Should you consider a specialized MBA degree?
Earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree typically creates avenues of career advancement and potential opportunities for higher income and benefits. Personalizing an MBA degree with a specialization can provide professionals with more specialized advanced skill sets – further enhancing their career options.
A specializationaugments an MBA degree by focusingon a specific career field, ranging from marketing to management and economics to finance. Generally, universities that offer online Master ofBusiness Administration degrees encourage students to pursue specializations so they’re prepared to handle industry-specific challenges and responsibilities.
Pursuing a specialization isn’t necessarily critical to industry success, but it can leave MBA-holdersat a disadvantage against similarly qualified job candidates who concentrated their MBA study on an industry-related field. For example, a Health Care Administration specialization, like that offered by Ashford University, may put a job candidate’s resume to the top of the pile for administrative positions offered in the health industry.Not focusing an MBA degree with a specialization may also result in fewer job interview offerings, especially if companies are advertising and searching for employees to fill particular positions.
A specialization is required in Ashford’s Master of Business Administration degree. Those who are planning their career goals can use the tips detailed below to help determine what specialization will best advance their already established skills, expand their industry knowledge in a new field, or best meet potential job opportunities.
Here are some tips to help students determine what specialization they might want to pursue:
Build upon the skills already established – Anyone working on an MBA already has some business training, through an undergrad program and possibly from their career. A specialization is designed to enhance those learned skills, making the degree holder an expert in his or her field. This expertise helps when looking for a promotion from a current employer or building a resume for a better position with a new company. Many professionals with a graduate degree are ready to focus their career, so that when they’re ready to retire, they’ve reached the peak of advancement.
Consider expanding into a new area of expertise – For people who may already be considered experts in their field of study, the wide variety of specializations offered by online universities present an opportunity to grow their skill set and make themselves more marketable. Not only will they have an advanced degree in business, but also an advanced range of abilities to handle the corporate roles businesses need to fill.
Research the industry – People interested in enhancing their degree can research potential job opportunities and the qualificationsrequired to fulfill those positions, which can help determine the specialization that may bestadvance their careers.
The investment in earning an MBA degree is vast, both in financial and time commitments. This degree can take a person places, and a specialization can take the degree much further. Take time to consider the factors; careful research will help a person find the perfect program and degree to take him or her wherever he or she wants to go in his or her career.
Author Bio: Lizzie Wann is the Content Director for Bridgepoint Education. She oversees all website content and works closely with New Media, Career Services and Student Services for Ashford University.
