Specialist masters or MBA?

Your stepping stone to career success 1. Introduction You have decided that you would like to improve your career prospects by studying for a masters degree […]

Your stepping stone to career success

1. Introduction

You have decided that you would like to improve your career prospects by studying for a masters degree at a business school. But, presented with such a wide range of opportunities, you are finding it hard to decide which is the best programme for you. In particular, you may be trying to decide whether you should opt for a specialist masters programme, or an MBA. Peter Fennah, Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Director of the Career Development Service at Cranfield School of Management, offers some advice:

2. Cultural perceptions of specialist masters & MBA programmes

Cultural differences do create different employer expectations of people with specialist masters or MBA degrees. In the UK, for example, many employers expect to see students take an MSc to gain a depth of knowledge in a particular area, or complete an MBA later in their working life to broaden their understanding of business. In the USA, however, undertaking an MBA before any significant work experience is a common practice to learn about business before specialising.

There are merits for each choice. Different cultural perspectives will impact upon what is taught on the programme and how it is integrated into your own life experiences. Think carefully about what you would like to get out of a one or two year experience – what would make it rich and meaningful for you? Consider also the quality of input and support from your fellow students – both during and after the programme. They will share their personal experiences and help build your future network.

Let’s start with you. Who do you want to become and what kind of learning will help you to get there? If you are looking for personal development rather than just technical knowledge, you may wish to consider MBA programmes which have intensive personal and professional development themes. If you are looking to build functional skills in one specific area, you should look at schools with a strong reputation in that field.

Your answers to the following questions may change as you gain experience, but will be helpful in determining what you should do in both the short and the longer term.

3.1 Expert – does the word appeal?
Do you want to be an expert or a specialist within a specific field? If you are looking to develop a depth of expertise and to be recognised as an authority in relation to a specific function such as Logistics, Finance, Marketing, HR, etc. then you should consider a specialist masters programme.

A specialist masters course will better equip you going into these functional silos and will make you more attractive to recruiters – particularly if you haven’t gained significant work experience in the field. There are masters programmes that will help you start your career, and also programmes that cater for experienced professionals looking to further their specialist skills.

3.2 Generalist – does this word appeal to you?
If you are interested in most aspects of running a business; starting your own company; developing a whole organisation; or managing large numbers of people, then the MBA’ s breadth of education might be best for you. An MBA is particularly useful if you have some functional and management experience already. Many people make use of an MBA to make key transitions, whether changing sectors, country, and functional silos, or to stand out and progress into senior management.

4. Deciding what will benefit you & your career

Investing in your education can define your career path, and it is wise to take an informed decision on the wide range of courses available to you. A course will help you to learn about how to do some of the things that will be required of you in the job. And you should consider what level of support the business school offers in helping you get the job. This can involve connecting you to people who work in the field, or learning about how to present yourself to future employers. MBA students typically are seeking to make bigger changes, and tend to receive more career support – which reflects the higher fees of many of these courses.

Find out how long the course has been running, as this will be important in terms of the number of alumni that have gone out into jobs ahead of you. If you are joining a new programme, then which programme will employers have heard of from that business school?

Ask the following questions: what is the school’s reputation amongst employers; is their alumni network active in your country; which companies recruit from a school; are they the kind of organisations that you will be interested in?

5. Projects and contacts

If you have limited work experience or are seeking to make a big transition, then a course that has a practical project or thesis where you can work with a company to gain suitable experience is a must-have. Find out how the school will assist you and what track record they have with people gaining good projects.

Ask about links that the faculty have with companies, and what access you would have to alumni. Networking is of vital importance when it comes to your job search.

6. In conclusion

To summarise, a specialist masters is an in-depth programme focusing on a particular function, which can help to make you an expert, or develop your expertise further, in this area. An MBA is a general management programme which will give you a broader overview of how organisations work, and will help you to change direction or move into a more senior management role.

Learn more about the Access MBA Tour and register for our event in Bucharest on November 23 on our website www.accessmba.com

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