BIV MAGAZINE
8 | BIV MAGAZINE: THE EDUCATION ISSUE 2020 PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER
SHOW ME THE MBA Is the degree worth it? Yes, no and maybe
TIERNEYMJ/SHUTTERSTOCK
ALBERT VAN SANTVOORT
I
t may be surprising, but the value of a master of business administration (MBA) degree can be quite controversial.
A Google search on the subject will bring up pages of articles both extolling the virtues and condemning the frivolousness of an MBA degree. So what is an MBA worth? The answer, as with most things, is “It depends.” Opponents argue that the degree is useless, with some citing an early-2000s Stanford Graduate School of Business study that concluded there was little evidence that MBA credentials or the grades earned, particularly from non-elite schools, are related to salary or position. Anecdotally at least, an MBA degree isn’t the right tool for everyone, according to Dorothy Keenan, president and owner of FutureWorks, a career training company. Keenan says that whether an MBA is beneficial ultimately depends
BIV_Education 2020_40.indd 8
on individuals’ career trajectory and what they hope to get out of the MBA program. When generally assessing the benefit of an MBA degree, Keenan typically sees two types of students: those who have just recently graduated from their business undergraduate degree program who want to further focus their studies on business, and those coming from the workforce looking to expand on their practical knowledge. “If you’ve just gone straight from university with a BA and then into an MBA, it can be challenging to find work,” Keenan says. “Often employers also want the individual to have some type of work experience, unless they’ve done co-op.” Blair Hutchinson, who received her MBA from Brock
2020-02-05 2:33 PM
