Top 10 Reasons Not to Get an MBA

 Is the Master in Business Administration (MBA) course right for you? If you're not really sure, my Top 10 reasons why not to do an MBA may help you decide.

The Master in Business Administration or MBA is the best known professional post-graduate management course in the world. Since most multinationals now consider it an essential, not just a desirable, qualification when they recruit employees, thousands of business schools have filled seats and waiting lists. No wonder MBA institutes are proliferating exponentially.

Before you go and enroll yourself into an MBA course do ask yourself if it is appropriate for you. Are you entering the program for the right reasons? If you're still not sure, see my Top 10 Reasons to Get an MBA.

Here are the Top 10 reasons why I don’t think you should join an MBA program. I’ve sorted them in order from the “not-good-but-not-totally-bad” to the “absolutely-the-most-absurd “reasons I’ve ever heard in all my years as
faculty member of a management school and corporate consultant.

#10: I’m unemployed right now, so I’m going to get another qualification

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Well, OK, that doesn’t sound completely off-the-wall. You don’t have a job and instead of sitting around moping or whiling your time away, you’ve decided to get a post-graduate qualification that’ll do you good in the future. It will even sound commendable in your resume when you explain that gap in service.

Don’t think I’m a party pooper here, but I really don’t think not having a job at the moment is a convincing reason to commit to a rigorous, full-time, 2-year course that will take all your time and energy. If a job is what you really want right now, shouldn’t you be putting that time and energy into getting employed instead of getting more employable in the future?

An MBA makes much more sense after you’ve got a few years of experience under your skin, anyway.

#9: It will look good on my resume

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Yes, perhaps it will, if you get it from the right school. I’ve never known an MBA to look bad on anybody’s resume as long as it comes from a good, accredited, respectable school.

But if that is the only reason you’re going to enroll, think again. There are lots of other post-graduate degrees, diplomas and courses out there that would look just as good on your resume as an MBA. Choose your post-graduate education with careful thought to your core strengths and areas of interest. It makes sense to specialize in something you like and would want to work with for the rest of your life.

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#8: I’ll get a better job and earn more money
Perhaps, initially, the MBA could open more doors and you could be offered more than a friend who didn’t have the qualification. That’s just a short-term advantage, however. In the longer
term, what really matters is your ability, your temperament, your skills and the way you use them.

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#7: I’ll be able to go up the corporate ladder faster
I don’t credit this thought at all. It’s
not the MBA that’ll take you up the rungs of your organization; it’s you, your skills and your attitude.

In other words, the MBA will maybe get you into the organization, but how well you do and how much you progress really depends on how your competencies fit the Key Responsibility Areas of your job profile.

#6: I’m not ready to go to work yet

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Good for you, but what does that have to do with getting an MBA? Take a couple of years off to travel instead. If you’re careful, you could travel a good bit with what you would spend on that MBA program and it would be wonderful education for you.
I’ve known too many students just out of an undergraduate program who didn’t want to work straight away and so they went for an MBA qualification. I’m sure what they got out of the program was not commensurate with their investment of time, energy and money. If you’re not going to put it to good use, why go for a professional qualification?

image credit: marthagarcia16.wordpress.com

#5: It’s a popular course and I like being a student
Like being a student? Study something you want to. Study something you’re really interested in. Study something because you want t
o learn it rather than because it is popular.

This is a professional post-graduate course that entails a serious financial obligation as well as a great deal of your mental concentration and emotional involvement. You’re going to be very frustrated and unhappy if you’re not undertaking it for the right reasons.

It is not a crochet class or a language learning course that will give you immediate gratification in terms of satisfaction and returns in direct response to the effort you put in.

#4: I might as well do it now instead of later

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Wrong: it will be much better for you to do it later, when you’ve got some experience and maturity and know what you’re looking for. You’ll have something to contribute to the learning process and it will be easier for you to make network connections that matter.

The MBA program was built for people who had a few years of job experience behind them. Without the experience, it is just a paper qualification. So if you have a choice, you should wait a few years before getting that MBA.

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#3: Everybody else is doing it
That’s like saying everybody’s jumping in the well, so I will too! I get a mental image of thousands of wildebee
st all plunging into the same spot of the river as they migrate to the Serengeti. There’s safety in herds, but if you’re going to be part of a herd, the MBA is definitely not for you!

image credit: tamilculture.ca

#2: My Dad (Mom, Cousin, Neighbor, Uncle…) thinks it’s a good idea
Great: then let them get that MBA for themselves. I appreciate that your parents and well-wishers want the best for you, but they must stop living vicariou
sly through you. You should do what you think is right for you and your career.

Get an MBA if you’re sure it is the course to take. Live your own life.

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#1: My girlfriend / boyfriend is doing it and I want to be with him / her
It happens too often for me to be amused at this. Many young people make major decisions based on their current love-interests. I hope it doesn’t happen, but your relationship with your girlfriend or your boyfriend is not likely to last as long as the MBA program!

Whether or not you agree with my Top 10 Reasons Why Not to Get an MBA, I hope I’ve been able to make you re-examine your reasons why you would want to enroll into an MBA program. Eventually, it will be your decision to join or not to join—all I want is for your choice to be an educated one.