Getting an MBA can be an ideal decision if you want to improve your education and career potential as a business professional. These days, you can find more online MBA programs available than ever before, which makes it easier for people who need to fit their studies around work and other full-time commitments.
When you get your MBA online, you can find programs that are completely flexible and ready for you to work around, rather than having to face the need to rearrange your life or take time out of work to get the qualification that you want. No matter what your main career goals are, there are lots of things that you can aim for with an online MBA, whether you are hoping to find a new position, get the qualifications you need to make you eligible for putting forward for promotion, or if you are interested in looking for employment in a different business industry.
Along with this, getting an online MBA can be an excellent choice for anybody who runs their own business or is thinking of starting their own business in the future. Keep reading to find out more about some of the main benefits of getting your MBA online, and the most popular MBA concentrations to choose from.
Flexibility
Online MBA degree programs are becoming more popular as a flexible alternative to attending a traditional classroom setting on-campus. If you are interested in getting a degree but aren’t sure if you’re going to have the time to commit to attending classes full-time or need an option that you can fit around your current full-time career, then studying for your MBA online could be the ideal choice for you. Many online MBA programs are completely flexible, allowing you to choose when you want to log on and access learning materials such as pre-recorded classes and lectures.
Save Money
The cost of going to college these days is not cheap and there’s no denying that getting an MBA can be a big investment. Along with the money that you will pay for the cost of tuition fees to get your MBA, you also need to consider the opportunity cost, or the amount of earnings that you will lose if you need to reduce your hours or take time away from work to study.
However, with an online MBA, this opportunity cost can be much lower, allowing you to save a substantial amount of money over time. Since you can easily fit studying around your work and other commitments, it’s possible to continue earning your regular salary while you learn. And the cost of attending college for your MBA does not add up as much when you are studying online, since there’s nothing to pay when it comes to huge costs like relocating or commuting to classes.
Improve Your Skills
Getting your MBA online gives you the chance to improve a range of both career skills and transferable skills. Today, the MBA programs that are available are designed to prepare you to become a better business leader or manager while improving some of the most important skills for the workplace like teamwork skills, communication skills, and more. Throughout your MBA program, you can start working on preparing to become a bigger asset to any organization that you may work for in the future. You’ll learn more about making good business decisions, delegating, managing teams and much more.
Explore New Business Areas
With several different options to choose from when it comes to the MBA concentrations that are available, there are plenty of opportunities to improve your knowledge and skills in different areas of business. Perhaps you feel that you are ready for a change when it comes to your career, or there is a certain area that you have always been interested in, such as digital marketing or environmental management. Choosing an MBA concentration will put you on the right path to becoming an expert in your chosen area of business.
What MBA Concentrations Are Available to Study Online?
The traditional MBA or Master of Business Administration program is likely to continue as one of the most popular and well-respected degree qualifications in the business world. However, when choosing an MBA, a wider number of students are considering focusing their efforts on a degree that allows them to hone their skills in a particular area of business.
Whether you have a specific career goal that you are working towards reaching or are simply interested in one area of business more than others, an MBA concentration can be an ideal way to tailor your qualifications to the type of careers that you are interested in working in for the future. Today there are several excellent MBA programs and concentrations available to study online, which include:
MBA
The traditional MBA is still one of the most popular advanced business degree programs chosen by business professionals around the world today. There is a large demand for graduates around the world and business professionals with this qualification go on to earn an average of $100k annually. Although this program does not offer a specific area to concentrate on or specialize in, it is a flexible option for students who usually have the opportunity to hone their skills in specific areas by choosing different elective modules along with covering the main pillars of business while studying.
IT
Over the past few years, the IT industry has grown substantially and has become one of the most lucrative career options. IT career opportunities appear to be growing day-by-day as organizations become more tech-focused and more and more companies become cloud-first. Today, it’s hard to find a business anywhere in the world that is not in some way impacted by IT and technology. If you are interested in improving your career potential in the IT world and getting into an industry with a high demand and great job stability, an MBA in IT might be the right choice for you.
Digital Marketing
Thanks to the internet and the growth of online marketing, almost every business around the world today requires some kind of digital marketing in order to be discovered by customers and remain competitive. An MBA concentration in digital marketing could be your ticket into an industry with average annual earnings of around $130k.
The field of digital marketing is growing steadily and becoming more and more relevant in the business world, with more positions becoming available on a regular basis. With a digital marketing MBA, you can spend your time becoming an expert in all aspects of digital and online marketing including search engine optimization, search engine marketing, influencer marketing, content marketing, social media, video marketing and more.
Finance
Within the world of business, finance is a sector that has always been seen as quite a stable option for those who are looking for a new career. This is unlikely to change any time soon, with financial professionals always in demand in every business industry. An MBA with a concentration in finance could potentially help you get into a field where you can find positions with lots of job security, demand, and growth. An MBA in finance is a popular choice among professionals who are already working in the finance industry in positions such as financial advisor and accountant, looking to take their career to the next level by improving their knowledge and skills.
Marketing
In order for a business to succeed in today’s modern world, a good marketing strategy is essential to grab the attention of and build strong relationships with their potential customers. If you are quite a creative person at heart and would enjoy a career learning more about the target audience of a business and what they are looking for in order to choose marketing materials that are going to be effective at reaching them, then this MBA concentration might be a good fit for you. With marketing a massive part of any business industry, good marketers and marketing managers are always in demand, with the field growing rapidly due to increasing business competition.
International Business
Today, an increasing number of businesses are going global, leading to a demand in skilled and knowledgeable international business professionals. The international business sector is currently seeing a growth rate of around 8-10%, despite the COVID19 pandemic making it more difficult for business professionals to travel the world as they once could over the past few years.
However, with that being said, an MBA in international business is still an appealing choice of concentration for many, with opportunities to work in a career where you can not only earn an average salary of around $100k per year, but also travel to different areas around the world as part of their career.
Environmental Management
If the environment is something that you are passionate about and you want to get into a career option where you can play a part in helping businesses reduce the impact that they have on the planet, then you might want to consider getting an MBA in environmental management. This MBA concentration is a great choice for students who are interested in combining their business knowledge and skills with a passion for and interest in environmental issues.
Today, companies around the world are putting in more effort to reduce the impact that their processes have on the planet and environment, which is driving an increased demand for good environmental management professionals.
Business Intelligence
Business intelligence is a dynamic, growing field that more and more business professionals are considering getting into. Today, more companies than ever before are collecting data on their customers and data is ever crucial when it comes to the success of an organization and a company’s ability to have an impact on the world around it.
If you like the idea of working in a role where you can find the facts in statistics to learn more about a target audience and drive future business decisions, then an MBA with a concentration in business intelligence might be an ideal program for you to consider. The demand for graduates is only getting higher with data collection and analysis now a more vital part of business than ever before.
Management and Leadership
Good managers and leaders are necessary in every business industry and organization to organize, oversee, delegate tasks, and ensure that everything is running smoothly. An MBA with a concentration in management and leadership is an ideal choice for business owners who want to become better leaders or for people who are looking to improve their leadership skills after gaining experience as a manager or supervisor.
Human Resources
If you’d describe yourself as a people person and want to work in a role where you can work towards ensuring that the workplace is a better place for everyone involved, then you might want to consider getting an MBA with a concentration in human resources. The demand for good HR professionals is on the rise, particularly those who are experienced with working with remote teams, as the world makes a switch to more remote working after the events of the past few years. If you are looking for a qualification that will give you the opportunity to find work in various different industries and organizations, an MBA in HR might be a good choice for you.
Logistics and Supply Chain
In the past year or so, global supply chain issues have been a big topic in the news around the world after the COVID19 pandemic and other worldwide events caused serious interruptions. Currently, supply chain professionals and managers are in high demand, making the MBA with a concentration in supply chain and logistics an ideal option to consider if you’re looking for a qualification that will help you get into a career where you can hit the ground running. This program offers opportunities to focus on supply chain specific issues in business such as warehouse management, purchasing, quality control, and logistics.
No matter what your future business career goals are, there are many different MBA concentrations available to study online that can take you one step further.
