An MBA, or Master of Business Administration, is a degree program aimed at business professionals to help them further their career. There are various types of MBA, the most common being the two year MBA, which, as the name suggests, takes place over two academic years. Students tend to have several years of experience and attend lectures during the week, the same as other university students. Some institutions offer accelerated MBA courses, which take less than two years to complete, but have a higher, more intense workload, with no holidays. It is also possible to take a part time MBA, which is similar to a standard part time degree. Following this method allows you to spread the load of the course over three years or more. This scheme tends to be taken by professionals who want to keep their job while studying. Next, there is the Executive MBA, or EMBA, which is a different type of program designed to educate managers and executives over two years, while working full time. This course is usually taken by professionals with much more experience, often over 10 years. Finally, we have the online, or “distance learning” MBA, in which students complete the course at home, in their own time. This method will usually take three years or more, like a part time course, with added freedom. The course material is delivered through post or online, or sometimes even through video conference with teachers. If you have an MBA qualification on your CV, you will be in an excellent position when it comes to finding a job, or perfectly placed for a promotion or pay raise if you keep your current job. A recent study showed that employees with an MBA can earn up to 50% more than those without!

An MBA, or Master of Business Administration, is a course designed to teach students about business and management techniques, such as finance, accounting, statistics and marketing. Having an MBA on your CV will give you access to jobs with a higher salary, and is a clear indication that you are a hard working, committed individual. Some studies have shown that employees with an MBA can earn up to 50% more than those without the qualification. You should usually only consider taking an MBA course if you have prior work experience, with 2 years being an often quoted figure. It may be possible to do an MBA straight after graduation, but this is unusual and will not stand you in such good stead in the future, as most employers like to see a combination of previous experience and an MBA. A common piece of advice is to do an MBA because you are interested in the course material, and want to learn and expand your own horizons, not because you want a pay rise. Remember that you are not going to step out of university with an MBA and walk straight into the post of managing director. If you are prepared to take the time out of your career, work hard and learn new skills, and then continue to work hard when you get back to the business world, an MBA could make a world of difference. If you just want to take some time out and relive your college days, the chances are a new qualification won’t help you as much as you may like.

Earning an MBA (Master in Business Administration) qualification is an achievement that is recognised all over the world and will do your career no end of good. In fact, some studies have shown up to a 50% increase in salary after receiving an MBA! However, many applicants make the fatal mistake of not having done nearly enough preparation. Applying for an MBA course is not the same as applying for a normal degree. When you applied to do your degree, you spent time writing about what you had accomplished at school. When you apply for your MBA, the focus has to be on what you have done since school, and for that reason, you need to start preparing for your application months, if not years, ahead of time. The first thing you need to decide is which school to apply for. If you already have a job and want to keep the job while you study part time, you will probably be looking at local universities and colleges, although you could consider a distance learning course. Have a look online for the league tables to get an idea of which schools have the highest student satisfaction. Make sure you visit the school and chat to current students, as well as meeting the people who will potentially become you course-mates. Ensure your CV is up to date, and bring it to your interview, if you have one. Chances are that you have experience with interviews, but make sure you prepare yourself well, as this is the main chance for the admissions team to really see what you are capable of. The belief of most schools is “if you have done great things before, you can do them again in the future”, so make sure you really emphasise your professional achievements, and you should have no problem!

If you are planning on taking an MBA, or Master in Business Management, course, but think you will find it difficult to get to a university or college nearby that offers the program, you can always consider the option of studying through a scheme known as “distance learning”, in which the student receives course material through the internet, and completes all assignments at home in their own time. Once you have finished a project, it is usually uploaded to the course website or emailed straight to the tutor. The course content for an online MBA should not differ from the standard curriculum taught by each institution, and will tend to cover accounting, finance, statistics, marketing and ICT, amongst others. Most universities have excellent online support systems which allow you to access all the course notes, exercises and past exams at any time from home, so there is no need to worry about it being difficult to learn new concepts when there is no one physically teaching you. The main benefit of pursuing an online degree over a conventional, face to face approach is the fact that you can complete your work in your own time, at home, allowing you to keep your current hours at work. However, if you require any time off, around exam time for example, it is likely that you will be granted it, as many businesses are more than happy for their employees to earn an MBA, and in a lot of cases, will sponsor you to take the course.

Executive MBAs, or EMBAs, are programs designed for business professionals to gain a degree in business administration. The idea is to earn the qualification without any disruption to the day to day work of the person taking the course. EMBAs must be completed within two years, and most students are sponsored by their employers, so there is little, if any, monetary cost to the student, and the employing organisation will often allow the employee to have the necessary time off work in order to complete the course. The course curriculum for an executive MBA is much the same as for a standard MBA and will include modules such as finance, accounting, statistics, marketing, management and information and communication technology (ICT), with the added bonus of the business experience of the students. Because the participants already have a solid understanding of business, the course content is squeezed into a shorter time period than a standard MBA. To allow students to receive the full benefit of their colleague’s knowledge, a team approach is often used when teaching, to encourage interaction between students, who come from a huge variety of organisations from both the public and private sectors. Students are expected to put in around 15 to 20 hours of work each work, which can be a considerable extra load on top of a full time career. Therefore, executive MBAs are usually only recommended to highly motivated, committed individuals who will be able to cope with the work and benefit greatly. Currently, the top EMBA school is the London Business School, in the UK and US, followed by the London School of Economics, and City University. In the USA, New York University is one of the best. Although we have listed some of top schools, most major universities offer an EMBA course.