A lot of people are interested in getting an MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree because it helps them achieve their career goals. They can also aim easier for a better salary. However, getting an MBA degree isn’t easy and it certainly requires a lot of money for the student tuition. If you want to take the classes, make sure that you understand the requirements and the total cost needed to get you to the end line.

Understanding what is an MBA program

Most people don’t even understand the difference between Master degree in business and MBA.
MBA is basically a master degree that focuses on general management abilities and competencies emphasizing on business skills such as employee relations and accounting. The implementation can be wide and various and you can certainly work in other fields; not always related to business. Most MBA graduates also work in government, health care and education. A Master degree in business, on the other hand, focuses more on the business implementation as it is generally the continuation from the previous undergraduate business program. Most of the graduates of such a Master program are working in business industry.

The Basic Advantages of an MBA degree

Having an MBA degree has its own perks. Aside from the fact that you can enhance your career prospects and earn bigger salary, the MBA program itself offers lots of beneficial outcomes. For start, the MBA program offers you a diverse business related education. As it was mentioned before, the program is designed and tailored to help students understand the different aspects of business, at locac as well as international level. Often times, those who want to learn a specific subject, such as accounting, for example, finish the program understanding not only accounting, but other areas related to it. Yes, you will get targeted learning and you’ll get a solid education in accounting, but you will also learn about other business related things along the way.

Other benefits are:

• Your skills are always needed and in demand. Being an MBA graduate with better understanding and grasp of business issues, companies will always look for the best potentials. MBA graduates generally have this universal skill set that enables them to be flexible and adjustable in dealing with various settings and conditions in the business environment. You should rest assured that your skills will always be applicable, no matter what.
• Greater chances for career advancement. Most companies require MBA degree for their employees to move forward. If you want to get promoted and improve your career, you should be seriously considering having this degree.
• Better networking opportunity. Networking is one of the main reasons why you should get an MBA degree. You can be in contact with your future business partner or get a job opening through the MBA alumni. Not to mention that the program offers a lot of opportunities for exploration of a different learning environment . If you are quite adventurous and you don’t mind challenges, this is definitely a great chance for you.
• The ability to customize your schedule. There are lots of MBA programs and classes that are quite flexible; I’m not talking about the online MBA programs only. This is certainly offering a great benefit in flexibility and time management, especially if you already have packed and busy schedule. If you are considering an online program, you can even enjoy more perks.

The Main Challenges

As it was mentioned before, getting an MBA degree isn’t easy. You should be prepared for some of the challenges, such as:

• The tuition fee. You have to admit that MBA tuition fee can be very costly. One cheap MBA program cost is around $50,000 and some of the exclusive programs can reach $95,000 per year. There are some companies that are willing to cover some of the costs of an MBA application through the employer tuition reimbursement, but not all companies are willing to do so.
• Generalized program. Since business can cover different areas of expertise, you should be well prepared in the general area of business. Sure, most MBA schools claim that they specialize in certain field like entrepreneurship or finance, but there are actually some classes within this field to be taken.
• Not all MBA schools are good. You really need to find schools with AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate School or Business) accreditation because it means that the schools have better credibility and programs than those who have regional accreditation. Most companies are looking for MBA graduates with AACSB accreditation, so if you want to make a worthy spending, be sure to choose schools with that qualification. Make sure you check MBA rankings before applying to a program.
• Difficulty to stand out in the MBA crowd. More and more MBA graduates are produced on yearly basis, creating harsh competition between the graduates. Make sure that you have other qualifications and expertise that will make you different from the others. If you are considered a successful achiever, your chance of being hired will be bigger.

Also see this on Wikipedia