Do you need an MBA?

One day, our professor in Business Communications asked the class why we went to graduate school.

One answered that he wanted to move up the corporate career ladder and he’ll use his MBA as his springboard. My classmate who is an entrepreneur answered that he wanted to develop his skills and eventually apply it to the business that his parents started. Others said that they just want to pursue another field of interest.

There’s one answer that hasn’t left me up to now. He said: “I think this is the best motivation for one to appreciate the graduate school. To search for true friends..“

Hahaha.. Everyone found that really funny when he blurted that out. We realized that MBA is not only a source for networking for business but for personal acquaintances as well.

As for me, I consider my MBA as accidental. I was having personal problems during that time and I’ve thought of indulging in school work to keep myself busy. At the very least, that would be my productive form of deviation. Indeed it was, and after three years of grinding school work, I was fortunate to graduate with the degree.

So was it worth it?

The graduate school gave me the opportunity to learn the things that are beyond my field. My career was in Information Technology. Prior to my MBA, I must admit that I’m clueless whenever business subjects were discussed. The course honed my skills in the areas of Finance, Marketing, Operations, Economics and Management. On a personal note, I developed the good habit of reading and understanding the business section of our daily newspapers. It also made me realize that these subjects are not only applicable to business but to personal finance as well. More importantly, MBA gave me the chance to meet the people who eventually inspired me to thread the field of entrepreneurship.

As for my classmate, I hope that he has found his “true” friends in graduate school. And I guess he did, because I know for a fact that he stayed there longer more than anyone else.