More Americans are pondering if going back to school could be their ticket out of unemployment, a way to transition to a new career field, or an enhancement to their chances of getting the salary they truly deserve. Fact is that this question does not have a hard and fast answer. According to the 2010 census, 18% of Americans have a Bachelor’s degree and only 6.9% have finished graduate school. Being part of that small percentage of Americans will help to set you apart from the rest of the workforce.
Reasons for Going Back to School
The idealistic argument for going back to school is that it shouldn’t be undertaken solely for the purpose of career advancement. The reason for your return should also include the desire to want to advance in your life by taking the appropriate steps to keep moving forward. Understanding that returning to school can be a stressful time is important, but recognizing that that end is near will help you through this time. A positive attitude that focuses on the personal enrichment benefits of learning will go a long way to guaranteeing academic success.
Many American workers who have returned to school in the last few years have done so as a knee-jerk reaction to massive layoffs and a dismal job market. Others have realized that they neglected to improve their skills during the last period of economic prosperity that guaranteed their continued employment and salary. Yet other professionals see themselves stuck in their current job positions, without valid opportunities to advance up the corporate ladder.
Whatever the reasons may be, the considerable number of working Americans returning to college is making the job marketplace even more competitive. This means that those professionals who only possess a Bachelor’s degree are falling behind the curve in terms of career education, since many of those working adults who already returned to college are now in graduate school.
Master in Business Administration (MBA) Degrees
Corporate America has adopted the phrase “MBA Required” as a mantra appearing in all of its job postings. Scores of professionals who graduated from college in the late 20th century obtained Bachelor’s degrees in Business in the hopes of landing a job in the lucrative industries of banking, finance and management. An MBA degree with an area of concentration, like Finance, Human Resources, or even Information Technology can be attractive academic combinations sought by corporate recruiters and hiring managers these days.
Those professionals who choose to obtain their online Master of Business Administration with a focus during the economic downturn are sure to have an edge over many other applicants. As the American economy improves in the next few years, the rate of unemployment is bound to recede and provoke bursts of massive hiring, particularly by the giant corporations. These are the types of enterprises that will be looking for highly-educated professionals to join their ranks. There will be room for generalists as well, but the new paradigm of doing business will prevent those generalists from receiving just compensation. Professionals with an MBA, on the other hand, are sure to be highly-sought after and adequately compensated.
Going back to school to obtain your next level of education will help you advance in your career. Do not expect the career advancement to come as soon as you graduate as it may take some time for the right positions to open up to you. Although it does take some time to reap the rewards of obtaining your next degree, the way in which you have set yourself apart from the rest of the workforce will be recognized for years to come.
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