MBA Programs: A Valuable Choice for Young Professionals

As the job market gets ever more fierce, many young working professionals are starting to find that a Bachelor degree alone is no longer enough to advance their career. In turn, many are looking to an MBA degree as a way to ramp up their marketable skills in an increasingly competitive career climate.

[Loryn] Guiffre represents the typical MBA student these days, according to Hawaii MBA professors, who say young professionals are seeking the degree to make themselves more attractive to employers.

"Our MBA students are mostly young, employed professionals who have typically been in business five or so years," said John Steelquist, director of Chaminade's MBA program. "They're still early in their careers." Full-time MBA students at the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaii at Manoa range in age from 23 to 36 and the average age is 28.

College officials note that many students coming back for their MBA did not study business as undergrads: professors at University of Hawaii point to current students varying in profession from civil engineering to school teaching. So, why make the leap to business for a Master's? For many student, it's about diversifying their skills and increasing market value:

After writing a food column for a New Mexico newspaper for a year, Loryn Guiffre decided her bachelor's degree in journalism wouldn't be sufficient to help advance her career.

[...] "An MBA promises a better financial future and I could still use my journalism background while honing my business skills," said Guiffre, who enrolled as a full-time MBA student at Hawaii Pacific University in fall 2007. "Ultimately, I see it as a way to make myself more marketable."

Afraid of dropping savings and taking out loans to finance the furthering of your college career in the the throes of a depression where professional careers are less than stable? Students like Guiffre acknowledge that it's a real concern, but all signs point to the benefits far outweighing the risks -- a more marketable skill set, proven dedication to a goal, and a way to stand out amongst fierce competition. Not that it makes things easy, of course, and Guiffre does mention that a proactive approach to jobhunting will always be key:

"A lot of MBA students have a panicked feeling because of the recession, but you need to realize that jobs aren't going to fall in your lap," she said. "You need to be more proactive."

Guiffre said she already has applied for positions and has gone on a few interviews. She has landed a summer internship with Becker Communications in the Honolulu firm's Web and marketing department.

When the time does come for those interviews, you can distinguish yourself from hundreds who can only state a Bachelor degree, for you are the one with the MBA. Interested in finding out more about pursuing a traditional or online MBA degree for yourself? Check out the top online universities and campus universities at Get Degrees!