Does an MBA actually teach you anything?

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Does an MBA actually teach you anything?

by airmj23 » Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:21 pm
Hi everyone.

I graduated from college as a liberal arts major 1 year ago, and have been working a sales job since then. This is not something I want to keep doing, so I have been thinking of an MBA as something that could launch me into a more satisfying career. Ideally, I would like to get a job in corporate finance or accounting. Of course, whenever I look at jobs at large corporations in their finance departments, these jobs want degrees in finance or accounting, which I do not have.

I was wondering if an MBA would help a liberal arts major such as myself transition into a corporate finance position.

My biggest concern is that some friends I have talked to say that "an MBA is more of a networking degree, it doesn't teach you what you need to know for a job". In essence, they tell me that an MBA is something that someone ALREADY in corporate finance might get to move up in their positions.

So I am wondering if an MBA would be sufficient for my purposes. I'd want to actually learn how corporate finance/ accounting work since I do not have experience/ coursework in those fields.

Or should I be looking at a more focused and specialized degree, such as a Masters in Accounting or a Masters in Finance?

Thank you
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by Lisa Anderson » Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:52 am
Dear airmj23,

The MBA is for people who either want to switch into business or enhance their current career path. Thus an MBA is the right degree for you to be looking at with a liberal arts background. There are many students that enter business school without business experience who land jobs in corporate finance, so it is a possible route. You will learn technical knowledge in any accredited program, but you could also take an undergraduate course as a way to confirm if finance is truly where you want to be.

Good luck,
Lisa
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