MBAs are making a comeback, says FSU business professor
BY JOHN ROGERS
As the nation's economy treks into the 21st century, it already has faced a few obstacles along the way. The dot-com bust, the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and a recession all have made things more difficult for job hunters throughout the work force - even those armed with the once-coveted Master of Business Administration degree.
But the MBA isn't DOA just yet. In fact, it's making a strong comeback, says a Florida State University educator.
Students pursuing an MBA sacrifice time, energy and, often, a steady paycheck to their studies with the hope that earning the degree will lead to a better salary and more desirable career. Patrick Maroney, the associate dean for graduate programs at Florida State University's College of Business, says that although the job outlook has been murky, there's smooth sailing ahead for those who stick with it and earn their MBA.
"Probably starting back around 2000, some of the cachet of having an MBA had diminished, and I think some employers were cutting back - and so the recruiting was down and the starting salaries had kind of leveled off," Maroney said. "But in the past couple of years, things have turned around quite a bit."
This turnaround has occurred as employers have shifted their focus back to expansion rather than cost cutting. In a recent survey, the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the organization that oversees the test students take to get into a graduate business program, found that MBA graduates are receiving some of the highest average starting salaries since 2001.
"We have recruiters from a lot of consulting firms, some financial institutions and governmental agencies, so it's across the board as far as recruiters who are looking for students right now," Maroney said.
Some of these recruiters pay quite attractively. Case in point: the New York-based Goldman Sachs Group, which awarded $140,000 to each of its Class of 2005 hires. Out of those hires, more than 60 percent previously held an internship with the investment banking firm - an opportunity that all students should pursue, Maroney said.
"Students are attractive to employers if they have some experience," he said. "In that regard, the College of Business has instituted some programs to help make our MBA students more attractive. We now have an internship program. We have about 44 full-time MBA students, and the total number of MBA students we have right now is 260."
In recent years, that number has been growing as well.
"We've had a growth of about 2,400 student credit hours in the graduate level in the College of Business in the past two years, and that's attributable to the master's programs and the MBA in particular," Maroney said.
"Right now, it's a good time to be a student in the MBA program."
The FSU College of Business offers a variety of accredited MBA programs, including full-time, part-time and even online programs. Please visit the College of Business' Web site at www.cob.fsu.edu/grad/ to learn more.
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