Does a Business MBA Offer any Specialized Areas of Study?

A Masters in Business Administration (MBA) is an incredibly valuable asset to add to your resume. While many students merely seek a general graduate degree, others prefer to specialize in a particular field, such as accounting, finance, or even sports management. By choosing a specific course of study, you can stand out among other candidates who have also obtained their advanced degrees.

An MBA in Accounting

Accountants with an MBA are eligible to become CPAs after only one year of public accounting work, compared to two for those who have the minimum 33 credits, and fifteen for those who do not. For many, this is a huge bonus because they will not only get a larger pay increase (as their hourly rate will go up significantly), but they can also take that CPA and leave public accounting to go on and become the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a private company.

An MBA in accounting is a less popular degree because many people balk at taking the necessary 24 credits required to get into the program. This, combined with a CPA, can serve as a pedigree that is very valuable.

An MBA in Finance

While the field of accounting requires more in-the-box thinking, those who study finance are encouraged to see the bigger picture, and even to see if they can enhance what that picture is. An MBA in finance is a great degree because it can lead to extremely lucrative positions that are in the banking and investing communities, such as commodity and currency trading, or being a stock broker.

Many times, interviewees at large banks will be passed over for those who have finance degrees because it shows not only a keen interest in the work being done there, but also that this candidate understands the finer aspects of the profession. The foundation that this degree offers is one that will help students ascend into professional life, especially when compared to a general MBA.

An MBA in Sports Management

The sports management field has an array of people in it. Some are simply charasmatic and make great deals. Others are no-nonsense businessmen and women with a wide variety of connections. While it may be true that some of the leaders in this industry have no college degree, they are going to seek employees to help them who do, especially if the alternative is a person who merely has an interest in the business.

After all, when you are running your own sports management firm, are you going to hire a person whose ideas of the industry were all gathered from watching old episiodes of Arliss on HBO, or a person who spent the money to learn how the actual business of being an agent is run?

There are many other areas of specialization one can pursue when getting an MBA, such as:

  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Human Resources Management
  • Health Services Administration
  • And others

The key to remember is that the success one finds in their studies (and career) is all based on what they put into them. Students who treat their careers like they do their studies will reflect in how they turn out. Getting an MBA without a specialization is unwise for most; the key is to know what you want to do when you grow up.

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