Is Working Worth it?

If you’ve been thinking of delaying your [info:'gmat-registration' MBA] in favor of gaining work experience, the results of a recent study on the economic impact of delaying full time MBA may change your mind.

The study found that while graduates with less work experience started off at lower salaries, time gave them a competitive edge over those who put off starting the program in favor of work.

“Pre-MBA work experience is required for admission to many graduate schools of business,” says Craig McAllaster, Dean of Crummer’s Graduate school of business (the school that released the study). “The perception among students has been that this work experience translates into a higher salary. While this might be true immediately following graduation, our research shows that those with no work experience actually see a higher gain in salary five years after graduation, compared to those students who worked for one to five years prior to obtaining their MBA.”

In fact, the findings reported that, on average, those without lengthy work experienced showed a 16% higher salary gain five years out of their program when compared to others that had delayed school in favor of working.

“The study underscores that, contrary to the conventional wisdom resulting from the business school rankings, it is advantageous for students with the right attitude and aptitude to pursue an MBA directly out of college, or shortly thereafter, for a variety of reasons including a higher return on investment,” says Dean of the the Simon School of Business, University of Rochester, Mark Zupan.

Unfortunately, what the Deans are not saying is that without impressive work experience on your application, you’ll need to rely more on your [info:'gmat-score' GMAT score] to impress the admissions committee.

Read the full article: Is Working Worth it?

SPONSORS

POPULAR ARTICLES

Related Articles