The career trajectory MBA or Masters?

Updated on: Monday, June 07, 2010

Sometimes the list of postgraduate business courses available can seem as confusing as a bowl of spaghetti. Should you be thinking about an MBA, and if so what about a specialist course such as MBA in Oil and Gas or Wine Management? Is an M.Sc a better idea for you and if so, what to specialise in? Finance? International Management? What if your future lies in Ph.D territory? Which of these would serve you best?

Banks and management consultancies are proactively taking the lead on business education by telling the top schools what they expect from their new young leaders and managers. And it is clear that they increasingly require an educated workforce that can hit the ground not just running, but accelerating. Simultaneously, Business School graduates are seeing an increase in demand year on year. But the key question for the aspiring business postgraduate should be: which direction is best for me?

Career trajectory
You should be thinking about what is often referred to as ‘career trajectory’ as early as possible, but don’t forget that this will not commit you exclusively to whatever decision you make; you can change tack whenever you want. A large chunk of people with Ph.Ds never considered such an undertaking until well into their postgraduate careers. Likewise there are some who planned for academia only to land their ideal careers straight out of their MBA course.

While keeping an eye on the future, the nearest step in your education trajectory is the most important. What kind of person should do an MBA as opposed to any of the excellent Masters courses available worldwide? Essentially, MBAs are a ‘post-experience’ qualification while Masters courses are ‘pre-experience.’ David Bach, Associate Dean of MBA programmes and Professor of Strategy at IE Business School in Spain, says: “Some schools are letting exceptional people on MBA courses with little experience but the minimum tends to be at least three years.”

As a result of this trend towards younger, highly ambitious people, B-schools are creating courses more appropriate for a less experienced age group. This is where the Masters course comes in. Simon Stockley, Director of Full Time MBA Programs at Tanaka Business School, Imperial College, London, says: “There is a trend for younger people to want to get into Business Schools straight out of university; we therefore started to offer the pre-experience M.Sc in Management programmes.”

Teaching styles
Course focus and teaching styles are another essential difference between an MBA and a Masters. Masters courses still introduce graduates to general management but in a different way. MBAs tend to focus on teamwork, lots of contribution in class, learning from peers and networking and communication skills. So if you feel this style is not playing to your strengths, the more didactic Masters course may be for you.
Perhaps you also want to start focusing early. If maths is your strong suit, rather than leadership or communication, and you want to get a head start early in your career, a Masters in Finance, for example, could be your best option. Likewise, if you want to differentiate yourself in management and aren’t ready for an MBA, Masters in Management courses are designed for you. These differences are what aspiring business postgraduates should be looking at.

Future leaders
Having said that, the MBA is still rightfully considered a major business qualification, particularly, as Simon Stockley says, “from one of the big schools. Reputation is important and people should do as much research as they can to find the school that has the best fit for them.” Says Jacinta Low of OCBC Bank, Singapore, “We view MBAs as our pipeline of future leaders. Their work experience makes them a more stable and mature workforce, compared with other graduates.” The key thinking, then, is: think about your strengths, about where you want to go, about what style of course suits you best and start to plan your career trajectory early.

The career trajectory MBA or Masters?

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