More money for an MBA?

I often get the question, "Corey, was your MBA worth the time and money spent?"

My response is always, "YES!"

In the past, I wrote about the value of a good education, but I still get a lot of people that want to try and quantify the value of an MBA degree in terms of dollars and cents. I don't know that anyone can say that. I had a great career providing well for my family without an undergraduate degree. I had a great career providing for my family without a graduate degree. I have a great career now, but I don't know that I can say it is directly related to my degree, but my MBA has opened a number of doors for me.

As an MBA, my experience has been that the only thing it can do is open a door. If you aren't qualified because of your lack of experience or you did poorly in your education, it will show and your MBA will be useless. If you don't have the ability to walk through that door, there is not much that you can do with your degree... regardless of the type of degree it is.

The best benefit of my MBA, from my perspective, isn't that an employer puts greater value on me. The best benefit for me is the understanding I gain of how to manage a business. In my business that I now run (since earning my MBA) I know there are many things that I do differently than if I hadn't earned my MBA. I am much better at management, delegation, finances, marketing and technology.

From a monetization perspective, I don't think most employers have a scale that says if a person has an MBA, they get a 10% raise. Some might, but most don't. When I earned my MBA, I found that there was no added financial reward directly from earning it. I was working for an employer at the time and got a nice card with a few signatures on it. My financial benefit has come in the business I run because I have a greater understanding of how to run a business. I understand better what businesses need. I can provide a better solution to the problems they face.

When it comes to other employers, my opinion is that a position is worth what it is worth. If your experience says you can do it, you should get the job. The problem is that sometimes it is hard to show your level of skill. The MBA degree provides a measure of credentials to what you say your experience is.

I do think that there is a perceived value for an MBA as well. When searching for a new job, both the employer and employee think that the MBA is worth more, so the offer may come in higher. However, you probably shouldn't expect a pay raise just because you earned an MBA unless there is a specific policy in place. You will likely need to find a new job to realize an increase in pay.

You could do what I did... get an MBA then go out on your own and use that new education for yourself instead of for someone else.

Corey Smith
Co-founder of Resumango where you can build a better resume for free