni's qualification often figure prominently in the new

stories that feature them. Some MBA grads launch startups that become

billion-dollar unicorns over time. Some make multi-million dollar donations to

their alma mater and bring the brand back in the headlines. When you attend a

program like that you benefit from the halo and the positive karma. It helps you

build your personal brand only because of the association with a top school.

An MBA can be a useful degree to break a

few glass ceilings and move up the corporate ladder. This is one of the

reasons why a large number of hospitals choose an MBA degree over the other

postgraduate courses. The variety of topics covered in an MBA syllabus can

help you build a wide range of skills that are useful in a multiple range of

industries. Someone who's been in a technical role for several years and now

wishes to take up a management position in the same field can do so through an

MBA. An MBA graduate from a good university can have an upper hand with

recruiters giving them reference for excellent job openings throughout their

career and yes a higher salary is one of the positive outcomes as you climb the

corporate hierarchy. A generation back it was pretty common for graduates to start

and end their careers in one company. You won't see too many people doing that

today. Interest and patience levels have changed and so have the dynamics of the

business world. Layoffs have become more common which is why many start looking

at a career change when they foresee their career graph stagnating. This is

another area where an internationally recognized degree from a globally

renowned Business School can help. If you see the placement statistics of the good

business schools you'll see a large proportion of career changers including

students who have changed their industry, roll, geography or all three.

Apart from the theory that gets covered in lectures, there's a lot more going on in the MBA

classes and outside that helps students learn the skills that are more nuanced.

Skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, conflict management and

negotiation. This happens through the various projects events assignments you

will be juggling. There are plenty of opportunities outside the academic zone

that can help you discover your entrepreneurial spirit. Check out the

various student-led clubs on campus. You will find consulting clubs, finance clubs,

dancing clubs, sports clubs, cultural organizations and much more. You will be

spoilt for choice and that's an excellent way to polish your

prioritization, decision-making and time management skills.

an international MBA program has a lot of diversity with students coming from

various cultural backgrounds and nationalities. The percentage of

international students can vary from 30% in American MBA programs to over 90% in

European programs. This huge and diverse mix of students can help you with

valuable contacts in multiple countries without actually traveling to each of

them. During social events on campus you get opportunities to develop contacts

with alumni and students pursuing other courses. You'll get to attend guest

lectures by successful entrepreneurs, CEOs and hear them share their success

stories. You may also get a chance to interact one-on-one with industry

leaders. The kind of reach that an MBA offers in terms of networking scope is

unmatched by any other academic degree. These five reasons are definitely not

the only ones. It's just to get you started. There are many more that you can

think of. Before you do a cart-wheel assuming your job is done there's one

more important question to answer. Why MBA now? Here are the two big

reasons that work for many. The first one is career need. There are several

variations to this. Your roll may have become more demanding and the skills you

picked up in your undergrad degree have run its course which means you need to

reskill to avoid falling back in the race or it could be linked to your

career change plans. The second reason is related to age and experience. B

schools cannot discriminate based on age and experience so they don't have a hard

cutoff for either but if you see the statistics most students fall in a

narrow age and experience bracket. That gives rise to two situations. The first

one is when you are applying for an MBA when you are close to the median age and

experience for the program. In this case you don't need to explicitly cite the

reason admission officers can see it on your resume, but when you don't fall in

the typical age and experience range you will need to explain why you are

applying too early or too late in your career.

Create your why MBA and now answer based on these two aspects. Here's the catch. Just

knowing about the general reasons will not make it the best answer to the why

MBA question because every applicant will talk about some or all of these

points so how can you make your answer better and more impactful than others.

The answer is by not just rattling off a laundry list but by personalizing it

based on your profile and career plans. Admission officers are not trying to get

the right answer. They are trying to understand your

motivations, your ability to think and present the answer like a mature

professional so make it interesting. Bring in your life story, bring in your

personal aspirations and then connect all the dots. Only then you'll have an

answer which is truly yours. If you are struggling with this last part and need

some expert help drop us an email. Our consultants at MBA crystal ball have

helped thousands of applicants answer the why MBA question and align it with

the rest of their MBA application and don't forget to read beyond the MBA hype

to understand what you can expect in your MBA journey. If you have questions

for us paste them below and we'll share some perspectives. Happy introspection!