Reading Time: 4 minutesDeciding whether to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) is a big decision, and once you set your mind on getting your MBA, the tough choices aren’t over. You’ll still need to decide which schools to target.
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Getting your MBA online is a wise choice for many students, especially those who aren’t able to move across the country or completely stop their whole lives, and that’s why many MBA seekers are interested in getting their degree from ASU Online.
Here are seven great reasons to pursue the ASU Online MBA.
Improve Your Workplace Satisfaction
While only 13 percent of American workers are considered actively disengaged, essentially meaning they’ve checked out emotionally, an astonishing 53 percent are considered not engaged, meaning they show up and do the minimum required, according to a Gallup poll.
Whether it’s because they’re in the wrong jobs or not making the money they want, unengaged workers would benefit from continuing their education because it might help them find a better job or force their current employer to utilize them in a better way.
It’s often been said that education opens doors, and MBAs not only allow degree-holders to access new opportunities, but online MBAs, such as ASU Online’s MBA, can allow workers to remain in their jobs if they wish.
Make More Money
Perhaps the most attractive reason to pursue an ASU Online MBA is quite a simple one: to make more money. Individuals with MBAs make about 50 percent more than those with bachelor’s degrees alone, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
In addition to a more prestigious and difficult degree commanding a higher salary, any degree improvement is generally a chance to either get a new job, which usually comes with a higher salary, or leverage a raise with your current employer.
While getting your MBA will cost you some money, with a boosted salary, chances are good that the degree will pay for itself in just a few years.
Improve Your Skill Set
Entrepreneurs and business-minded individuals are known for their desire for self-improvement. Whether it’s trying out the latest lifehack or shaking up their routines to learn something new, it’s likely that if you’re considering an MBA, you already know this describes you.
Getting your online MBA can supercharge your efforts at self-improvement, as it returns you to an educational setting and allows you to use a growth mindset to enhance your skill set.
Want to learn modern business analytics? How about brushing up on your understanding of supply chain management? What about ensuring you understand the ethics of management and leadership? ASU Online’s MBA allows you to do all of that and more.
Grow Your Professional Network
More than 8 jobs today are filled via networking, according to a LinkedIn study. In addition to building a new skill set, an online MBA allows you to grow your network of professional contacts, and it allows you to take that network global, not just across town.
You’ll work closely throughout your MBA course work with professors, lecturers and classmates with diverse backgrounds and varying philosophies about business, which not only will expand your horizons but also will help put you top of mind for individuals across the globe when it comes time to get that perfect new job.
Particularly if your intention is to move up in the corporate world, knowing the right people is absolutely critical as individuals you are connected with essentially vouch for you (and so does your degree).
Find a New Career Path
About 75 percent of MBA graduates switch career paths, according to a Wall Street Journal study. It’s easy to understand why.
First, if a person is happy, fulfilled and well-paid in their current job, they’re unlikely to leave, and those who qualify for admissions into MBA programs generally are high-skill workers. So if a high-skill worker is unhappy, chances are it’s not them but the job that’s the problem.
Second, education often opens unexpected doors. Sure, it’s possible that your online MBA path will go exactly where you imagine, but not only is that not very much fun, it’s also unlikely. After all, if you knew what role or set of responsibilities was going to excite you, wouldn’t you be doing those things already?
So online MBAs are perfect for those who want to get into a new career path as quickly as possible so they can get on the track that’s right for them.
Go Your Own Way
Think of your online MBA program as a startup incubator. According to the Financial Times, within three years of finishing their MBAs, nearly one-quarter of graduates have started their own business.
Whether you’ve got a great idea already and go through your coursework with that idea in mind, you meet a like-minded fellow student during your degree program and decide to team up, or you are simply inspired by your coursework, the ASU Online MBA program is the perfect place hatch your ideas.
We know the statistics about how difficult it is to make a business successful (only about 25 percent last 15 or more years), so doesn’t it make sense to cultivate your ideas in the safe environment of business school instead of the harsh reality of the U.S. economy?
Work Around Your Life
With an online degree, you don’t have to put your entire life and career on hold. The flexible ASU Online MBA offers class start dates about every 2 months, and motivated students could finish in just a few years.
Online education has exploded in popularity in recent years, and it’s not hard to understand why. Not having to stop your life, quit your job and uproot yourself and possibly your family is often what convinces prospective students that the time is right.
About 1 in 3 students today is enrolled in at least one online course, according to the Babson Survey Research Group, though most of those students are undergraduates. But the fact remains that a quality online program like ASU Online’s MBA will confer a valuable, respected degree that enables a student to keep living their normal life.
Conclusion
With ASU Online’s MBA, students get the best of all worlds. They get a respected degree that will allow them to access new career opportunities without putting their entire lives on hold. And with many students finishing in about three years, you could be supercharging your career (and your annual salary) in no time.
References
- Employee Engagement on the Rise in the U.S. (2018). Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/241649/employee-engagement-rise.aspx
- Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm
- Self-Improvement: The Essential Law of World-Class Entrepreneurs, Neil Patel. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/neil-patel/selfimprovement-the-essen_b_9444066.html
- What An MBA Is Worth: By the Numbers. (2018). Retrieved from https://poetsandquants.com/2018/12/15/what-an-mba-is-worth-by-the-numbers/
- New Survey Reveals 85% of All Jobs are Filled Via Networking. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-survey-reveals-85-all-jobs-filled-via-networking-lou-adler/?trk=aff_src.aff-lilpar_c.partners_pkw.10078_net.mediapartner_plc.Skimbit%20Ltd._pcrid.449670_learning&veh=aff_src.aff-lilpar_c.partners_pkw.10078_net.mediapartner_plc.Skimbit%20Ltd._pcrid.449670_learning&irgwc=1
- MBAs Doing Startups At Nearly Four Times The Rate Previously Thought. (2016). Retrieved from https://poetsandquants.com/2016/06/26/mba-employment-reports-understate-startup-mania/
- Higher Education Reports. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/highered.html
