Is It Worth Getting An MBA?

By Perminus Wainaina 

As a career coach, I interact with a lot of professionals who are seeking jobs, and others looking to advance in their career.

One such account is that of Grace; she approached me about a week ago. She was frustrated that besides her education, she was not getting the jobs she desired. We scheduled a meeting, and when she came, we had an in-depth conversation.

Grace has studied up to her Masters; she is a top student and has excelled in the academic field. When she finished her MBA, she was certain she would get job offers from employers everywhere. When she started applying for jobs, however, she was not being called into interviews. Even when she was lucky enough to get an interview, she would still not get the job.

Like Grace, you too could have excellent academic qualifications, but you’re not getting the jobs you would like to.

As we continued our career coaching session with Grace, I asked her if she thought an MBA was really worth getting. Her immediate response was a resounding ‘yes!’

In Kenya, an MBA in reputable varsity costs at least 500,000. Is the investment worth it? Can the resources, time and effort be put to more productive use? Here are my two cents.

1. An MBA does not guarantee you to get a job

Like, Grace, many job seekers, and professionals have found out the hard way that an MBA does not translate to getting a job.

After years of hard work and balancing between work, studying and social life, you might be met by this sad reality.

The job market dynamics have shifted radically. Two decades ago, employers would give a keen notice of education qualifications. However, in today’s job market, employers are not only looking for education, but they are also looking for skills and experience.

I have interacted with many job seekers who went directly from pursuing their MBA after they were done with their undergraduate.

While it is admirable to advance in your academics, it is also advised to have balanced advancement.

For instance, after your undergraduate degree, try to gain as much of the skills and experience in your field.

While recruiting for most companies, employers will prefer someone with years of experience rather than education and no experience.

Also Read>>> 5 Strategies For Building A Great Career This Year

2. An MBA does not translate to a higher pay

Another reason why you might be tempted to go for your MBA is to get a salary increase.

Traditionally, more education did translate to higher pay. However, that is not the case today. Most companies track the performance of each employee. This later translates to the performing employees getting a promotion, and subsequently a pay rise.

Moreover, if you have a lot of education under your belt and no experience, most employers will argue you do not have the feasible skills to excel at your work.

As seen in a report by the Federation of Kenyan Employers, more than two-thirds of graduates are not job-ready by the time they join the job market. Therefore, to position yourself ahead of the crowd, you should first seek to gain both technical and soft skills in your industry.

Equipped with these skills, you’ll be in a better position to negotiate for a salary, as the employer can clearly see the value you bring to the organization.

Quick Read>>> How To Be More Assertive And Confident At Work

3. An MBA does not guarantee job satisfaction

For a long time, the perfect career path has always begun with first clinching the highest level of education, and then joining the workforce.

While this is the picture painted for a successful career, it is seldom the case.

First, when you pursue your MBA before gaining experience in the field you might end up choosing the wrong field altogether.

For example, a young man came in for an interview at the beginning of the year. He had done his diploma in nursing, later; he did his undergraduate in Sales and Marketing. For his MBA, he pursued Operations Management.

When I got talking with the young man, he told me he was unsure of what he wanted to do when he began studying. He bent any direction he felt he might have a passion.

He told me he had finally settled on communication –which is nowhere listed in his studies. Had he given himself time, he would have had time to settle and decide on what he wanted to do.

Also Read>>> 6 Tips To Help You Improve Communication At The Workplace

At the end of the day, you have to weigh the investment you’re putting in, and the return on investment. In my experience, most professionals who pursue an MBA do so to fill a need.

For instance, you might have the need for project management in your field, this should not motivate you to get an MBA, instead, you should look at a more practical approach to fill in the gap. For example, you can take a short course in project management. This is not only a cheaper approach, it also has a direct return on investment.

A Master’s degree is relevant, but only when pursued at the right time. Before you rush to take your MBA, first get the experience you need in your field, secondly, give yourself time to find an area of specialization. This way, when you eventually pursue your MBA, you’ll be doing so to further your career, not to sabotage it.

Perminus Wainaina is the C.E.O and Managing Partner at Corporate Staffing Services, a leading HR & Recruitment consultancy firm based in Westlands. Through personalized career coaching he assists mid-level and senior professionals get solutions to complex and challenging career issues that they are facing. Click here for more on career coaching.

17 Comments

  1. I am a living experience that experience and soft skills gives you an upper hand in the job market compared to so much education and little experience.

  2. Its a fact which we should all digest. Taking time is a good thing. This will give you time to identify your area of interest and invest wisely.

  3. So indented for such an advice, and its is well articulated. i have come to realize through this testimonies, that people perish because of lack of such advice. Thank you.

  4. Many who have excelled in their careers,lacked the higher education.
    They had commitment to what they could best and with years of experience,
    they are ranked high and call the shorts when it comes to payment.

  5. Excellent article. Most time we don’t differentiate between the academic MBA qualification and Executive or field oriented MBA thereby ending up getting useless postgraduate qualifications that never add a value to our work and well-being in the short, medium and long term. The most important in job markets these days, as you rightly put it, are employable people and work skills plus experiences relevant to the fields of interest or qualification.

  6. I concur with both of you .I am aware of a guy who studied coding via apps ,no papers for it but is doing great ,winning mega contracts in the USA .The bottom line is know how to do it,NOT show papers that you can do it.

  7. True, an MBA does not guarantee employment, does not translate to higher pay nor guarantee job satisfaction.

  8. Perminus Wainaina always has a way of bringing the details clearly out, I love reading your articles and keep posting such information it’s helping a lot of job seekers.

  9. True. The professional courses are much better in acquiring the necessary skills.

  10. True, I agree with every point.

    To contribute a little on “pursuing it at the right time,” i’d like to use my journey as an example. After a successful 12 years in Accounting field, I thought I was ready for an MBA and I enrolled in 2016. Unfortunately, I have found the experience very frustrating and quite a waste of my precious time. I have no drive to pursue it to completion apart from the money I have already invested.

    First of all I am not learning anything new. When you are a professional in a certain area and you think MBA will add on to your skills, It may not. Most University Lecturers do not upgrade their skills and some have never applied their theory in a real workplace, you will find yourself challenging much of what you are being taught.

    Another major disappointment is that the varsities do not appreciate the fact that most of us coming for this level of education are already very busy elsewhere. Its frustrating to queue in Lecturer offices following up missing marks, queuing for exam clearance etc. Our universities need to really improve.

    In my view MBA is relevant for people in other fields who want to get some business management know how. If you are already in business management, then it wont add too much value to you.

    All said and done, most employers will see an MBA as a plus especially for management level positions. If that’s your dream, its okay to enroll.

  11. How about you study a master’s as a part time students while still working. If you can balance the two in an excellent way it means at the end you will have qualification as well as experience.

  12. I support expirience a hundred percent because education only is not going to make one be practical.

  13. Right on point,experience first since you might think MBA will put you on the hedge only to get frustrated about it.

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