Four Questions To Ask Yourself Before Getting An MBA

An MBA is expensive. Don’t make an investment in one without thinking through several factors.

Deciding whether to pursue an MBA can be daunting. The average cost of an MBA in the United States is around $66,000. While the range varies significantly—from $17,000 to $162,000—the direct cost is meaningful. And that’s only part of the picture. If you choose a full-time program, earning a living while studying won’t be an option in most cases; you’ll have to give up income, too. That means if you earn $75,000 a year and attend a school with the $66,000 average cost, you’re in the hole for over $200,000. This could lead to many sleepless nights for those trying to decide the right path forward. That said, those sleepless nights can be worth it. I got my MBA going full-time and it was a life-changing two years.

There are many options when it comes to the MBA: full-time, “traditional” MBAs (of the sort I did); executive MBAs for those with experience; fully online programs; and blended programs (multiple modes of educational delivery) to name a few. In this column, I’ll focus on whether to pursue a two-year, in-residence MBA, which I’ll call “full-time.” This path has the highest financial and opportunity cost, so you should be thoughtful before matriculating to such a program. To help with that thought process, I offer four questions to consider.

Why do you want an MBA?

This one may seem obvious, but frequently, MBA candidates don’t spend enough time thinking this question through. Often the answer is a reflexive, generic, “To advance in my career.” But there are many ways to advance without an advanced degree. In fact, most people advance in their careers no matter their education. Admittedly, that advancement may be slow and could have a cap on it (you aren’t going from cleaning hospital rooms to becoming a doctor without going to medical school). Nonetheless, advancement happens.

So why do you really want an MBA? You’re motivated already. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be considering a graduate degree. Is that motivation enough to get you where you want to go without an MBA? Think this one through. The costs of going are substantial, and the risk of wasting your time and money is great. Clearly understand how your trajectory will be materially different if you get the degree.

Do you want to continue in your current job?

A full-time MBA lets you leave your current role and spend two years immersing yourself not just in academics but the exploration of other companies and industries. It’s often a chance to “pivot” to something entirely new. You’re a caterpillar—you lose yourself in the cocoon of the academic program and emerge on the other side as something different, ready for a new life in a new industry and company.

A full-time program facilitates this better than other options because it allows a clean break from the past and grants you the time and opportunity to investigate something else. More importantly, you’ll be surrounded by a cohort of other young professionals doing the same thing. This creates an energy and synergy that fosters connections that will last a lifetime. You’ll learn from each other. You’ll share leads. You may even develop entrepreneurial ideas and find partners to join you in a startup. These things may be harder to do in part-time or fully online programs.

Does the financial math work?

All degrees aren’t created equally. Yet, they’re often priced similarly. There’s no other industry where this is true. Unless you’re independently wealthy, don’t get caught up in going to the “best place” based on something like the U.S. News and World Report rankings. The best place won’t be the best place for you if you get loaded up with debt and don’t have the earning power to pay it off.

Investigate the median salary of graduates by industry and compare that to what you’ll pay earning the degree. The overall median may be skewed by higher-paying sectors, so be sure to focus on the industry you’re likely to enter upon graduation. Many people think education at any cost is worth it. It’s not.

Does the institution you’re considering have a relationship with the company where you want to work?

I used to work for Kaplan Test Prep, which helps students or professionals prepare for standardized tests like the SAT, LSAT, and GMAT. I was often asked for advice from customers regarding pursuing an MBA.

One young man I spoke with shared the list of schools he was applying to. I asked him where he’d like to work upon graduation. He mentioned one of the most well-known investment banks in the world. I said, “Well, then you’ve got a problem.” He looked at me perplexed. “That company doesn’t recruit at any of those schools,” I told him. While he may have been able to find a path into that particular investment bank, it’d be a much tougher road.

When choosing a program, learn what firms have connections to the school. (You can call the career development office.) Do your best to ensure there will be some intersection between where you’d like to work and the companies with relationships to the MBA program.

If you ask yourself these questions and decide an MBA is not for you, then what? In a future column, I’ll discuss how to use discreet courses, versus a full degree, to gain skills in a more focused, less expensive way. These options can help you thread the needle between doing nothing and spending a lot of money and time on an MBA.