Why You Should Work Before Pursuing MBA?

Why You Should Work Before Pursuing MBA?

Do you have questions constantly on your mind like, “do I have to work before an MBA?” “How long do I have to work before an MBA?” Then read this article to find out whether working before an MBA is beneficial or not. 

If you’re looking to study an MBA immediately after your undergraduate degree, then we would recommend you to pause and consider working before an MBA. It is recommended that you work for at least a minimum of four years and then begin preparing for your MBA programme. After acquiring a healthy amount of work experience, you can begin applying for admissions to international business schools  to pursue an MBA programme after getting your GMAT exam scores.

One of the major advantages of gaining work experience prior to entering an MBA programme is that you are better prepared for the highly intensive MBA programmes. Moreover, whether it’s IIM-Ahmedabad in India or Harvard Business School (HBS) in the US, both these schools look at your work experience and what you have achieved while working in an organization. So if you want to make it into such top business schools, then work experience is an essential criterion. Acquiring work experience gives your profile a competitive edge and enhances your overall resume. 

There are other benefits of being a working professional while or prior to pursuing your MBA course. 

Benefits of Working Before an MBA 

Higher Confidence Level:

If you’re an applicant with a couple of years of work experience to show on your resume, you’ll have the confidence to write a clear statement of purpose and also speak with accuracy during your personal interview round. Credit to your experience, you would’ve already acquired managerial skills. Furthermore, while most freshers will only be able to learn about certain skills theoretically, you will have practically experienced many scenarios and will be aware of how to deal with situations. Having worked in teams, you would have already gained exposure to working with individuals from different backgrounds and will have learned valuable people management skills as well. You will have been entrusted with various responsibilities at your job and therefore have gathered relevant knowledge which will come in handy during the course of your study.

You Can Get into the World’s Best Business Schools:

As we discussed earlier, the top business schools prefer candidates with work experience since management courses are designed keeping corporate culture in mind. Therefore, your prior work experiences give you an edge over non-working professionals. Furthermore, with an excellent GMAT score, you can be admitted to any of the prestigious business schools across the globe. The admissions committee of most universities look to admit candidates who are versatile, competent and contribute to the diversity of the school. They do not look for individuals with only academic intelligence or high GPAs. You should ensure to add your achievements so as to present a compelling case for the adcom to consider your application for admissions. They believe that with work experience the candidates also bring with them a superior sense of understanding, maturity and business acumen, which they would have gained over the years. Hence, working before MBA is a great way to make it into top schools. 

More Focused on Career:

Since you have work experience for a couple of years, therefore it will be easy to ascertain which stream your interests lie in. Acquiring work experience will assist you to choose the career you want and that which will meet your expectations for future endeavours. You will now have a clear idea on which path your career must continue in. You even have the choice to change your fields if you would like to do so. As you would have a definite idea about your career, you will find it an easy task to select the specialization for your MBA program.

Financial Stability:

Since you have been working for a couple of years, naturally, you’re bound to have a better financial position when compared to those MBA aspirants who have decided to go for an MBA without working. Pursuing an MBA abroad is an expensive affair and you will need to be prepared for it appropriately; it is therefore wise to gain financial stability before you commence your MBA journey. Sometimes your employers would also help in funding your MBA program to an extent. You will have to do appropriate research to find out which option could be the most beneficial for you.

Better Understanding of the Course Subjects:

During your course of acquiring work experience you will acquire practical knowledge of various business situations. This aids you during your course of study since the MBA program is designed in such a way so that you can relate to the concepts taught in a better manner. Hence, by doing so, you will possess a competitive edge over other candidates. Gaining work experience before your MBA program also enables you to cultivate the necessary soft skills which are of immense importance.

Promises Higher Salary Packages:

A Master’s degree in business administration coupled with your experience adds more value to your job resume when you start your job hunt. Recruiters at multinational corporations prefer candidates who acquire an MBA after having worked for a while. Hence, you can expect mid to high level managerial positions which helps to boost your career growth exponentially. If you have completed an MBA degree at one of the best GMAT colleges, then you can be certain that some of the most renowned companies will be ready to recruit when you complete your MBA degree. Logically, with a high-profile job you can expect to receive a huge pay package as well. In addition to these lucrative job offers, you will also have some added benefits and perks which you would receive as a manager in the company.

Now that we have told you all the advantages of working before MBA, you’re better positioned to plan your higher education.


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