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their postgraduate careers. Likewise there are some maths is your strong suit, rather than leadership or survey, created after QS received responses from 489
who planned for academia only to land their ideal communication, and you want to get a head start early international MBA recruiters, showed that there has
careers straight out of their MBA course. in your career, a Masters in Finance, for example, been a 24% increase in demand for MBAs worldwide
While keeping an eye on the future, the nearest could be your best option. The MBA may be too with the technology sector in particular (29%)
step in your education trajectory is the most important. general for your skills and experience at this stage, but showing high demand.
What kind of person should do an MBA as opposed you feel ready to start studying very soon. Likewise, if As the table shows, salaries are increasing at a
to any of the excellent masters courses available you want to differentiate yourself in management and higher rate for MBAs than those without the
worldwide? aren’t ready for an MBA, Masters in Management qualification. Opportunities seem to be extremely
Essentially, MBAs are a ‘post-experience’ courses are designed for you. high and the generalist nature of the program is seen
qualification while masters courses are ‘pre- These differences are what aspiring business as a definite boon by most of the companies surveyed.
experience.’ David Bach, Associate Dean of MBA postgraduates should be looking at. It’s important to Jacinta Low of OCBC Bank, Singapore, says: “We
programs and Professor of stress that MBAs are far view MBAs as our pipeline of future leaders. As MBA
Strategy at IE Business more general in their graduates they are expected to accelerate their
School in Spain, says: approach and, though learning and contribute to the organization quickly.
“Some schools are letting
“You should be thinking about
academically rigorous, Their work experience makes them a more stable and
exceptional people on
what is often referred to as
you’ll learn a set of skills mature workforce, compared with other graduates.”
MBA courses with little that may not appeal to The key thinking, then, is: think about your
experience but the
‘career trajectory’ as early as
you if what you want to strengths, about where you want to go, about what
minimum tends to be at
possible, but don’t forget that
do is pure finance. David style of course suits you best and start to plan your
least three years. We Bach says: “The MBA career trajectory early.
require five years at IE
this will not commit you
trains young professionals
Business School; however
exclusively to whatever decision
in general areas of
we do sometimes take management and to
candidates with less
you make; you can change tack
emphasize personal
experience if they have a
whenever you want.”
c o m m u n i c a t i o n ,
brilliant trajectory because leadership and
we value diversity in our management skills that
classrooms.” cover all the areas. In the
As a result of this trend towards younger, highly MBA you roughly do 25% class time in finance and
ambitious people, business schools are taking the lead accounting where the MA is 90% pure finance.”
in good business practice by diversifying themselves He goes on to say that the general nature of MBA
and creating courses more appropriate for a less courses, by definition, offer a very firm grounding in
experienced age group. This is where the masters the other core skills such as operations, HR and
course comes in. organizational behaviour whereas those in finance
Simon Stockley, Director of Full Time MBA won’t. “This is because the big banks are coming to
Programs at Tanaka Business School, Imperial us for students at the cutting edge of financial skills,
College, London, says: “There is a trend for younger derivatives, financial engineering, which are
people to want to get into business schools straight out electives in an MBA but a core part of the MA. The
of university; we therefore started to offer the pre- banks say they need this as they already have people
experience Masters of Science (MSc) in Management in HR and operations - the assumption is a graduate
programs. These are designed to provide recent of an MA in Finance won’t have to do that kind of
graduates with some differentiation in the labour role.”
market when they are not experienced enough or Simon Stockley echoes this: “The Masters in
prepared for the MBA. You’d tend to take the MBA Finance is a more quantitative degree featuring a
later on and for one of three reasons, for career lot of pure maths to equip graduates for corporate
advancement, which is the dominant driver; to make finance and investment banking jobs. It’s a direct
a change in your career; or for learning more about response to requests we have from the city.
entrepreneurialism.” Virtually all of these graduates get careers in
Course focus and teaching styles are another financial institutions.”
essential difference between an MBA and a masters. Having said that, the MBA is still rightfully
Masters courses still introduce graduates to general considered a major business qualification,
management but in a different way. Some cover the particularly, as Simon Stockley says, “from one
same material as parts of the MBA but are more of the big schools. Reputation is important and
didactic in manner with fewer case studies, less debate people should do as much research as they can
and a different style of teaching that is more lecture- to find the school that has the best fit for
based. MBAs tend to focus on teamwork, lots of them.”
contribution in class, learning from peers and The QS topmba.com International
networking and communication skills. So if you feel Recruiter and Salary survey shows, as David
this style is not playing to your strengths, maybe the Bach says, that “the MBA is the degree of choice
more didactic masters course may be for you. for management careers in investment banking,
Perhaps you also want to start focusing early. If consultancies and other industries too.” The

TopMBA CAreer Guide www.topmba.com 63
MBA_FALL_08_pp_002-065.indd 63 13/8/08 14:06:15
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