One of the first things they told us when I did my MBA a few years ago is 
that an MBA DOES NOT guarantee you a great job or a way to get into a new 
field.  What an MBA can do is give you insight into the workings of the 
corporate business world, allow you to network with your classmates, faculty 
and other business leaders in your community, and may give you a bit of a 
competitive edge in your field.  That said, each MBA program is different 
and within each program individual cohorts of students are different.

I was the only person in my program that had any interest or knowledge of 
the non-profit world.  Most of the students in my class were focused 
primarily on making as much money as they could and doing whatever they had 
to do to attain these goals.  One of the biggest lessons I got out of my MBA 
is that as non-profit administrators we are actually pretty proficient 
business leaders.  For the most part we are forced to master a wide range of 
business skills and accomplish our goals with budgets unimaginable by our 
for-profit counterparts.  The other important thing I learned was how 
business leaders think.  While there are plenty of community and social 
minded business leaders out there, I think those of us that work in academia 
or the non-profit sector forget that the primary goal of any business is to 
make a profit, and therefore, increasing the wealth of their shareholders.  
While they may care about the environment, the arts, health, etc.  for the 
most part this is a very secondary consideration - if it is a consideration 
at all.  I have to admit that prior to completing my MBA I put together what 
I thought were wonderful sponsorship packages, touting the importance and 
impact of the particular program or institution I was promoting.  Sure, I 
would talk about demographics, media impressions, etc.  But my focus was on 
the importance of our programs and the mission of our institution.  While, 
corporations want to know that the funds they put out into the community are 
doing some good - what they really want to know is how their donation or 
gift is going to HELP THEM!  We sometimes forget that most of the 
sponsorship money we receive is coming from the marketing departments and 
that we are really competing with other forms of advertising.  (I realize 
that I am generalizing here as I have worked with some amazing corporate 
individuals and corporations who truly care deeply about their communities 
and the institutions within them)

Prior to getting my MBA, I had completed both a Bachelors and Masters Degree 
and had a number of years experience as a Director / Curator of small art 
museums.  After I had a board close a museum I was the director of, I 
decided to try to change career directions, hoping that my MBA would give me 
at least a little toe in the door in a different field.  My personal 
experience has been that it helps very little, if at all.  The most common 
question I get is why someone with a background in the arts, would even 
consider doing an MBA as the business world and the arts are so different.  
I just recently had an interview with a financial institution and was told 
that I need to sort of start my career over at pretty much an entry level, 
however, once I have proved myself and taken all the required certification 
and licensing courses, my MBA would probably help me down the road.  The 
individual that interviewed me, then qualified this by stating that how much 
an MBA helps you is in direct relation to the qualifications and degrees 
that the decision makers above you hold.  If they have an MBA then they will 
probably value this, if they don't they won't value it as much.

Going back to my MBA class, most of the individuals went back to the company 
or at least the field they were working in before.  Some returned with 
promotions, others to the jobs they left.

Deciding to do an MBA is a personal decision and the experience is different 
for everyone.  However, the days of recruiters scooping up entire graduating 
classes and offering them amazing jobs at amazing salaries is over.  There 
are just too many MBA programs out there, pumping out thousands of MBA 
graduates every semester.  When colleagues or friends have asked me if I 
would recommend that they do an MBA, my advice is that getting more 
education - especially if it is a degree - is always worth it.  If I had to 
do it over - Would I take a couple of years off to pursue an MBA at my own 
expense.  Probably not.  There are excellent evening and part-time MBA 
programs at almost every major university.  These programs also often 
attract busy professionals, which can provide worthwhile connections and 
valuable insights into the various businesses and corporations in your 
community.  The on-line programs offered by MAJOR universities are also 
worth considering.  Much like classroom MBA programs you are placed in a 
team, often with others from your community or area.

These are just my personal experiences and thoughts.  A general MBA will not 
give you specific skills in Development or Arts Administration, but it will 
give you a broad spectrum of basic business knowledge, expose you to 
business people from your community, hopefully give you more confidence in 
your management skills and allow you to speak the language of your board 
members and funders, and at the same time give you a graduate degree.  
Universities like Regis University in Denver, CO offer a distance Masters of 
Non-Profit Management degree which provides their students with specific 
management skills that can be directly applied to non-profit management.  If 
you want to cross over to the corporate area, this would probably not be the 
best route to take.  I have also had volunteers and staff members who have 
taken courses or completed certificates in fundraising, special event 
planning or marketing.  Many of them were offered pretty good jobs as a 
direct result of taking these courses.  It all depends what you want.  A 
degree from a recognized university is something that you will always have 
and is recognized pretty much everywhere.  A couple of courses or a 
certificate may be your answer if you are looking to obtain specific skills 
quickly so that you can get a specific job.  Neither route is better or 
worse than the other.  It all depends on the time, money and effort you are 
willing or able to put in, your specific needs and desires, and what you 
hope to get out of it.

Good luck!

Angela

>From: Kristie Rhoback <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Certificate Vs. MBA
>Date: Thu, 17 Mar 2005 09:26:11 -0500
>
>Hello Listers....
>
>I am looking for an opinion about professional development...
>
>I already have an MA in Museum Studies and work full time in a 
curatorial
>position. However, I am interested in gaining management skills to keep
>myself marketable in the future. I am interested in moving into a more
>administrative role, and increasing my employability outside the museum
>world (but still in the non-profit one). I will continue to work full 
time.
>
>My question is whether I should pursue a certificate in nonprofit 
management
>or purse a full MBA.  There are no established non-profit degree or
>certificate programs within a reasonable driving distance (the closest 
is 3
>hours away...)so I am looking at on-line programs.  I have a few in 
mind,
>but I am looking for feedback from happy alums...
>
>My concern is that the quality of my on-line education will be less than 
in
>a classroom situation. By pursuing an MBA locally I would have a more
>traditional classroom setting and have a full degree when completed.
>
>Ideally I would like an Masters in Non-Profit management, but I have not
>found an on-line program that supports one. I am thinking of contacting 
a
>local university to see if a custom designed program can be 
developed...but
>this is uncertain.
>
>My questions are:
>Since I already have a masters, is it necessary to have a full 
management
>degree or is a certificate acceptable?
>
>In the long run would an MBA really increase my employability over a
>certificate in the non-profit world?
>
>Is an on-line degree (from an established university) as accepted as a
>traditional degree?
>
>Has anyone else struggled with this decision and have any thoughts to 
share?
>
>Thanks for your input.
>Kristie
>
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