As a matter of fact, the"Why an MBA?" question will come back to haunt you during the entire application process as it matters to determine whether the program will be a good fit for you and whether you are ready to start an MBA journey in the first place.
While the "Why an MBA?" question has no specifically right answer, you should be able to answer it with a certain degree of confidence. Having a confident answer to this question demonstrates that you have made an introspection and reflected about what you have accomplished so far and about what you still want to achieve.
Try thinking about where you would like to be 5 to 10 years from now, what skills you wish to gain and how the MBA can help you in that respect. You are about to make a large financial investment and you are about to bind yourself to the brand of a school for the rest of your life.
Some of you are about to experience a new country, a new city, a new network. Some of you will try balancing work and school for the first time. And in truth, all the reasons leading you to this decision will affect the rest of your future.
You will do only one MBA. Therefore, we believe it is imperative to make sure that you are doing the MBA for the right reasons.
We have surveyed about 70 participants of our current MBA program to find out about their top 5 reasons for deciding to do an MBA (participants were encouraged to select more than one answer):
- 62.3% wanted to perform a career switch
- 56.5% wanted to gain skills or academic knowledge
- 44.9% wanted to grow at a personal level
- 30.4% wanted to advance in their career
- 24.6% wanted to change locations
Career switching (62.3%)
For those who already have some experience in a field but who wish to try new horizons, career switching may seem very daunting and a 2-year MBA is a great option to get access to and build a new network. You also get to try out the field by doing a summer internship! Be aware however that it can be difficult to transition into a new country, field and role, so it is important to find elements of your background that you can leverage to make yourself attractive to potential employers.
Gaining new skills & academic knowledge
Often the best combination of an academic and professional environment, the MBA program is the perfect platform to gain new insights and refresh or deepen your industry knowledge while growing professionally. At McGill, the teaching method is quite balanced between lectures, real-case analyses, team projects and group discussions. Our career services team will also support your professional development by providing you with industry workshops, personalized CV & interview preparation and networking events.
Growing at a personal level
If there is one thing that all students agree on, it is that the MBA is a transformative experience. At McGill, you will be surrounded with an exclusive group of 65-85 students from all over the world, who come from a variety of countries but also a diverse set of industries. Imagine adapting to so much diversity in such a short time, while taking in the academic knowledge, networking with companies and taking part in extra-curricular activities. You will certainly grow in ways that you hadn't even imagined!
Advancing in your career
Some people love their role and industry but need an MBA to advance within their career path as many leadership positions require one. This being said, the MBA is not a ticket to advancement for every industry just like there is no perfect solution to every problem. If this is your main reason to undertake an MBA, double-check the requirements of the roles you are interested in to ensure that this is the right path for you.
Changing location
For many students, being mobile is a priority. The advantage of the MBA is that it is a globally-recognized brand. This being said, the location of your MBA school and the city (ies) where you can find their alumni network will affect your placement opportunities. At McGill, we are proud to have a global MBA with graduates placing in various locations, particularly in Montreal and Toronto, where respectively 51% and 31% of our graduates find employment post-graduation. Tell us why you want to do an MBA. Get in touch with our recruitment & admissions team: mba.mgmt [at] mcgill.ca
Desautels MBA Program
- Find out how Desautels’ small-size cohort creates unique opportunities by contacting our Student Ambassadors.
- Connect with a recruiter to learn more about pursuing an MBA at McGill.
