As the technology whirlwind keeps changing the landscape, you need to be agile and adapt to the modern business marketplace. Earning a Master of Business Administration from an online program will provide you with critical insight into modern data management practices, business intelligence models and practical product pipeline management experience.
An MBA is consistently one of the top advanced degrees that employers are looking for, and candidates with a business background can make all the difference in a market that is constantly looking for that keen competitive edge. In fact, a recent survey by the Graduate Management Admission Council revealed that more than half of recent MBA graduates ended up in new fields after getting their degrees.
It’s All About the Manufacturing
Businesses across all industries are eagerly snapping up MBA graduates. As businesses expand their reach beyond their core marketplace, their ability to source material, advertise regionally and create products efficiently are key indicators of their overall ability to stay healthy. If you source material and labor in six different countries using a handful of different procurement services, you’re going to have a lot of data to manage.
There are only so many different ways to make a widget, but there are endless ways to get that widget to a customer; learning how to optimize that pipeline is key. Efficiencies in the production and distribution of your products are going to come from automation and data management, both of which are going to require knowing how to manage data systems and apply business intelligence analysis over the life cycle of the product.
The Data Goldmine
With these technological advances comes an explosion in the availability and amount of raw data. There are patterns in all this data, and figuring out these patterns is key to understanding how your customers are going to act. Someone has to build the queries that will mine the data effectively, and those individuals have to know what sort of questions to ask. The art and science of business intelligence is a key part of a successful MBA toolkit.
As more industries (like healthcare) become digitized, the need for data warehouse modeling and intelligent data mapping is paramount to making all of this information useful. As healthcare becomes more specialized, for instance, it becomes imperative for the specialized analysis to link to the proper person’s unique health profile. It’s like putting together a 1000-piece puzzle, with small teams working on different sections. It doesn’t matter if a team has put together the lower right corner if its members don’t know which puzzle that section belongs to.
Who Builds the Builders?
But all these marvelous advances in technology have to be built by someone, and while an MBA doesn’t necessarily give you the skills to build software and hardware tools, such a degree provides insight into how these tools can be utilized. Technology exists because there is a need, so how is that need quantified and discovered? Market research and business intelligence — key aspects of an online MBA education — answer these questions.
Self-driving cars, voice-activated personal assistants and the ubiquitous smartphone are all technological innovations that came about because someone realized how much our lives could be improved with these solutions. The business modeling for each of these (and countless others) was driven by data analysis, business projections and robust project management — all part and parcel of the MBA graduate’s toolkit.
Show Us the Money
Of course, there is still a great need for money management, one of the core aspects of business administration. As personal and corporate wealth increases, there will be an equal growth in the need to manage that money and discover ways to increase it through a diverse assortment of investments.
As more companies seek to edge out their competition, they will continue to look for ways to optimize their businesses, glean competitive details through data mining, and strategically market their products to a growing audience. There are many opportunities for MBAs to work on a consulting basis with companies as they seek to grow and prosper.
While getting an MBA isn’t a sure thing when it comes to getting a job after graduation, it’s awfully close. Most graduates from an MBA program find a job within a year, and many report landing jobs with six-figure salaries. As an investment in your future, an MBA is one of the better bets you can place.
The future will continue to be technology-rich and data-driven. Having an MBA is like having a raft and a solar-powered motor: No matter how the sea changes and how far the waters rise, you’ll know how to get where you’re going without getting wet.
Learn more about online MBA programs at the University Texas at Tyler.
Sources:
U.S. News & World Report: Explore 5 Hot Jobs for MBA Graduates
Graduate Management Admission Council: 2017 Alumni Perspectives Survey Report
PayScale: Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree Average Salary
