Many of use have completed a specialist named undergraduate degree in a certain area of industry, such as marketing, business or nursing.
You may have further extended learning in you’re specialist study field or work gaining a masters qualification.
Stepping up from being part of an engineering team following instructions producing widgets to becoming a senior manager or leadership takes alternative additional skills & knowledge that are different to engineering.
Can you do an MBA after a master’s degree?
People with a career objective to rise from the factory floor or graduate trainee to senior management can do an MBA after completing as master degree. Study mode options available:
- Blended learning with a mix of in class intensive study & online.
- Full time face to face learning, normally over 18-24 months.
- Part time attending classes in the evening or weekends.
- Online & distance learning working through course materials & assignments from home.
General management or specialist industry field qualification
As well as general management there’s also specialist master in business administration study qualifications including:
| MBA in Data Science | MBA in Digital Marketing | MBA in Hospital Management | MBA in Finance | MBA in Accounting | MBA in IT |
| MBA in Computer Science | MBA in Entrepreneurship | MBA in Media Management | MBA in Marketing | MBA in Logistics | MBA in Engineering |
| MBA in Energy Management | MBA in Business Analysis | MBA in Human Resources | MBA in Manufacturing Management | MBA in Healthcare Management | MBA in Pharmaceutical Management |
Can you get an MBA if you already have a master’s degree?
You can certainly get an MBA in USA or UK even if you already have a master’s qualification in a specialist area, such as MA Accounting or MA Finance. There’s nothing stopping someone from obtaining multiple master degrees.
The business management part time course I was on had multiple people with masters in logistics, marketing, communication and teaching fields.
A specialist focus master’s postgraduate degree serves a different purpose than masters in business administration. Each separate qualification provides vastly different academic knowledge & skills learning benefiting the degree holder in they’re specialist career & management acumen acquisition.
Funding an MBA & admission
Majority of the top MBA schools in United States and United Kingdom require applicants to have a good GMAT or GRE score.
There are accredited American and British universities offering part time or online MBA’s that don’t require GMAT or GRE score testing of any kind.
A large numbers of universities offer MBA courses that suit new graduates, experienced workers and senior managers with various admission criteria, including without an undergraduate degree.
Credit for prior learning at maters level is only given by a few universities if you have a relevant postgraduate qualification in business or management, even then only the first stage of an MBA could be skipped.
There are some American and United Kingdom companies that pay funding tuition fees for a master of business administration course to:
- Reward an employee for long service or increased profit contribution.
- Retention incentive for an employee to stay in the company longer.
- You are sent on an advanced management course to learn new skills & knowledge that will benefit the organization and you’re continued personal development (CPD).
Most likely you’ll self finance the course out of your own savings or salary.
Can you do an MBA right after a master’s degree?
Starting an MBA right after a master’s degree is highly possible if you meet the admission criteria for the university course.
Unless you already have a track record of work before a specialist masters it’s generally a bad idea for people without 3-5+ full time managerial years work experience starting an MBA right after a master’s qualification.
You should have a good reason to acquire an immediate MBA, such as it benefits you’re career within 1-2 years, if not it’s good to wait and gain more work experience.
Waiting will help not just understanding the course better, but you’ll be able to combine industry experience and academic management to become more knowledgeable & efficient in work tasks.
Do I require an MBA if I already have a masters degree
Only after thinking about & deciding your own career goals and chances of a senior management position then you can decide if you require an MBA or not.
People lacking in business acumen could benefit from a master of business administration that provides learning knowledge including:
- Human resource management.
- Financial management.
- Organization management.
- Corporate strategy.
- Strategic management.
- Micro & macro economics.
- Marketing strategy.
Career goals
Studying for another master degree should align with a person’s career goals and personal aspiration for knowledge growth, not just about getting the degree and add to a resume.
People that have a wealth of experience in they’re industry and specific postgraduate qualifications don’t necessary know how to manage a functional department or operate a profitable business.
Ask yourself; Does obtaining a master of business administration directly or indirectly help you achieve:
- Promotions in you’re current organization.
- Help you secure a much better salary & benefits package working for you’re present or another company.
- Give you more skills or knowledge in you’re present job role.
- Enable you to make a career change starting a business or move on to an occupational job role you desire.
- Provide you with the knowledge, qualification and skills to become an effective manager or leader in a company.
An MBA degree provides valuable academic management theory knowledge, combined with engineering, industry work experience you can become an effective manager & benefit to a company.
You’ll be able to manage a functional department or become an organization decision maker part of the senior leadership team.
Equally, starting a business or being part of a leadership team possibly requires an MBA after a master’s in a specific field to gain management skills & knowledge to operate & make decisions in an organization efficiently.
Marketing job example
Let’s say you’ve completed both undergraduate & postgraduate master of marketing degrees. You have now have qualifications, and highly specific knowledge in marketing, although most certainly all theory based without combined practical work experience.
A job ad you see for managing a team at a marketing agency requires a successful track record of work experience in the job role or graduate with some industry experience.
A general MBA can be applied in many industries, and for a job applicant it could be useful to show the company that you have the academic knowledge to manage a team successfully.
Other qualities a manager requires include soft skills which are highly desirable by employers, and are useful in a job role.